Joe Carter
Encyclopedia
Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7, 1960 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City is the capital and the largest city in the state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, the city ranks 31st among United States cities in population. The city's population, from the 2010 census, was 579,999, with a metro-area population of 1,252,987 . In 2010, the Oklahoma...

) is a former right fielder
Right fielder
A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

 in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played from to . Carter is most famous for hitting a walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...

 to win the 1993 World Series
1993 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 16, 1993 at SkyDome in Toronto, OntarioThe Series' first game sent two staff aces—Curt Schilling for Philadelphia and Juan Guzman for Toronto—against one another. The result was less than a pitcher's duel, however, as both teams scored early and often.The deciding plays...

 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

.

College

Joe Carter attended Wichita State University
Wichita State University
Wichita State University is a NCAA Division I public university in Wichita, Kansas with selective admissions. WSU is one of six state universities governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The current president is Dr. Donald Beggs....

, leaving after his junior year. He was named the Sporting News magazine's College Player of the Year in 1981 In the 1981 draft, the Cubs chose him with the second pick of the first round.
  • In 1988, Carter was inducted into the Wichita State University Pizza Hut Shocker Hall of Fame.
  • In 1999, Carter was inducted into the Missouri Valley Hall of Fame.
  • In 2003, Carter was inducted into the Canadian baseball Hall Of Fame
  • In 2008, Carter was inducted into the Kansas Baseball Hall of Fame.

Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians

Carter first reached the majors in with the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...

, but was then traded to the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

, 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 run
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

s. 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
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 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. However, he was considered a below-average defensive outfielder. The Indians publicly criticized his defense and low batting average after he left, although Cleveland was a terrible team for several years after his departure, while Carter contributed to multiple championships elsewhere.

San Diego Padres

After a strong season, Carter was traded by Cleveland to the San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...

 for prospects Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Sandy Alomar, Jr.
Santos "Sandy" Alomar, Jr., or in the Spanish-language naming system Santos Alomar Velázquez , is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played for the San Diego Padres , Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox and , Colorado Rockies , Texas Rangers , Los Angeles Dodgers , and New York Mets...

, Carlos Baerga
Carlos Baerga
Carlos Obed Baerga Ortiz is a former Major League Baseball player. After spending most of his career as a second baseman, he was used at various positions late in his career.-Cleveland Indians:...

, and Chris James
Chris James
Donald Chris James was a utility Major League Baseball player with a 10 year career from 1986 to 1995. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants and Houston Astros all of the National League and the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Kansas City Royals and...

. Although he continued to drive in runs, he also continued to have defensive problems. The Padres subsequently dealt him to the Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a professional baseball team located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Blue Jays are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball 's American League ....

 along with Roberto Alomar
Roberto Alomar
Roberto "Robbie" Alomar Velázquez is a former Major League Baseball player , regarded by many as one of the best second basemen in MLB history. During his career he won more Gold Gloves than any other second baseman in history, and also won the second-most Silver Slugger Awards for a second...

 in exchange for star players Fred McGriff
Fred McGriff
Frederick Stanley McGriff is a left-handed former Major League Baseball player who starred for several teams from the mid-1980s until the early 2000s. A power-hitting first baseman with a tall, lanky build, the five-time All-Star became, in , the first player since the dead-ball era to lead both...

 and Tony Fernández
Tony Fernández
Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro , better known as Tony Fernández, is a former Major League Baseball player most noted for his defensive skills setting a record for shortstops with a .992 fielding percentage in 1989.-Career:...

.

Toronto Blue Jays

Carter's overall game improved dramatically in , as he helped the Toronto Blue Jays
1991 Toronto Blue Jays season
The 1991 Toronto Blue Jays season involved the Blue Jays finishing 1st in the American League East with a record of 91 wins and 71 losses. The team's paid attendance of 4,001,527 led the American League, as the Jays became the first team in MLB history ever to draw four million fans in a season...

