With chapel getting no traction, Wainwright instead started inviting Carpenter to a charity golf tournament he held in Georgia. Adam Wainwright gave Chris Carpenter a Bible in After being asked to go to this tournament for a few years, Carpenter finally said yes. Lost, broken, isolated, alone. Fifteen minutes later, Carpenter says a cab showed up. It was a man, his wife and in the backseat was their dog. They asked me how I got out here.
I packed my bag and went to the airport. And how He took care of me and how He saved me. He is everything to me, is what He is. Did you know that when Chris, his nickname, was drafted directly out of Trinity High School, by the Blue Jays , he became the first player from New Hampshire ever taken in the first round of a baseball draft?
Did you know that not one Cards ' twirler since Carp has won a Cy Young? Did you know he was the last Cardinal pitcher to lead all National League pitchers in earned run average? Louis lost to the New York Mets , Carpenter injured his arm, lost his first Opening Day game, and did not appear in another big league game that season — the first Cardinals ' twirler to start an Opening Day game, but miss the remainder of the season.
A healthy Chris Carpenter, who underwent Tommy John Surgery in , made a tremendous comeback in , winning 7, losing 4, a league leading. Seven years later, Carpenter was inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame! Copyright In late September Carpenter began feeling pain in the biceps in his throwing arm. Resting it did not help; there was some kind of nerve irritation in the arm, and neither the team doctor nor the specialist could predict when it would get better. No one was more frustrated and disappointed than Carpenter.
While Red Sox fans rejoiced in their first World Series win in 86 years, Cardinals fans wondered if he would ever stay healthy for a full season. He did not disappoint, pitching seven innings of four-hit, one-run baseball in a victory over Houston.
It was a preview of things to come. By the All-Star break Carpenter had strikeouts and 13 wins, one of which was against his former team, the Blue Jays; he overpowered them, throwing a one-hitter in an interleague game the Cardinals won He gave up two hits, induced a double play, and pitched a scoreless inning.
He was so overpowering that he did not lose a game in 16 starts from June 14 to September 8; during that period, he went with a 1. He had experienced back spasms in April, and they had never improved; he now had some stiffness in the shoulder area, and was finally diagnosed with bursitis. It was affecting his mechanics, and some time on the DL seemed prudent, given his history.
Meanwhile, the Cardinals began to play like champs, defeating the Detroit Tigers in five games in the World Series. When he came to spring training in , he soon began to experience elbow stiffness, soreness, and inflammation.
He was diagnosed with arthritis and an MRI showed bone spurs. It was hoped that a cortisone shot and some rest would be all that was needed. The hope was that he would return to the Cardinals in about three months. In fact, not only was Carpenter not coming back in August; he needed additional elbow surgery, to replace his medial collateral ligament, better known as Tommy John surgery.
He would probably miss much of By mid-July of Carpenter was far enough along in his recovery to begin an injury rehab assignment; he pitched four pain-free innings for the Double-A Springfield Missouri Cardinals, and while he did not have his command back yet, the outing was encouraging. In fact, Cardinals said he would return to the team at the end of the month. He made several appearances with the Cardinals, and all seemed to be going well; but then, in mid-August, Carpenter experienced soreness in his triceps area.
Again he had to go see the specialists. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the diagnosis was just a mild muscle strain on the back side of his right shoulder. But it still meant another trip to the DL, certainly not what Carpenter had hoped. And there was worse news: Tests showed nerve irritation in his shoulder, and he was told not to pitch any more in It was becoming increasingly difficult for Carpenter to remain positive.
All he wanted to do was pitch, but it seemed there was one obstacle after another. Still, Carpenter persevered. He was back at spring training in , and early indications were that his velocity had returned.
The season brought him some much-needed good news: he threw well, and looked like the dominant pitcher everyone saw in And there was one other interesting note: In early October, on the last day of the season, Carpenter a. The vote was very close, and not everyone agreed with the decision. The season saw Carpenter continuing to put up good numbers. He made a league-leading 35 starts, finishing at and a 3. But he pitched one complete game, and said that at times he felt uncomfortable with his mechanics.
His record was , with a 3. In , however, Carpenter was injured again, this time with a nerve problem that affected his rotator cuff. Determined to continue pitching, he agreed to another surgical procedure, but he made only three starts that year, and was winless. Things did not improve for him in , when he experienced periods of numbness in his pitching hand. He was unsuccessful in completing a rehab assignment. Finally, Carpenter decided there was no point in living with continued pain that made it impossible for him to be effective.
In November he announced his retirement. In spite of all the injuries, he compiled an impressive record during his major-league career: wins and 94 losses he went with the Cardinals , with an ERA of 3. He hoped to come back to the Cardinals in some capacity in the future. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame. Louis Post-Dispatch , July 30, D1. Louis Post-Dispatch , August 16, D1. John, British Columbia , February 21, 8. Louis Post-Dispatch , July 6, F9.
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