Matthew Martin Lee Carpenter (born November 26, 1985) is an American professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has also played in MLB for the New York Yankees and San Diego Padres. A left-handed batter and right-handed thrower, Carpenter stands 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighs 205 pounds (93 kg).
Since becoming a regular player in 2013, Carpenter has spent considerable time at first base, second base and third base. The Cardinals selected him in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB draft from Texas Christian University (TCU). A three-time second-team All Mountain West Conference selectee, he broke TCU's school record for games played and at bats and is second in hits, doubles and walks. He was the Cardinals' organization Player of the Year in 2010. A three-time MLB All-Star Game selection, he became the first Silver Slugger Award winner at second base in Cardinals franchise history after leading the major leagues in hits, runs scored and doubles in 2013.
Carpenter was born in Galveston, Texas, on November 26, 1985, the son of Rick and Tammie Carpenter.[1][2][3][4] The elder Carpenter is a former college baseball player turned high school coach. His mother played softball in her youth. The Carpenter family spent seven years in La Marque, Texas, where Rick Carpenter taught and coached at La Marque High School before moving to Fort Bend Dulles High School and eventually at Fort Bend Lawrence E. Elkins High School. There, Rick coached for another fifteen years. The school's baseball team won numerous championships, including nine at the district level, six regional, three state, and one national. He also coached three other major leaguers: James Loney, Kip Wells and Chad Huffman. Rick Carpenter also coached at Prosper High School near Dallas until he retired in 2019, winning a state championship in 2015.[5][6] Carpenter's brother, Tyler, was a minor league baseball player in the New York Mets organization.[5]
At Elkins High School, Carpenter was a three-year first-team all-district performer and two-time all-state tournament team selection. He helped lead the team to a 35–1 record and the USA Today National Prep Championship in 2002, and was named the District Sophomore of the Year that year. His father, Rick Carpenter, was honored as the USA Today High School Baseball Coach of the Year. Matt was named a 2004 TPX second-team High School All-American. He holds the Elkins High School record for most career hits. One of his high school teammates was James Loney.[5]
Carpenter attended Texas Christian University (TCU) and majored in communications. One of Carpenter's teammates at TCU was pitcher and fellow future major leaguer Jake Arrieta—who, after Carpenter became a St. Louis Cardinal, would later join the Chicago Cubs on the opposite end of the storied Cardinals–Cubs rivalry.[7] In his freshman year as an athlete, Carpenter played 50 games and batted .289, 27 runs batted in (RBI), eight doubles (2B) and one home run (HR) with 11 multi-hit games and eight multiple-RBI games. The next season, he finished second on the team with a .349 average, one home run, and 36 RBIs in 62 games. He hit safely in 47 games and reached base in 56.[8]
However, Carpenter's junior season was cut short after eight games due to a tearing a ligament in his elbow while throwing from first base. Tommy John surgery was necessary making him the first TCU position player to undergo a procedure much more common for pitchers to have. As a result he was granted a two-year medical redshirt (RS). Because his weight increased to 240 pounds (110 kg) and he was rehabilitating his elbow at an age more advanced than most players who are drafted, doubt lingered about Carpenter's future as a professional baseball player. While he was very disciplined as a player, his discipline off the field was poor, including his grades and physical conditioning. This contributed to his weight being higher than average. Carpenter attributes personal motivation and a speech from his head coach Jim Schlossnagle to getting him motivated to change his habits off the field. Thus, he applied the same dedication off the field as he did on the field. As a result Carpenter lost 40 pounds (18 kg).[9]
While Carpenter was still rehabilitating during his junior year, major league outfielder Torii Hunter moved to Prosper, Texas, the same high school district where Rick Carpenter coached baseball. Hunter introduced himself to Carpenter because his son, Torii, Jr., would attend and play baseball there. The elder Hunter also met Matt Carpenter, who he eventually invited to train at the same gymnasium where he trained. It was an expensive facility, and at this point Carpenter was still in the minor leagues; he could not afford to pay for a membership at the gym. However Hunter covered the fees because he believed that Carpenter would take full advantage of the opportunity to train.[10]
In Carpenter's RS-junior season, he played in all 63 games and was named second-team all-conference at third base. He finished with a .283 batting average, team-high 11 home runs and 46 RBI and ranked third on the team with 48 runs scored.[8] His fifth-year senior season included a .333 batting average, .472 on-base percentage (OBP) and .662 slugging percentage (SLG) with 11 home runs.[11] Along with Carpenter's increased performance, TCU's overall strong effort nearly led to a College World Series appearance.[9] During his collegiate career, Carpenter broke school career records for games played (241) and at-bats (843), and finished second in hits (263), doubles (57) and walks (BB, with 150). He was named second-team All Mountain West Conference in 2006, 2008 and 2009.[8]
The St. Louis Cardinals selected Carpenter in the 13th round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft. Due to advanced age stemming from his redshirt senior season at TCU, he had little leverage in negotiations, and was forced to settle for a $1,000 bonus.[11] He spent his first professional season with various A-level teams, including the Batavia Muckdogs, Quad Cities River Bandits, and the Palm Beach Cardinals Between the three clubs, he batted .283 with two home runs and 22 RBIs. In 2010, Carpenter returned to Palm Beach to begin the year; over 28 games, he hit .283 while also drawing 26 walks, placing his OBP at .441.
