Chris Carpenter
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
|
|---|---|
| St. Louis Cardinals — No. 29 | |
| Starting pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| May 12, 1997 for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through October 2, 2006) |
|
| Record | 100-68 |
| ERA | 4.09 |
| Strikeouts | 1,161 |
| Former teams | |
Christopher John (Chris) Carpenter (born April 27, 1975 in Exeter, New Hampshire) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who has played for the St. Louis Cardinals since 2003, and is currently signed with the team until the 2011 season, with a club option for 2012.[1] Carpenter was 22 years old and a highly-regarded prospect when he broke into the majors in 1997 with the Toronto Blue Jays. He stayed with Toronto until after the 2002 season.
As of 2005, Carpenter resides in Bedford, New Hampshire.
Contents |
[edit] Career with St. Louis
The Cardinals signed Carpenter prior to the 2003 season. He was forced to sit out the entire 2003 season due to a torn labrum. However, Carpenter came back with an impressive 2004, helping the Cardinals win the National League pennant for the first time since 1987. Shoulder problems resurfaced though, and forced him to miss the entire 2004 post season in which the Cardinals eventually played against the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.
Returning with full health, Carpenter had a breakout 2005 season. He posted a 21-5 record (a career high in wins), while also achieving career bests in ERA (2.83), strikeouts (213), innings pitched (241.7), complete games (7) and shutouts (4). This time, Carpenter was healthy for the post-season. And although the Cardinals lost to the Houston Astros in the National League Championship Series, he pitched very well throughout the post-season, going 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA in 21 innings against the San Diego Padres and Houston.
Carpenter was selected for and started the All-Star Game in 2005, a season in which he also won the Cy Young Award.
Carpenter continued pitching well throughout the 2006 season. Achieving career feats such as striking out a career high 13 batters on June 13, 2006 in seven shutout innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, a game the Cardinals won the game 2-1.[2] Carpenter also won his 100th career game on September 16, 2006 beating the San Francisco Giants 6-1.[3] Carpenter became the third member of the St. Louis Cardinals pitching staff to get his 100th career win in 2006, after Jeff Suppan and Mark Mulder.
Carpenter was also voted on the 2006 All-Star game, and finished third in the Cy Young Award voting behind Brandon Webb and Trevor Hoffman.[4]
Carpenter won his first career World Series start in Game 3 against the Detroit Tigers on October 24, 2006 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri by pitching eight innings and allowing no runs on three hits. In eight career post-season starts, he has a 5-1 record with a 2.53 ERA in 53.3 innings.
On December 4, 2006 the Cardinals announced they had re-signed Carpenter to a five-year, $65 million deal, keeping Carpenter with the team through 2011, with a $12 million option for 2012.[5]
[edit] Pitching style
Carpenter is known to have five quality pitches and throws two and four-seam fastballs in the 93-95 mph range consistently. He is known to have one of the best curveballs in baseball and has excellent command over his off-speed pitches.[6] He is known as being unpredictable to opposing batters in his pitching pattern, as he will throw any of his pitches at any time.
Carpenter has also shown his ability to work effectively on days when he doesn't have his best stuff.
[edit] Trivia
- Pitched for the Trinity High School (Manchester) Pioneers while living in Raymond, New Hampshire during his high school years.
- Prior to becoming one of the prominent pitchers in baseball, Carpenter was often confused with former St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Cris Carpenter.
[edit] Honors
- 2004 Comeback Player of the Year - The Sporting News and MLBPA
- 2005 & 2006 All-Star selection
- 2005 Pitcher of the Year - The Sporting News
- 2005 Cy Young Award
[edit] References
- ^ Yahoo! Sports, Carpenter and Cardinals agree to new five-year contract. Golen, Jimmy
- ^ Notes on Carpenter's 13K game
- ^ Box Score of Carpenter's 100th victory
- ^ Diamondbacks' Webb Wins N.L. Cy Young Award
- ^ Cards reward Carpenter with $65M extension
- ^ Carpenter's scouting report
7. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/story/2002/09/02/carpenter020902.html
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Chris Carpenter at ESPN.com
| Preceded by Javy López |
NL Comeback Player of the Year 2004 |
Succeeded by Ken Griffey, Jr. |
| Preceded by Roger Clemens |
National League Cy Young Award 2005 |
Succeeded by Brandon Webb |
