Current:Home > MarketsFormer Red Sox Player Dave McCarty Dead at 54-LoTradeCoin
Former Red Sox Player Dave McCarty Dead at 54
View Date:2024-12-24 00:39:36
Red Sox Nation is in mourning again.
Dave McCarty, a retired first baseman and outfielder who was part of the Major League baseball team during their historic 2004 World Series victory, has died. He was 54.
The Boston Red Sox announced in a press release that the athlete passed "due to a cardiac event" in Oakland, Calif. April 20. "Our hearts are heavy with the passing of Dave McCarty," the team said on X, formerly Twitter. "Playing 3 seasons with the Red Sox, he will forever be a part of the curse-breaking 2004 World Series championship team. We send our love to his wife, Monica, and their children, Reid and Maxine."
McCarty died one month after he joined several of his past teammates at the Red Sox's home of Fenway Park for a 20-year reunion and tribute ceremony for the 2004 World Series team, held before the 2024 Opening Day game.
Also in attendance at the April 9 event: Brianna Grace Wakefield and Trevor Wakefield, who were invited to help honor their father Tim Wakefield, who had pitched in the championship game and died of brain cancer at age 57 in October, and their mom Stacy Wakefield, who passed away in February.
McCarty, a native of Houston, Texas, played in the MLB between 1993 and 2005 and was first drafted into the league by the Minnesota Twins. He was a member of the team for two years and later played for the San Francisco Giants, the Seattle Mariners, the Kansas City Royals, the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland A's before joining the Red Sox in 2003. He retired from professional baseball in 2005 and later worked as a Red Sox baseball analyst for NESN until 2008.
The athlete was one of few MLB players who batted left handed but threw left-handed. As a position player, he pitched three games for the Red Sox in 2004 during the regular season, with his third appearance as a reliever in the last game.
He did not play in the post season, including in the World Series. It marked their first such victory since 1918 (breaking what fans called the "Curse of the Bambino," named after baseball legend Babe Ruth, who was traded from Boston to the team's arch rival, New York Yankees.)
However, as a member of the team, McCarty did earn a championship ring. In an interview released last November, he looked back at his experience with the Red Sox fondly.
"I loved the energy in Boston," McCarty told BallNine, "and going on to win the World Series in 2004 made the whole journeyman experience worth it for me."
He continued, "When the Red Sox designated me for assignment, they had a deal in place to trade me to another team, but that was the first year when I went to spring training where my kid said, 'Dad, we don't want you to go.' We had just won the World Series in 2004 and I said to myself, 'You know, I'd just rather go out on top as a member of the Red Sox.' So that's what I did."
Following his death, several of his past teammates paid tribute to him on social media. "Crushed to hear of the passing of Dave," fellow 2004 World Series champion Johnny Damon wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of the two. "RIP."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (1688)
Related
- What Happened to Kevin Costner’s Yellowstone Character? John Dutton’s Fate Revealed
- Stocks drop as fears grow about the global banking system
- Pollution from N.C.’s Commercial Poultry Farms Disproportionately Harms Communities of Color
- The UN’s Top Human Rights Panel Votes to Recognize the Right to a Clean and Sustainable Environment
- Police cruiser strikes and kills a bicyclist pulling a trailer in Vermont
- Lawmakers are split on how to respond to the recent bank failures
- Doug Burgum is giving $20 gift cards in exchange for campaign donations. Experts split on whether that's legal
- Climate Migrants Lack a Clear Path to Asylum in the US
- Benny Blanco Reveals Selena Gomez's Rented Out Botanical Garden for Lavish Date Night
- The Biden administration demands that TikTok be sold, or risk a nationwide ban
Ranking
- 'Joker 2' actor pans DC sequel as the 'worst film' ever: 'It has no plot'
- Michigan Supreme Court expands parental rights in former same-sex relationships
- Noah Cyrus Is Engaged to Boyfriend Pinkus: See Her Ring
- Here's how much money a grocery rewards credit card can save you
- Bodyless head washes ashore on a South Florida beach
- Step up Your Skincare and Get $141 Worth of Peter Thomas Roth Face Masks for Just $48
- Activists Urge the International Energy Agency to Remove Paywalls Around its Data
- Vinyl records outsell CDs for the first time since 1987
Recommendation
-
1 dead, 2 children injured in wrong-way crash; driver suspected of DWI: Reports
-
Am I crossing picket lines if I see a movie? and other Hollywood strike questions
-
Biden wants Congress to boost penalties for executives when midsize banks fail
-
Proposal before Maine lawmakers would jumpstart offshore wind projects
-
What to know about Mississippi Valley State football player Ryan Quinney, who died Friday
-
The number of Black video game developers is small, but strong
-
Bank fail: How rising interest rates paved the way for Silicon Valley Bank's collapse
-
Two teachers called out far-right activities at their German school. Then they had to leave town.