(Image via Centerfield Gate)

No, it’s not baseball, silly, it’s this weird game played by Rico Carty, otherwise known as Beeg Boy. Carty, for those unaware, once hit in 31 straight games, a number just reached by Dan Uggla, when he played for the Braves in 1970. That season, Carty hit .366/.454/.584 and finished 10th in the MVP voting becoming a fan favorite. Unfortunately, Carty, after missing two nonconsecutive seasons due to tuberculosis and a knee injury, was run out of Atlanta for getting in fights with Hank Aaron and being generally unlikable.

And if you’re wondering why, the February 1973 issue of Baseball Digest offers one anecdote that may explain why:

“On planes and bus, in airport terminals and hotel lobbies, Carty would play a silly game with Jim Breazeale, Jim Nash and others. It consisted simply of calling another player’s name. If that player responded and turned his eyes to yours, you were the winner. Carty was played it with tireless enthusiasm. He would laugh uncontrollably when he caught Breazeale or someone else."

This is what people did before the internet.

Unfortunately, racism was also a large problem for Carty as the Digest notes that he was not liked because he spent much of his time with the white players. As Dan Uggla attempts to pass Carty on the Braves leaderboard tomorrow night, let’s take a moment to remember a player who hit over .300 in seven different seasons and whose career was needlessly difficult as he racism still ran rampant across the country.