Joe Carter | |||
---|---|---|---|
![]() Carter with the Toronto Blue Jays after his walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series
|
|||
Outfielder / First baseman | |||
Born: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
March 7, 1960 |||
|
|||
MLB debut | |||
July 30, 1983, for the Chicago Cubs | |||
Last MLB appearance | |||
September 28, 1998, for the San Francisco Giants | |||
MLB statistics | |||
Batting average | .259 | ||
Home runs | 396 | ||
Runs batted in | 1,445 | ||
Teams | |||
Career highlights and awards | |||
|
Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder and first baseman from 1983 to 1998. Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run to win the 1993 World Series for the Toronto Blue Jays.
Contents
Career[edit]
College[edit]
Joe Carter attended Wichita State University,[1] leaving after his junior year. He was named The Sporting News magazine's College Player of the Year in 1981.[2] In the 1981 draft, the Cubs chose him with the second pick of the first round.[3]
Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians[edit]
Carter first reached the majors in 1983 with the Chicago Cubs,[4] but was traded to the Cleveland Indians the following year, where he blossomed into a star. Carter emerged as a prolific power hitter, hitting as many as 35 home runs in a season and regularly driving in 100 or more runs. He usually hit nearly as many doubles as he did homers, and would get respectable numbers of triples in many years too. He was also a very good baserunner, stealing 20-30 bases a year with a high rate of success; in 1987, Carter became a rare member of the single-season 30–30 club for home runs/stolen bases.
San Diego Padres[edit]
After a strong 1989 season, Carter was traded by Cleveland to the San Diego Padres for prospects Sandy Alomar, Jr., Carlos Baerga, and Chris James. Although he continued to drive in runs, he also continued to have defensive problems. The Padres subsequently dealt him to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Roberto Alomar in exchange for star players Fred McGriff and Tony Fernández.
Toronto Blue Jays[edit]
Carter's overall game improved dramatically in 1991, as he helped the Toronto Blue Jays win the division title and hit the game-winning single that clinched the AL East championship; he also emerged for the first time as a team leader. In 1992, he helped the Jays win their first World Series championship, the first ever won by a Canadian-based team. Carter hit two home runs and recorded the final out of the Series, taking a throw to first base from reliever Mike Timlin to nab Otis Nixon of the Atlanta Braves, who bunted. This was the first time a World Series ended on a bunt.
Carter, along with Edwin Encarnación, are the only two Blue Jays to hit two home runs in one inning, with Carter's coming against the Baltimore Orioles in 1993 and Encarnacion's against the Houston Astros in 2013.
1993 World Series[edit]
In 1993, the Blue Jays reached the World Series again, facing the Philadelphia Phillies. In Game 6, with the Blue Jays leading three games to two, Carter came to bat with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Blue Jays trailing 6–5 and Rickey Henderson and Paul Molitor on base. On a 2–2 count, Carter hit a three-run walk-off home run off Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams (against whom he had previously been 0–4 in his career) to win the World Series, only the second time a Series has ended with a home run (the other being in 1960, when Bill Mazeroski did it for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the New York Yankees), and the only time the home run has been hit by a player whose team was trailing in the bottom of the 9th inning in a potential championship clinching game. Upon hitting the home run, Carter went into a hysteria, jumping up and down many times, most notably while rounding first base, where his helmet came off. This memorable home run prompted the equally memorable quote from the late Tom Cheek, Blue Jays' radio broadcaster, "Touch 'em all, Joe! You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"
Carter is also the only player ever to both record the final out in one World Series, and get a series-clinching walk-off hit in another.
1994–1997[edit]
Carter continued to play for the Blue Jays until 1997, and led the Blue Jays in home runs and RBIs in 1994 and 1995.
When he represented the Blue Jays at the 1996 All-Star Game, he received boos for his home run that won the Blue Jays the 1993 World Series, as the game took place at Veterans Stadium, then the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.[5][6][7]
Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants[edit]
He became a free agent in 1998 and briefly played for the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants before retiring. Carter ended his career by popping out to end the game in a one-game playoff against the Chicago Cubs.[8]
Career statistics[edit]
Carter was named to five All-Star teams. In his career he hit 396 home runs and drove in 1445 runs. He drove in 100 runs in a season ten times, including the 1994 year, which was cut short due to the strike that occurred 115 games into the year. He was the first player to record 100 RBI for three different teams in three consecutive seasons.[9] In 1993, while a Toronto Blue Jay, Carter set an American League record when he hit 3 home runs in a game for the fifth time in his career. (The record was tied 10 years later by another Blue Jay – Carlos Delgado.)
Carter was also involved in the final plays of four games in which the Blue Jays clinched a championship: 1) The game-winning single to drive home Roberto Alomar and clinch the 1991 American League East division championship, 2) catching the final out at first base in the 1992 World Series, 3) catching the final out on a fly ball to right field in the 1993 American League Championship Series, and 4) the walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series.
Post retirement[edit]
From 1999–2000, Carter served as a color commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays on CTV Sportsnet, leaving to work for the Chicago Cubs. From 2001–2002, Carter served as the color commentator, alongside play-by-play man Chip Caray, for the Chicago Cubs on WGN-TV. Carter was replaced by the man whom Carter himself replaced, Steve Stone.