 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 , he helped the Jays
1992 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays played their 16th season in Major League Baseball. Toronto finished first in the American League East for the 4th time with a record of 96 wins and 66 losses, closing the season with an attendance record of 4,028,318...

 win their first World Series
1992 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 17, 1992 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaBraves fans had plenty to worry about in regard to both starting pitchers. Tom Glavine's post-season career had been less than stellar, including giving up eight runs in the second inning of Game 6 of the NLCS...

 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
Mike Timlin
-Early life:Timlin was born in Midland, Texas to Jerome Francis Timlin Sr. and Nancy Sharon Beyer. Timlin graduated from Midland High School in Midland, Texas. He then attended and pitched at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.-Baseball career...

 to nab Otis Nixon
Otis Nixon
Otis Junior Nixon, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. He was a center fielder and switch-hitter who played from 1983 to 1999...

 of the Atlanta Braves
1992 Atlanta Braves season
The 1992 Atlanta Braves season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Braves finishing first in the National League West with a record of 98 wins and 64 losses, clinching their second straight division title....

.

1993 World Series

In , the Blue Jays
1993 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season involved the Blue Jays finishing first in the American League East with a record of 95 wins and 67 losses. They were shut out only once in 162 regular-season games. The Blue Jays would repeat as World Champions and become the first back-to-back champions since the New...

 reached the World Series
1993 World Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 16, 1993 at SkyDome in Toronto, OntarioThe Series' first game sent two staff aces—Curt Schilling for Philadelphia and Juan Guzman for Toronto—against one another. The result was less than a pitcher's duel, however, as both teams scored early and often.The deciding plays...

 again, facing the Philadelphia Phillies
1993 Philadelphia Phillies season
The 1993 Philadelphia Phillies season saw the Phillies capture the National League East championship. The Phillies defeated the Atlanta Braves in the 1993 National League Championship Series in six games, before losing the World Series to the Toronto Blue Jays.-Regular season:After finishing in...

. 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
Rickey Henderson
Rickey Henley Henderson is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who played for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four stints with his original team, the Oakland Athletics. Nicknamed The Man of Steal, he is widely regarded as the sport's greatest leadoff hitter and baserunner...

 and Paul Molitor
Paul Molitor
Paul Leo Molitor , nicknamed "Molly" and "The Ignitor", is an American former Major League Baseball designated hitter and infielder. During his 21-year baseball career, he played for the Milwaukee Brewers , Toronto Blue Jays , and Minnesota Twins...

 on base. On a 2–2 count, Carter hit a three-run walk-off home run
Walk-off home run
In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. It must be a home run that gives the home team the lead in the bottom of the final inning of the game—either the ninth inning, or any extra inning, or any other regularly scheduled final inning...

 off Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams (against whom he was 0–4 career) to win the World Series, only the second time a Series has ended with a home run (the other being in 1960
1960 World Series
The 1960 World Series was played between the Pittsburgh Pirates of the National League and the New York Yankees of the American League from October 5 to October 13, 1960...

, when Bill Mazeroski
Bill Mazeroski
William Stanley Mazeroski , nicknamed "Maz", is a former Major League Baseball player who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...

 did it for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...

 against the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

), 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 rounding first base, where his helmet came off from the dancing. Tom Cheek
Tom Cheek
Thomas F. Cheek was an American sportscaster.Best known as the "Voice of the Blue Jays", Tom announced Major League Baseball games for the Toronto Blue Jays on radio from the team's establishment in 1977 until his retirement in 2004, in which he had a 27-year consecutive game streak of 4,306...

, radio broadcaster for the Blue Jays at the time, then went on to say "Touch 'em all, Joe! You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!"
Carter has the unique honor of being the first person to score a run in a World Series outside of the United States (Game 3, 1992 World Series) and the last person to do so (Game 6, 1993 World Series), a distinction that will remain in place until Toronto wins the American League pennant again (in 1993 there were two Canadian teams, but the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...

 never reached a World Series and exist today as the Washington Nationals
Washington Nationals
The Washington Nationals are a professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals are a member of the Eastern Division of the National League of Major League Baseball . The team moved into the newly built Nationals Park in 2008, after playing their first three seasons in RFK Stadium...

