Pat McCarthy is scheduled to call St. John’s-Villanova men’s basketball Saturday for Westwood One radio (his debut on the network) and then fly to Cincinnati to help with stats on his father Tom’s broadcast of Browns-Bengals for CBS the following day.
It’s the kind of start to the New Year that has the younger McCarthy energized following an accident last fall that left him hospitalized for nine days.
McCarthy, who serves as the Mets pre-game and post-game host on WCBS radio — he also filled in last season on play-by-play for 55 games, mostly when Howie Rose didn’t travel — was hit by a car on Oct. 24 while jogging.
McCarthy, 28, was training for a half-marathon, and had entered a crosswalk near his home in Bordentown, N.J., when he was struck by the car on his left side. He lost consciousness.
The next thing he recalls is an ambulance on the scene.
“I’m in the back of the ambulance … and I’d suffered broken ribs before, so I was telling the EMTs it felt very similar to the rib fractures I’d sustained a few years ago,” McCarthy told Post Sports+ this week. “I also looked at the EMTs and said, ‘I think this is going to drastically affect my marathon time’ — for which they told me to focus on breathing. I think at that point I was so hopped up on adrenaline I don’t think I really grasped the impact of what happened.”
McCarthy, under advice from his attorney, declined to divulge specifics about the accident because of a pending claim that may lead to litigation, but is willing to share the rest of his story.
He was taken to Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Trenton, where his wife, Emily, was waiting. McCarthy’s father-in-law, Andrew Kratz, had arrived at the accident scene, and rode in the ambulance, after a bystander had gotten Emily’s phone number from McCarthy and contacted her.
“I remember leaving the ambulance, and at this point I had no idea my father-in-law was even there,” McCarthy said. “I get out of the ambulance, and he and my wife are waiting for me. And I could see their faces, and I vividly remember looking up at them as I’m on the stretcher and kind of seeing the worry in their faces.”
The damage included 10 broken ribs, a collapsed lung and fractures to his face. McCarthy underwent surgery two days later — a titanium plate was inserted to help mend five of the broken ribs. The procedure is called open reduction and internal fixation. The other five ribs were left to heal naturally.
The accident occurred just hours before the Phillies faced the Diamondbacks in Game 7 of the NLCS. McCarthy’s father — a former Mets voice who now works the Phillies’ television broadcasts — was scheduled to call a few innings on radio.
Tom McCarthy skipped the game to be at the hospital. Pat McCarthy spent the next 1 ½ weeks surrounded by family that wouldn’t leave his side.
Emily, a school teacher, slept in his hospital room. When she needed breaks to return home, McCarthy’s younger brother, Tom Jr., would visit for a few hours. Tom Jr. also mowed the lawn and went to Pat and Emily’s house on Halloween to distribute candy to trick-or-treaters. McCarthy’s mother, Meg, and sisters Maggie and Carrie also were regular visitors.
“I would constantly have at least two or three people in my room at all times, whether that was friends or family, and even if they couldn’t come in, they would all go sit in the waiting room and rotate,” McCarthy said. “It was amazing. The hospital kind of waived all limits, and people would just come in. The people at the front desk had all my family’s badges printed out every day so they could just come and get them.”
His first night in the hospital, McCarthy said he received a message from Alex Cohen, the wife of Mets owner Steve Cohen. And just before McCarthy underwent surgery, he received a text from Mets catching instructor Glenn Sherlock, who had taken an interest during the season in McCarthy’s half-marathon training.
Maybe the biggest boost McCarthy received was a phone call from Mike Eruzione, star of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at Lake Placid. McCarthy had interviewed Eruzione for a school project as a fifth grader, and Tom McCarthy reached out to him during Pat’s hospital stay.
“I’d been having a really bad day in the hospital, just going through the mental stuff, and I was ready to go home and I wasn’t going home yet,” McCarthy said. “I’m sitting there having dinner and I see a call from Massachusetts come up on my phone, but I let it go. I listened to the voicemail and I can’t figure out who it is, and Emily looks at me and says, ‘Are you kidding me? It’s Mike Eruzione.’ My jaw just dropped and I called him back and we talked on the phone for 10 minutes, and it literally changed everything for me.”
McCarthy, who is still healing, doesn’t know when he will be cleared by doctors to resume his marathon training. He plans to arrive at spring training in late February for his Mets radio duties, and until then will keep busy with Saint Joseph’s and Princeton basketball broadcasts, plus whatever additional Westwood One assignments he might receive.
His hope is he will strengthen enough physically to run the New York City marathon either this year or next.
McCarthy said he is thankful for the support he received from family, friends and hospital staff throughout the ordeal.
“When I tell you it was one of the worst experiences of my life, the love that I saw from people through this entire process, I can’t put it into words,” McCarthy said. “I was showered with support and generosity.”
Defensive maneuvers
The Mets haven’t added the kind of bats or arms yet this winter to suggest they will have an improved lineup or pitching staff compared to last season, but you would expect them to be better defensively.
Harrison Bader’s arrival Thursday on a one-year contract worth $10.5 million was the latest glove added to the mix.
The Mets this offseason also have added Joey Wendle and Tyrone Taylor, both of whom — similarly to Bader — excel defensively but were below league average in OPS last season.
Bader’s addition figures to shift Brandon Nimmo to left field, which could benefit Nimmo in the long haul.
Last season, Nimmo dealt with leg issues that pushed him to left field for a stretch. Taylor also has played center field, giving the Mets a third option at the position.
The Mets still have to figure out whether they can count on Starling Marte to play right field on an everyday basis or whether he profiles as a DH at this point in his career.
Marte missed the final two months of last season due to groin discomfort. Last winter, he underwent double groin surgery.
Catcher for sale
Omar Narvaez is available in a trade as the Mets prepare for the possibility Tomas Nido, who is to receive $2.1 million for the coming season, could be their backup catcher.
It’s clear Narvaez would welcome a situation where he could receive at least semi-regular playing time — something he likely won’t get as long as Francisco Alvarez is healthy. Nido, on the other hand, is comfortable as a backup.
Before the trade deadline last summer, Narvaez indirectly spelled out his frustration of getting buried on the bench.
“I think every player wants to play every day,” Narvaez said last July. “It would be sad for me to leave the team, but if that would be a benefit on my career, I definitely would take it. Everybody on this club wants to play every day.”