Former major league first baseman/outfielder Dave McCarty has passed away after a cardiac event, the Red Sox announced. He was 54.
A Stanford product, McCarty was the third overall pick in the 1991 draft by the Twins. Baseball America ranked the 6-foot-5 right-handed hitter as a top 25 prospect in the sport over the next two seasons. McCarty reached the majors in May ’93. He played parts of three seasons in Minnesota, hitting .226/.275/.310 before being traded to the Reds. Cincinnati flipped McCarty to the Giants around six weeks later. He played parts of two seasons with San Francisco before again finding himself on the move, this time to Seattle.
McCarty had his most productive year in 2000 with the Royals. He appeared in a career-high 103 games and turned in a .278/.329/.478 batting line with 12 homers. He bounced to the Devil Rays and A’s before landing with the Red Sox on a waiver claim in 2003. McCarty played in 89 games as a role player for the World Series-winning team the following season. He hit four homers, including a walk-off shot to center field against the Mariners in May. He finished his playing career after the 2005 season and worked as an analyst on NESN for the next few years.
Over parts of 11 years in the majors, McCarty played in 630 games. He hit .242/.305/.371 with 36 home runs, 68 doubles and 175 RBI. He suited up for seven teams, saw some action in the postseason in 2003, and collected a World Series ring the following year. MLBTR joins others around the game in sending our condolences to the McCarty family, his friends and former teammates.
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