Chris Carpenter

Christopher John Carpenter (born April 27, 1975) is an American retired professional baseball starting pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2012. A Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion, he was also a three-time All-Star selection. In addition, he was twice named the Sporting News National League Pitcher of the Year, and voted for a number of Comeback Player of the Year awards for surmounting injury.The Blue Jays selected Carpenter in the first round of the 1993 amateur draft from Trinity High School in New Hampshire, and he made his MLB debut in 1997. However, injuries and ineffectiveness delayed his career before the Blue Jays released him in 2002. After the Cardinals signed him, he emerged as an ace in 2004, winning the Cy Young Award in 2005 and helping lead the Cardinals to World Series titles in 2006 and 2011. For much of his career, Carpenter relied on his cutter that produced a heavy bore and finished with a sharp drop, a 12-to-6 curveball and a sinker.Multiple injuries that were deemed career-threatening – including three surgeries on his elbow, two on his shoulder and another on his rib cage – caused Carpenter to miss nearly five full seasons. However, he rehabilitated and returned to pitch after each of these injuries. In nine seasons playing for the Cardinals, he won 95 regular-season games and compiled a 3.07 ERA in 197 starts and innings pitched. His .683 winning percentage during that period led the Major Leagues. In 18 postseason starts, he won 10 games with a 3.00 ERA over 108 innings.

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