Joe Carter

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Joseph Christopher Carter (born March 7, 1960 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is a former right fielder in Major League Baseball who played from 1983 to 1998, most famous for hitting a home run to end the 1993 World Series, with the Toronto Blue Jays trailing 6-5 to the Philadelphia Phillies, just two outs away from a seventh game.

Contents 1 College 2 Career 2.1 Playing Baseball in Canada 2.2 After Glory 3 Post retirement 4 Trivia 5 External links

[edit] College

Joe Carter attended Wichita State University, but left after his junior year.

[edit] Career

Carter first reached the majors in 1983 with the Chicago Cubs but was then traded to the Cleveland Indians, 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 a similar amount of doubles as he did homers, and would get respectable numbers of triples in many years, as well. He was also a very good baserunner, stealing 20-30 bases a year with a high rate of success, and a good defensive outfielder.

In 1990, Carter was traded to the San Diego Padres for Sandy Alomar, Jr., Carlos Baerga, and Chris James. Although he continued to drive in runs, he struggled in other aspects of his game and did not play well. The Padres subsequently dealt him to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Roberto Alomar in exchange for star players Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez.

Carter was named to five All-Star teams. In his career he hit 396 home runs and drove in 1,445 RBI. He drove in 100 runs in a season ten times, including the 1994 year, which was cut short due to the strike that happened about 110 games into the year.

[edit] Playing Baseball in Canada

Carter improved dramatically in 1991, helping the Blue Jays win the division title, hitting the game-winning single that clinched the AL East. In 1992, he helped the Jays win their first World Series championship, the first ever won by a Canadian-based team. Carter himself 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.

In 1993, the Blue Jays again reached the World Series, facing the Philadelphia Phillies. In Game 6, with the Blue Jays leading three games to two, Carter came to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with the Blue Jays losing 6-5 and Rickey Henderson and Paul Molitor on base. On a 2-2 count, Carter hit a three-run home run off Phillies pitcher Mitch Williams (a hurler 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, when Bill Mazeroski did it), and the only time the home run has been hit by a player whose team was losing.

[edit] After Glory

Carter continued to play for the Blue Jays until 1997, but his play and the Jays' fortunes declined rapidly. He was released and in 1998 played briefly for the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants before retiring.

[edit] Post retirement

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 was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

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.

[edit] Trivia

Canadian born Rapper, Choclair refers to Joe Carter's 1993 Game 6 walk-off home run in his 1999 song Let's Ride

During his tenure as a Blue Jay, Carter was involved in the final play of each of the games in which the Jays clinched their highest championship from 1991-1993: In 1991, he got the game winning RBI single to clinch the American League East Division Championship; In 1992, he caught the final out of the World Series after Mike Timlin fielded Otis Nixon's bunt attempt; and in 1993, the World Series-winning Home Run in Game Six of the World Series.

[edit] External links

• Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
• The Sporting News' Baseball's 25 Greatest Moments: Carter's Swing Beats the Wild Thing
• Radio play-by-play by Tom Cheek of Joe Carter's 1993 World Series winning home run

Preceded by Don Mattingly	American League RBI Champion 1986	Succeeded by George Bell
Preceded by Rubén Sierra	American League Player of the Month June 1991	Succeeded by Robin Ventura
Preceded by Chris Hoiles	American League Player of the Month April 1994	Succeeded by Frank Thomas