<body><div>As President Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old on Oct. 1, he is still the ultimate Atlanta Braves baseball fan; that’s why they chose Terry Pendleton and Dale Murphy to play a part in his tribute birthday party.Carter could not attend the celebration but will watch it on TV. And the other thing he’s been watching on TV are the Braves games.“He loves watching the Braves play,” his grandson Jason Carter told GPB the PBS Station in an interview.Pendleton, who played third base for the St. Louis Cardinals went on to play for President Carter’s favorite team and then became hitting coach. Because of the Braves connection, Pendleton has gotten to meet the former president and was asked to participate in the “100th Birthday Celebration.”<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=23BMsX_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=23BMsX_0vpuxuP600" width="358" height="300" ></figure>Since Carter loves the Braves so much, they presented a Braves Jersey with “Carter 100” on the back, to his grandson, Jason Carter.“Terry and Dale Murphy were asked to do an intro to one of the artists performing,” Pendleton’s wife, Cathy told us. “We met the grandson and family backstage.”President Carter and his late wife, Rosalynn would frequently drive to Atlanta for Braves games.Even in his later years, he and the former First Lady kept up with the Braves by watching the games on television. She preceded him in death, passing away Nov. 19, 2023, but he always has the TV on when there is a Braves game.Even when he went on hospice care last year, Carter always kept up on the news of the day– and that would include the score of the Braves game. On July 7, 2023, they Carters celebrated their 77th anniversary– that’s number 77 on 7-7. The Braves beat Tampa Bay that night and they watched the game together. Lately he has become more “physically diminished” as his grandson said, he still enjoys knowing what the Braves did.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2q5h1X_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2q5h1X_0vpuxuP600" width="2048" height="936" ></figure>He’s always been a huge baseball fan, and was often seen at Braves games- two and a half hours from his home in Plains, Georgia. The former first couple would be in their prime seats and wearing Braves hats. Their grandson James Carter IV lives in Atlanta and sometimes attended games with him. We recently met him and asked him if if he was as big of a baseball fan as his grandpa.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2d7qmH_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2d7qmH_0vpuxuP600" width="299" height="228" ></figure>“I don’t think anyone else could be as big of a baseball fan as he iss,” said the younger Carter, shown left with Rob Rains. “It was a different experience going to baseball games with him because you got to sit right by the on-deck circle.”One of the most famous games the Carters attended was in 1992. The Former President was at Game Seven of the Braves National League Championship Series against the Pirates –and he always considered this game to be one of his favorite memories as a Braves fan.Francisco Cabrera hit a two-out single, and first basemen Sid Bream slid into home sending the Braves to the 1992 World Series.President Carter jumped the railing, pushed past the police, and started hugging the players.“I remember that game. I was there,” said Rob Rains, who was covering the game for USA Today’s Baseball Weekly. “I even remember the lead to my story, ‘it was the kind of game you don’t believe happened until you read about it in the newspaper the next day; the problem with Pirates fans is the paper is on strike so they can’t even read about it.”Rains covered games Carter has attended but former Cardinal third baseman, Pendleton has has actually been around him.The Carter Center delivered a star-studded lineup for Jimmy Carter 100: A Celebration in Song, with stars like BeBe Winans, Carlene Carter, Duane Betts, India Arie, Lalah Hathaway, and The B-52s, along with Academy Award-winning actress Renée Zellweger and others including Pendleton.“Terry and Dale Murphy were asked to do an intro to one of the artists performing,” Cathy Pendleton told STLSportsPage.com.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1aAFwx_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1aAFwx_0vpuxuP600" width="1238" height="1452" ></figure>On one trip, their daughter Reagan was photographed with the former President and as you can see in the photo, right, he had his favorite hat on– his Atlanta Braves hat.Many stories will be written about Jimny Carter as he turns 100, but since this is a baseball website, we wanted to remember his love of baseball.Recently, to pay tribute to him, we took a different route home from spring training to go through Carter’s beloved Plains, Georgia.What is Plains, Georgia like?Our respect for Carter even magnified when we went to Plains, Georgia. After having a life that included going to the Naval Academy, being the governor of Georgia and then the President of the United States where he met world leaders, rock stars, and other former presidents– he chose to live out his life in his very humble hometown of Plains.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3LjETg_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3LjETg_0vpuxuP600" width="868" height="868" ></figure>If you go to Plains, it is not very hard to figure out where the Carters live. We spotted the gated property with the guard sitting out front. There were several American flags and a very peaceful setting.We asked one of the townspeople if the Carter’s house was the one with the big fence around it– and they actually gave us directions to find it. Everyone knows him (personally) and everyone seems to love them. Though he was the President, he was very much a part of the community.