Montreal batboy fondly remembers Gary Carter
From SABR member Kevin Glew at CBC Sports on February 6, 2012:
More than 36 years have passed since Daniel Plamondon met an energetic, young Californian named Gary Carter, but his memories of “The Kid” are still fresh.
A former bat boy and batting practice pitcher with the Montreal Expos, Plamondon was a big-league “rookie” in the same year as the future Hall of Famer. And starting in 1975, the-then wide-eyed 17-year-old formed a brotherly bond with Carter who was four years older than him.
Carter, who spent 12 of his 19 major league seasons in Montreal, would assist Plamondon with his homework, while the francophone teen would help Carter hone his French. The duo would grow up together in the clubhouses at Jarry Park and Olympic Stadium, and few would come to know Carter as well as Plamondon.
In fact, it was Plamondon whom Carter entrusted to hold his first daughter prior to a game when she was a baby.
“I remember it was a father and son day and Gary just had his first daughter, Christy, and Gary and Sandy [Carter’s wife] had to go take some photos together, so I held her,” recalled Plamondon. “I’m holding the baby then all of a sudden doesn’t she leak all over me? Gary has two sets of pants, so he can afford to have something like this happen, I only had one pair. This was the pre-game and I’m thinking give me a break. We had white pants. He and his wife got a chuckle out of that.”
That incident aside, Plamondon loved Carter because the longtime Expo, who belted 324 career homers, treated him like a teammate.
Read the full article here: http://www.cbc.ca/sports/baseball/opinion/2012/02/gary-carter-beloved-in-montreal-former-expos-bat-boy.html
Originally published: February 10, 2012. Last Updated: February 10, 2012.