LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - A Baseball Hall of Famer, Carter played 19 Major League seasons and won a World Series with the New York Mets in 1986.

Carter was an 11-time All-Star and two-time All-Star Game MVP, and batted .262 with 324 home runs and 1,225 runs. His career began and ended with the Montreal Expos (1974-1984; 1992) and retired his No. 8 in 1993, 10 years before he would be elected to the Hall of Fame.

Carter also played for the Mets from 1985 to 1989, the San Francisco Giants in 1990 and the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1991. MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said Carter, driven by a remarkable enthusiasm for the game, "became one of the elite catchers of all time."

"The Kid' was an 11-time All-Star and a durable, consistent slugger for the Montreal Expos and the New York Mets, and he ranks among the most beloved players in the history of both of those franchises," Selig said in a statement released.

"Like all baseball fans, I will always remember his leadership for the '86 Mets and his pivotal role in one of the greatest World Series ever played."

During his first run with the Expos, from 1974 to 1984, he frequently was among the National League's top 20 batters in home runs, slugging percentage and runs batted in, even leading the league in RBI in 1984.

One of his career highlights came in 1986, when Carter was a key part of one of the wildest rallies in World Series history.

With the Mets only one out away from losing the series to the Boston Red Sox, who were ahead 5-3 in the bottom of the 10th in Game 6, Carter singled and eventually was driven home with the singles of two teammates.

Later that inning with the score tied, the Mets' Mookie Wilson hit a grounder that slipped through the legs of Red Sox first baseman Bill Buckner, allowing the Mets' Ray Knight to score the winning run. That improbable victory kept the Mets alive for Game 7, which they won two days later.

"He is in heaven and has reunited with his mom and dad," a message on Carter family's online journal read. "I believe with all my heart that dad had a standing ovation as he walked through the gates of heaven to be with Jesus."

Carter's death comes less than a month after the family announced that more tumors were found on his brain. Carter initially was diagnosed with inoperable brain tumors in May.

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