). He 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

On July 14, 1994, Carter wore a jersey with the "n" and second "t" in "Toronto" reversed for six innings during a game against the Texas Rangers
1994 Texas Rangers season
The Texas Rangers season involved the Rangers finishing first in the American League West with a record of 52 wins and 62 losses. The season was cut short by the infamous 1994 player's strike.-Offseason:...

. Carter continued to play for the Blue Jays until 1997
1997 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 5th in the American League East with a record of 76 wins and 86 losses...

, and led the Blue Jays in home runs and RBIs in 1994
1994 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 3rd in the American League East with a record of 55 wins and 60 losses. Cito Gaston was the manager for the American League squad at the All-Star Game. The Mid-Summer classic was played on July 12...

 and 1995
1995 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 5th in the American League East with a record of 56 wins and 88 losses.-Offseason:* October 11, 1994: Dave Righetti was released by the Blue Jays....

.

When he represented the Blue Jays at the 1996 All-Star Game
1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 67th playing of the midsummer classic between the all-stars of the American League and National League , the two leagues comprising Major League Baseball. The game was held on July 9, 1996 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the...

, he received boos for his home run that won the Blue Jays the 1993 World Series, as the game took place at Veterans Stadium
Veterans Stadium
Philadelphia Veterans Stadium was a professional-sports, multi-purpose stadium, located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex...

, then the home of the Philadelphia Phillies.

Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants

He became a free agent in played briefly for the Baltimore Orioles
1998 Baltimore Orioles season
The 1998 Baltimore Orioles season involved the Orioles finishing 4th in the American League East with a record of 79 wins and 83 losses.-Offseason:*December 11, 1997: Doug Drabek was signed as a free agent with the Baltimore Orioles....

 and San Francisco Giants
1998 San Francisco Giants season
-Offseason:* November 11, 1997: Chris Singleton and Alberto Castillo were traded by the Giants to the New York Yankees for Charlie Hayes and cash.* November 21, 1997: Brent Mayne was signed as a free agent by the Giants....

 before retiring. Carter ended his career by popping out to end the game in a one game playoff against the Chicago Cubs
1998 Chicago Cubs season
The Chicago Cubs season was a significant one for the team for several reasons. Firstly, it saw the Cubs reach the playoffs for the first time since 1989 by way of a Wild Card berth, which they clinched after winning a one-game playoff against the San Francisco Giants. The Cubs, however, would...

.http://bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080922&content_id=3526704&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Career statistics

Carter was named to five All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 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 year, which was cut short due to the strike that happened about 144 games into the year. He was the first player to record 100 RBI for three different teams in three consecutive seasons. In 1993, while a Toronto Blue Jay, Joe 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
2003 Toronto Blue Jays season
The Toronto Blue Jays season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Blue Jays finishing 3rd in the American League East with a record of 86 wins and 76 losses.-Offseason:*October 9, 2002: Chris Carpenter was released by the Toronto Blue Jays....

 - Carlos Delgado
Carlos Delgado
Carlos Juan Delgado Hernández is a retired Puerto Rican professional baseball player. With 473 home runs and 1,512 RBI, he holds the all-time home run and RBI records among Puerto Rican players....

.)

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 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

From - Carter served as announcer for the Toronto Blue Jays on CTV Sportsnet, leaving to work for the Cubs. From – Carter served as the color commentator, alongside play-by-play man Chip Caray, for the Chicago Cubs on WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...

. Carter was replaced by the man whom Carter himself replaced, Steve Stone
Steve Stone (baseball player)
Steven Michael Stone is an American former Major League Baseball player, and current sportscaster and author....

.

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
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museums commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.-History:...

.

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 & 1993 Toronto Blue Jay World Series alumni teammates, attended a reunion/pre-game ceremony at the Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre
Rogers Centre is a multi-purpose stadium, in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated next to the CN Tower, near the shores of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989, it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League...

 (formerly known as Skydome). The event was organized by Carter himself and included three dozen players, coaches and athletic trainers from the 1992 and 1993 World Series Champion Toronto Blue Jay roster.

See also


External links

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