Cy Young Profile: Chris Carpenter, 2005

Pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  30 (Apr. 27)

2^nd season with Cardinals

Bats – Right, Throws – Right

Height: 6’6”    Weight: 230

Prior to 2005:

A New Hampshire native, Carpenter excelled at ice hockey as well as baseball in his youth. He was an all-state hockey defenseman as a junior and senior in high school as well as a dominating pitcher. Carpenter signed with the Toronto Blue Jays out of high school, who chose him in the first round of the 1993 amateur draft. Starting out with Medicine Hat of the short-season Rookie-level Pioneer League in 1994 he produced a 6-3 record with a 2.76 ERA and 80 strikeouts over 84.2 innings pitched. Carpenter moved on to Dunedin of the advanced Class A Florida State League in 1995 where he went 3-5 with a 2.17 ERA before being promoted to the Knoxville Smokies of the Class AA Southern League where he struggled to a 3-7 tally and a 5.18 ERA. He returned to Knoxville in 1996 and improved to 7-9 over 28 starts with a 3.94 ERA and 150 strikeouts in 171.1 innings of action. Carpenter started the 1997 season with Syracuse of the Class AAA International League before being called up to Toronto in May where he struggled in losing two games with an ERA of 12.71. Returning to Syracuse he was 4-9 with a 4.50 ERA when he received another call-up to the Blue Jays. He finished off his first major league season with a 3-7 record and 5.09 ERA and had shown improvement from his early shaky outings. Carpenter made Toronto’s starting rotation in 1998 and, thanks to a strong second half, was 12-7 with a 4.37 ERA and 136 strikeouts over 175 innings. He started well in 1999 until elbow soreness affected his control. He ended up starting 24 games and compiled a 9-8 record with a 4.38 ERA. Following offseason elbow surgery he had a rough performance in 2000 in which he was 10-12 with a 6.26 ERA. Inconsistent in 2001 he had an 11-11 record and 4.09 ERA with 157 strikeouts over 215.2 innings pitched. Shoulder tendinitis that required surgery shelved Carpenter in September of 2002 at which point he had a 4-5 tally and 5.28 ERA. A free agent in the offseason, he accepted an offer from the Cardinals. He struggled in minor league rehab outings and it was determined that further surgery was needed, wiping out his 2003 season. Starting 28 games for the Cards in 2004 Carpenter went 15-5 with a 3.46 ERA and 152 strikeouts over 182 innings pitched. Pitching pain free and in command of his fastball and curve, he appeared poised to finally deliver on his potential.

2005 Season Summary

Appeared in 33 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Pitching

Games – 33

Games Started – 33 [13, tied with ten others]

Complete Games – 7 [1, tied with Dontrelle Willis]

Wins – 21 [2]

Losses – 5

PCT - .808 [2]

Saves – 0

Shutouts – 4 [2]

Innings Pitched – 241.2 [2, tied with Roy Oswalt]

Hits – 204

Runs – 82

Earned Runs – 76

Home Runs – 18

Bases on Balls – 51

Strikeouts – 213 [2]

ERA – 2.83 [5]

Hit Batters – 3

Balks – 0

Wild Pitches – 5

League-leading complete games were +3 ahead of runners-up Roy Oswalt, A.J. Burnett & Pedro Martinez

Midseason Snapshot: 13-4, ERA - 2.51, SO – 128 in 129.1 IP

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Most strikeouts, game – 12 (in 7.2 IP) vs. Milwaukee 4/27

10+ strikeout games – 4

Fewest hits allowed, game (min. 7 IP) – 1 (in 9 IP) at Toronto 6/14

Batting

PA – 93, AB – 77, R – 7, H – 5, 2B – 2, 3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 2, BB – 5, SO – 23, SB – 0, CS – 1, AVG - .065, GDP – 2, HBP – 0, SH – 10, SF – 1

Fielding

Chances – 56

Put Outs – 15

Assists – 40

Errors – 1

DP – 2

Pct. - .982

Postseason Pitching: G – 3 (NLDS vs. San Diego – 1 G, NLCS vs. Houston – 2 G)

GS – 3, CG – 0, Record – 2-0, PCT – 1.000 SV – 0 ShO – 0 IP – 21, H – 17, R – 6, ER – 5, HR – 2, BB – 7, SO – 12, HB – 1, BLK – 0, WP – 0, ERA – 2.14

Awards & Honors:

NL Cy Young Award: BBWAA

NL Pitcher of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star (Starting P for NL)

8^th in NL MVP voting (52 points, 12% share)

NL Cy Young voting:

Chris Carpenter, St.L.: 132 pts. – 19 of 32 first place votes, 83% share

Dontrelle Willis, Fla.: 112 pts. – 11 first place votes, 70% share

Roger Clemens, Hou.: 40 pts. – 2 first place votes, 25% share

Roy Oswalt, Hou.: 2 pts. – 1% share

Chad Cordero, Wash.: 1 pt. – 1% share

Andy Pettitte, Hou.: 1 pt. – 1%share

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Cardinals went 100-62 to finish first in the NL Central Division by 11 games over the Houston Astros. The pitching staff led the league in ERA (3.49), complete games (15), and fewest earned runs surrendered (560). Won NLDS over the San Diego Padres, 3 games to 0. Lost NLCS to the Houston Astros, 4 games to 2.

Aftermath of ‘05:

Bothered by back problems in 2006 Carpenter’s record dropped to 15-8 with a 3.09 ERA and 184 strikeouts. He was once again an All-Star and finished third in NL Cy Young Award balloting. Elbow problems returned in 2007 and Carpenter had surgery to remove bone spurs, virtually wiping out his season. There was another setback in 2008 due to nerve irritation in his shoulder that resulted in further surgery, wiping out another season. He came back with a strong season in 2009, compiling a 17-4 record and league-leading 2.24 ERA. He finished a close second in NL Cy Young voting and was the NL Comeback Player of the Year. In 2010 Carpenter topped the NL with 35 starts on his way to a 16-9 record and 3.22 ERA, garnering an All-Star selection. He topped the NL with 237.1 innings pitched in 2011 as he overcame a slow start and produced an 11-9 tally for the NL pennant winners. He was 4-0 in the postseason, including a three-hit shutout of the Phillies in the decisive fifth game of the NLDS and a solid six innings in Game 7 of the World Series against Texas to earn the decisive win. A nerve injury in his rotator cuff limited Carpenter to 17 innings in 2012. Missing all of 2013 due to numbness in his right hand, he retired. Overall for his major league career, Carpenter compiled a 144-94 record and a 3.76 ERA with 1697 strikeouts over 2219.1 innings pitched that included 33 complete games and 15 shutouts. He was 95-44 with the Cardinals with a 3.07 ERA and 1085 strikeouts over the course of 1348.2 innings with 21 complete games and 10 shutouts. He was a three-time All-Star. In the postseason he went 10-4 with a 3.00 ERA and 68 strikeouts over 108 innings pitched. In 2016 he was elected to the Cardinals Hall of Fame. He displayed great perseverance in the face of significant injuries that threatened his career on several occasions.

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Cy Young Profiles feature pitchers who were recipients of the Cy Young Award by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (1956 to present). The award was presented to a single major league winner from its inception through 1966 and from 1967 on to one recipient from each major league.