This resulted in a call-up to the Springfield Cardinals, with whom he played 105 games. With Springfield he batted .316 with 76 runs scored, 26 doubles, 12 home runs, 53 RBIs, and 11 stolen bases. He was chosen as a Topps' Double-A All-Star, Texas Mid-Season All-Star, and Texas Post-Season All-Star for his 2010 season. Carpenter also garnered the TCN/Scout.com Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year and Cardinals organization Player of the Year awards for 2010.[12]
After his 2010 performance, Carpenter started to garner attention, and was expected to compete for one of the MLB Cardinals final roster openings the next spring training. Despite batting .333 with a .414 OBP and six extra base hits in spring training, he started the 2011 season in the minor leagues with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds of Pacific Coast League (PCL).[13] He spent 130 total games with Memphis, batting .300 with 12 home runs, seventy RBIs, 84 walks, a .417 on-base percentage, and a .483 slugging percentage. His OBP placed fourth in the PCL.[12]
Carpenter made his major league debut on June 4, 2011, starting at third base and batting seventh.[13] During his brief stint in the majors that year, he played seven games, collecting one double, a .067 batting average and four walks. The Cardinals qualified for the postseason by clinching the wild card, but left him off the postseason roster.[14][15] St. Louis became the World Series champions when they defeated the Texas Rangers. The Cardinals awarded Carpenter a championship ring for his contributions throughout the year.[16]
After the 2011 season, the departures of Albert Pujols and Nick Punto — along with an injury to Allen Craig — opened up an opportunity for Carpenter to make the major league club.[17] During the following spring training, he worked at first base and in the outfield to increase his versatility, where he served as a backup and spot starter in 2012 season. He made an early-season impact against the Chicago Cubs on April 15, driving in five runs with a home run and triple as the Cardinals won, 10–3.[18]
Incurring a right flank strain on May 23, the team placed Carpenter on the disabled list (DL). The injury happened while swinging the bat for a double. At the time, he was batting .288 with three home runs and 20 RBIs in 39 games while filling in at first base for the injured Lance Berkman.[19] In July, he made his first appearance at second base since turning professional.[20] He played in 114 games for the season, tallying 340 plate appearances and batting .294 with six home runs, 46 RBIs, 22 doubles, a .365 OBP, and .463 SLG.
"When guys get hurt, especially a guy like Carlos,
sometimes that can be kind of a letdown
from an energy standpoint as a team. I wanted
to do something that would bring some life back."
—Carpenter on hitting a home run after replacing
an injured Carlos Beltrán in the 2012 NLCS[21]
Carpenter hit his first career postseason home run on October 17, 2012, during Game 3 of the National League Championship Series (NLCS) against the San Francisco Giants. The two-run home run came with two out in the bottom of the third inning off Giants starter Matt Cain. Carpenter was inserted into the game from the bench to replace an injured Carlos Beltrán in the second inning.[21] After a lengthy rain delay, the Cardinals won the game 3–1 to take a two-game-to-one series lead in the NLCS.[21] However the Giants won the NLCS in seven games on their way to becoming the World Series champions.
Uncertain of where the club would find adequate offensive production from second base, the Cardinals advised Carpenter to work out there in the off-season prior to 2013. He had played mainly third base and had totaled just 18 total innings at second base since the Cardinals drafted him — all during the 2012 season after his major league call-up. After his tryout in spring training, he made the team as the starting second baseman.[22]
With Rafael Furcal out for the season due to injury, and Jon Jay starting the season slowly, the Cardinals clamored for productivity from their leadoff hitters. Manager Mike Matheny moved Carpenter into the leadoff spot midway through April in spite of him lacking the speed sought after for that post in the lineup. He responded by proving to be an all-around hitter, gaining his first All-Star selection at Citi Field with 25 doubles, 65 runs scored, and two 12-game hitting streaks at the All-Star break.[22]
With his 54th double on September 21, Carpenter broke Stan Musial's six decade-old franchise record for doubles (Musial's 53 came in 1953) by a left-handed batter.[23] He finished the season leading the Major Leagues in hits (199), doubles (55), and runs (126), while batting .318.[22] He also finished in the top ten in the NL in batting average, on-base percentage (.392), total bases (301), singles (126), triples (seven), walks (72), and adjusted OPS (143), among others.[2] Among NL leadoff hitters, he finished second in OBP to Shin-Soo Choo's .423.[24]
Despite his stellar regular season, Carpenter batted only .203 in the postseason. Against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLDS, he started slowly, managing just one hit in 19 at-bats (.053). He improved his batting average to .261 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS. In the fourth inning of Game 6, Carpenter faced Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw and lined a double to right field to end an 11-pitch at bat and ignite a four-run outburst. They eventually won, 9–0, securing a trip to the World Series.[25] Carpenter batted .296 in the World Series against the Boston Red Sox. However, in the ninth inning in Game 6 against Boston closer Koji Uehara, he struck out for the final out of the series and season, resulting in the Cardinals' elimination from the final round of the postseason.[26]
The following November, in earning his first Silver Slugger Award, Carpenter also became the first winner at second base in Cardinals history.[27] He finished fourth in the NL Most Valuable Player Award balloting.[28] He was also selected as the team finalist for Heart & Hustle Award; Boston's Dustin Pedroia was the winner.[29] The club then signed Carpenter to a six-year, $52 million extension to run through 2019 on March 6, 2014. Included was an option for 2020 worth $18.5 million. General manager John Mozeliak cited his work ethic as another factor in Carpenter getting the extension.[30]
With second base prospect Kolten Wong viewed as major league-ready, Carpenter moved back to his customary position of third base in 2014.[31] He continued as the Cardinals leadoff hitter.[32] He started the season slowly, batting .264 in April with three doubles and one home run. His productivity returned in May, when he batted .307 with 10 doubles.[33] However on May 15, his batting average had dropped to .256 with a .315 SLG.[34] From May 18 to June 1, he hit safely in 14 consecutive games and collected a combined 24 hits in 60 at-bats for a .400 batting average.[35]