Carter became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003, however, he only received 19 votes, representing 3.8% of the vote and was dropped from future ballots.
Carter was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.
In September 2006, Carter was awarded the Major League Baseball Hometown Heroes Award, as the former or current player who best represents the legacy of his franchise's history, as voted by fans.
In 2008, Carter appeared on an episode of Pros vs. Joes.
On August 7, 2009, Carter, along with many of his 1992 and 1993 Toronto Blue Jay World Series alumni teammates, attended a reunion/pre-game ceremony at the Sky Dome. The event was organized by Carter himself and included three dozen players, coaches and athletic trainers from the Blue Jays' 1992 and 1993 World Series rosters.[10]
On May 19, 2012, the Cleveland Indians honored Carter with a bobblehead giveaway bearing his likeness during their game against the Miami Marlins. Carter attended and signed autographs, as well as throwing out the ceremonial first pitch.
On July 14, 2015, in a pregame ceremony before the 2015 All-Star Game, it was announced that Carter was elected by fans as a Franchise Four member of the Toronto Blue Jays, as one of the four most valuable players in franchise history.
Charity involvement[edit]
Carter co-chairs the annual "Joe Carter Classic", a celebrity golf tournament in the Toronto area founded in 2010 to benefit the Children's Aid Foundation. The tournament has raised over $225,000 for the foundation. Previous events have featured celebrities including Charles Barkley, Ray Bourque, and Gordie Howe.
Awards and honors[edit]
- 5× All-Star (1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996)
- 2× Silver Slugger Award winner (1991, 1992)
- Toronto Blue Jays Level of Excellence
- In 1988, Carter was inducted into the Wichita State University Pizza Hut Shocker Hall of Fame.[11]
- In 1999, Carter was inducted into the Missouri Valley Hall of Fame.[12]
- In 2003, Carter was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.[13]
- In 2004, Carter was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.[14]
- In 2008, Carter was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.[15]
See also[edit]
- 30–30 club
- List of Toronto Blue Jays home run leaders
- List of top 300 Major League Baseball home run hitters
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball leaders in career stolen bases
- List of Major League Baseball players with 400 doubles
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 RBI
- List of Major League Baseball RBI champions
References[edit]
- ^ "Joe Carter Stats". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
- ^ "CARTER, JOSEPH CHRIS (1960- )". Digital.library.okstate.edu. 1960-03-07. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ "Joe Carter (Baseball, 1979-81) - GoShockers.com—Official Web Site of Wichita State Athletics". Admin.xosn.com. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ Doyle, Al (January 1987). "Joe Carter: An Emerging Star for Revived Indians". Baseball Digest (Lakeside Publishing) 46 (1): 19. ISSN 0005-609X. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ^ Carchidi, Sam (July 9, 1996). "Carter Likes Even the Boos at the Vet". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. D6.
- ^ Bodley, Hal (July 10, 1996). "To Phillie fans, Carter still Public Enemy No. 1". USA Today. p. 3C.
Joe Carter...walked out onto the sizzling Veterans Stadium turf...held his head high...and heard the boos even before he was introduced. Hard-core Philly baseball fans...(will) never forgive Carter for the dramatic ninth-inning home run that won the 1993 World Series.
- ^ Griffin, Richard (July 9, 1996). "This time, Phillies pitcher shuts down Carter". Toronto Star. p. C3.
As Carter took his first swing and the on-field introduction was made, the boos rained down.
- ^ "One-game playoffs have been epics | MLB.com: News". Bluejays.mlb.com. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ Charlton, James. "Joe Carter from the Chronology". BaseballLibrary.com. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
- ^ "Blue Jays' reunion ends on sour note". CBC News. August 8, 2009.
- ^ "Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame - GoShockers.com—Official Web Site of Wichita State Athletics". Goshockers.com. 2011-01-31. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
- ^ http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/joe-carter/17761
- ^ http://new.baseballhalloffame.ca/museum/inductees/joe-carter/
- ^ "Joe Carter". http://oshof.ca/. Retrieved 25 September 2014.
- ^ "Carter and Stephenson to be Inducted into Hall of Fame - GoShockers.com—Official Web Site of Wichita State Athletics". Goshockers.com. Retrieved 2013-09-28.
External links[edit]
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube
- The Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Carter's Swing Beats the Wild Thing
- Radio play-by-play of Tom Cheek calling Joe Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run
- Video of Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run called by Tom Cheek from MLB.com
- Video of Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run called by Sean McDonough from MLB.com
- Video of "Baseball's Best Moments" segment on Joe Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run, including Carter's recollections of it, from MLB.com
- Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Carter, Joe
- The Annual Joe Carter Classic Golf Tournament
- Video of Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run on YouTube
Awards and achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Rubén Sierra Chris Hoiles |
American League Player of the Month June 1991 April 1994 |
Succeeded by Robin Ventura Frank Thomas |
Sporting positions | ||
Preceded by Steve Stone |
Chicago Cubs Television Color Commentator 2001–2002 |
Succeeded by Steve Stone |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|