Former Twins top draft pick Dave McCarty dead at 54

The No. 3 overall pick in the 1991 draft lasted 11 major league seasons with seven teams in all.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
April 20, 2024 at 4:35AM
The Twins made Dave McCarty the No. 3 overall pick int he 1991 draft. Though he did not develop into a star, he lasted 11 seasons in the major leagues and won a World Series with the Red Sox in 2004. (Eric Gay)

Dave McCarty, who played 167 games for the Twins from 1993 to ‘95 after they made him the No. 3 overall pick in the 1991 draft, died Friday after a cardiac event in Oakland, Calif., the Boston Red Sox announced Friday. He was 54.

McCarty played parts of 11 seasons in the big leagues, including 89 games with the 2004 World Series champion Red Sox. McCarty was in Boston earlier this month as part of the Red Sox’s 20-year championship reunion.

A first baseman and outfielder drafted out of Stanford, McCarty failed to turn into a star with the Twins, hitting .221 with three home runs and 37 RBI in 167 games before they dealt him to Cincinnati for pitcher John Courtright in 1995. McCarty never played for the Reds, but he did subsequently play for San Francisco, Seattle, Kansas City, Tampa Bay, Oakland and finally Boston, and was a career .242 hitter with 36 homers and 175 RBI in 630 games. He spent time as a Red Sox broadcaster for NESN after his retirement.

He is survived by his wife, Monica, and their two children Reid and Maxine.

about the writer

about the writer

Bobby Nightengale

Minnesota Twins reporter

Bobby Nightengale joined the Star Tribune in May, 2023, after covering the Reds for the Cincinnati Enquirer for five years. He's a graduate of Bradley University.

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