| Joe Carter | |
|---|---|
 Carter in 2017 | |
| Outfielder /First baseman | |
| Born: (1960-03-07)March 7, 1960 (age 65) Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| 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 |
| Hits | 2,184 |
| Home runs | 396 |
| Runs batted in | 1,445 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the Canadian | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 2003 |
Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professionalbaseball player. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as anoutfielder andfirst baseman for theChicago Cubs,Cleveland Indians,San Diego Padres,Toronto Blue Jays,Baltimore Orioles, andSan Francisco Giants.
Carter is a five-timeMLB All-Star. Hehit a walk-off home run to win the1993 World Series for the Blue Jays, their second consecutive championship. Carter is one of only two players to end a World Series with a home run, the other beingBill Mazeroski in1960. The Blue Jays inducted him into theirLevel of Excellence.
Joe Carter was a three-sport athlete atMillwood High School inOklahoma City and was named to the All-State team in Track.[1]
Joe Carter attendedWichita State University,[2] leaving after his junior year. He was namedThe Sporting News magazine's College Player of the Year in 1981.[3]
In the1981 MLB draft, theChicago Cubs chose him with the second overall pick.[4] He began to blossom in the minor leagues in 1982, batting .319 with 25 home runs and 98 RBIs in 110 games for theMidland Cubs of the AATexas League. He was promoted to the AAAIowa Cubs in 1983, where he batted .307 with 22 home runs and 83 RBIs in 124 games.
The Cubs promoted Carter to the major leagues in 1983.[5] He hit .176 in 23 games, and began the 1984 season back in Iowa.
On June 13, 1984, Carter was traded with three other players to theCleveland Indians forRick Sutcliffe,George Frazier, andRon Hassey. Carter enjoyed a breakout season with the Indians in 1986, when he led the major leagues with 121runs batted in and recorded career highs of 200 base hits, 341 total bases, and 108 runs scored. In Cleveland, Carter established himself as a prolific power hitter, hitting as many as 35 home runs in a season and regularly driving in 100 or moreruns. 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 member of the single-season30–30 club for home runs/stolen bases.
After the1989 season, the Indians traded Carter to theSan Diego Padres for prospectsSandy Alomar Jr.,Carlos Baerga, andChris James.[6] Although he continued to drive in runs, he also continued to have defensive problems. The Padres subsequently dealt him to theToronto Blue Jays along withRoberto Alomar in exchange for star playersFred McGriff andTony Fernández.[7]
Carter's overall game improved dramatically in1991, as he helped theToronto 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. In1992, he helped theJays win their firstWorld 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 relieverMike Timlin to nabOtis Nixon of theAtlanta Braves, who bunted. This was the first time a World Series ended on a bunt.
Carter andEdwin Encarnación are the only two Blue Jays tohit two home runs in one inning, with Carter's coming against theBaltimore Orioles in 1993 and Encarnacion's against theHouston Astros in 2013.
In1993, theBlue Jays reached theWorld Series again, facing thePhiladelphia 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 andRickey Henderson andPaul Molitor on base. On a 2–2 count, Carter hit a three-run walk-off home run off Phillies pitcherMitch 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 in1960, whenBill Mazeroski did it for thePittsburgh Pirates against theNew York Yankees), and the only time the home run has been hit by a player whose team was trailing in the bottom of the ninth inning in a potential championship clinching game. Upon hitting the home run, Carter jumped up and down many times, most notably while rounding first base, where his helmet came off.Tom Cheek, the Blue Jays' radio broadcaster, called the play: "Touch 'em all, Joe, you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"[8]
Carter continued to play for the Blue Jays until1997, and led the Blue Jays in home runs and RBIs in1994 and1995.[9][10]
When he represented the Blue Jays at the1996 All-Star Game, hosted by the Phillies atVeterans Stadium, he received boos for his World Series home run.[11][12][13] During the 1997 season, he snuck an unlicensed maple woodbaseball bat manufactured bySam Bat into a game.[14]
He became a free agent in1998 and briefly played for theBaltimore Orioles andSan Francisco Giants before retiring. Carter ended his career by popping out to end the game in aone-game playoff against theChicago Cubs.[15]
Carter was named to fiveAll-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 the1994 year, which was cut short due tothe 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.[16] 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 byBlue JayCarlos 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 homeRoberto 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.
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From1999 to2000, Carter served as a color commentator for the Toronto Blue Jays onCTV Sportsnet, leaving to work for the Chicago Cubs. From2001 to2002, Carter served as the color commentator, alongside play-by-play manChip Caray, for the Chicago Cubs onWGN-TV. Carter was replaced by the man whom Carter himself replaced,Steve Stone.
Carter became eligible for theBaseball Hall of Fame in 2004, however, he received 19 votes, representing 3.8% of the vote and was dropped from future ballots.[17] Carter is currently eligible for induction via theToday's Game era committee.
Carter was inducted into theCanadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.[18]
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 ofPros 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 SkyDome. 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.[19]
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 the2015 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.
Carter co-chairs the annual "Joe Carter Classic", a celebrity golf tournament in the Toronto area founded in 2010 to benefit theChildren's Aid Foundation. The tournament has raised over $2.5 million for the foundation. Previous events have featured celebrities includingCharles Barkley,Ray Bourque, andGordie Howe.[20]
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.
As Carter took his first swing and the on-field introduction was made, the boos rained down.
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| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | American League Player of the Month June 1991 April 1994 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | Chicago Cubs television color commentator 2001–2002 | Succeeded by |