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3gm7xn_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3gm7xn_0vpuxuP600" width="910" height="840" ></figure>There is literally only one gas station in town– and the pumps are completely rusted out. That gas station is now sort of a museum, but at one time it was Billy Carter’s gas station.During Jimmy’s run for president the national media often gathered at the service station owned by the then-candidate’s colorful brother.Billy Carter was a character– remember the “Billy Beer?”So there are actually no gas stations that pump gas and no fast food restaurants. Though everything in town is about Jimmy Carter, they have managed to keep it respectful and it is more historic than commercial.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2nXnZI_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2nXnZI_0vpuxuP600" width="1814" height="1008" ></figure>One of the only restaurants in town, which is said to be Carter’s favorite is Bonita’s and the owner of the restaurant is a friend of the Carter family’s.When we heard about it we had to go there. Since we would be getting on the road soon, Rob asked for a sandwich. The owner of the restaurant, Bonita Hightower, known as “Mrs. Bonita” looked at him as if she was insulted.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1jV6Jw_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1jV6Jw_0vpuxuP600" width="992" height="942" ></figure>“Why would you want a sandwich when I’ve made all this lunch?” she said as she proudly showed off the buffet (shown right) which included salad, ham, baked chicken with gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, two kinds of rice and cornbread.You get one meat and two sides and sweet tea also came with it. We could see why the Carters like Bonita’s, it was delicious and definitely a testament to Southern cooking.They did not have catfish on the buffet the day we went. Mrs. Bonita has told news outlets over the years that the Carters both liked to order catfish– Rosalyn liked hers baked and Jimmy likes his fried. Carter is also said to like grits. There was plenty of choices on the Sunday Brunch buffet. We did look at her fresh baked desserts and went with the blueberry bread which had an old fashioned “coffee-cake” taste to it.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2bHLdE_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2bHLdE_0vpuxuP600" width="1166" height="926" ></figure>Right up from Bonita’s Restaurant, there is an area that looks like a typical “Main Street” that is often found in smaller towns where a group of small businesses are. As suspected, it’s called Main Street.The Plains Trading Post was filled with presidential items– not just Jimmy Carter.“This is the largest collection of Presidential memorabilia in the world,” said owner, Phillip Kurland. “We’ve got everything you don’t need and nothing you need.”Kurland entertained every person who came in with a joke. He has more presidential jokes than one can imagine. He even had Sarah Palin jokes. (Why did Sarah Palin keep putting quarters in the soda machine? Because she was winning.– There were more but you get the idea)“I’m not against any political party,” he said. “Whoever you are for, that’s who I’m for.”We picked up a copy of. the children’s book, “The little baby Snoogle-Fleejer “written by Jimmy Carter, illustrated by his daughter Amy. We also got Amy Carter’s Coloring book, “From Plains to Washington” — written and illustrated by Amy– to send to our grandsons.Kurland said that Amy Carter often comes in the shop and that she was in there recently.This area of town is where the Rosalynn Carter Butterfly Trail is. There is a park with flowers and also many planters with flowers Container gardens and in ground gardens at the corner of Main Street and Hudson Street.Bobby Salter’s Peanuts and General Store is next door. Since we went on a Sunday it was closed.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1laGyb_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1laGyb_0vpuxuP600" width="1132" height="968" ></figure>Jimmy Carter’s campaign headquarters is still preserved as is most of the things that were there as Carter rose to fame first as Governor and then as President. A few other things to see while in Plains, Georgia: The Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, which is at the high school he attended; Jimmy Carter Boyhood Farm; Maranantha Baptist Church where the Carters attend church; and Rosalynn Carter’s childhood hone.There are a few other tourist attractions, but it is a very small town and there are not a lot of public restrooms or places to buy a soda or coffee.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1fdoge_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1fdoge_0vpuxuP600" width="2048" height="1448" ></figure>We went to the Maranatha Baptist Church, that the former 39th President and Rosalyn attended. Jimmy Carter has mentioned his church many times.How do you get to Plains, Georgia?We stopped through Plains on our way back from Jupiter, Florida to St. Louis. Our route took us through Gainesville, to Montgomery, Alabama, Birmingham, AL.<figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=46wdAZ_0vpuxuP600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=46wdAZ_0vpuxuP600" width="1116" height="784" ></figure>The post President Jimmy Carter turns 100 Oct. 1: His favorite baseball moment; baseball with his grandson appeared first on News from Rob Rains, STLSportsPage.com.</div></body>

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President Jimmy Carter turns 100 Oct. 1: His favorite baseball moment; baseball with his grandson

As President Jimmy Carter turns 100 years old on Oct. 1, he is still the ultimate Atlanta Braves baseball fan; that’s why they chose Terry Pendleton and Dale Murphy to play a part in his tribute birthday party. Carter could not attend the celebration but will watch it on...

President Jimmy Carter turns 100 Oct. 1: His favorite baseball moment; baseball with his grandson

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