The “Beeg Boy” left a huge impact on the Braves during his time there and was inducted into the Braves Hall of Fame in 2023 before his passing.
It’s a bit of a somber morning this Sunday here in Braves Country, as one of the franchise’s all-time greats has passed away. Rico Carty, who spent most of his career with the Braves franchise has passed away after recently spending time in the hospital in critical condition. He was 85-years old.
Rico Carty spent the first eight seasons of his career with the Braves and had some of the best seasons of his career with the Braves. This included an incredible performance in 1970 where he hit .366/.454/.584 with 25 home runs, 101 RBIs, a wOBA of .455 and a wRC+ of 173 for 6.7 fWAR. This performance helped earn him his first and only All-Star Game appearance, which he earned as a write-in candidate as he wasn’t even on the ballot. His .366 batting average in 1970 also earned him the NL Batting Title for that season, so it really was just a standout year for this standout player — one of the pioneers of Dominican baseball players in Major League Baseball.
Carty’s incredible 1970 season came just one year after he helped push the Atlanta Braves to their first divisional title since moving to Atlanta. While the Braves got swept in three games against the Mets in that year’s NLCS, Carty’s performances helped endear the squad to its new city as they helped MLB gain a serious foothold in the South.
Unfortunately for Carty, injuries and other ailments threatened to derail his career, as he struggled in 1967 due to a separated shoulder and then missed the entirety of the 1968 season due to a bout with tuberculosis. Even though he overcame both of those injury/illness hurdles to make it as a star with the Braves, injuries brought him back down to Earth as he ended up missing the entire 1971 season due to a knee injury that he suffered playing winter ball in the Dominican Republic. Carty also feuded with both teammates and management while he was in Atlanta and this was what ended up getting him shipped out of town.
After spending 1973 bouncing around with three teams, Rico Carty found a home with Cleveland and found his groove once again for the next few seasons before he eventually finished his career in Toronto following his age-39 season. While his efforts on the field fell short of a trip to Cooperstown, Carty still received plenty of accolades and recognition for a very good career. He was inducted into the Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996 and then the Atlanta Braves inducted him into their franchise Hall of Fame in 2023.
Photo by Matthew Grimes Jr./Atlanta Braves/Getty Images
The “Beeg Boy” made a huge impact on the Braves during his time on the field and it was good that the Braves were able to acknowledge his contributions to the club before he passed away. It’s always a good thing to receive your flowers while you can still smell them and fortunately for Rico Carty, that was the case. May he rest in peace and may his family receive comfort and understanding during this time.