Carl Edward Everett III (born June 3, 1971) is an American former
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...
outfielder
An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...
. A
switch hitter
In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers.
Characteristics
Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...
, he played for eight teams over the course of a 14-year career.
He was a member of the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
when they won the
2005 World Series
The 2005 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2005 Major League Baseball season, 2005 season. The 101st edition of the World Series, it was a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven ...
. He threw right-handed and played all outfield positions, and occasionally
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
.
High school years
Everett attended
Hillsborough High School in
Tampa, Florida
Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...
and was a
letterman in
football, baseball, and
track. In football, he garnered 948 rushing yards as a senior. Everett graduated from Hillsborough High School in 1990.
Playing career
He was the 10th overall pick in the
1990 Major League Baseball Draft
The 1990 Major League Baseball ( MLB) Draft was held in June 1990. The draft placed amateur baseball players onto major league teams. 1,487 players were distributed to 26 teams. The draft consisted of first round selections, supplemental first ...
, selected by the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
. He was selected by the
Florida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park.
The fra ...
in the
1992 MLB expansion draft, and made his major league debut with the Marlins on July 1, .
Everett was traded to the Mets after the 1994 season for
Quilvio Veras
Quilvio Alberto Veras Perez (born April 3, 1971) is a Dominican former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Atlanta Braves. Veras has coached in the minor le ...
. He had his first full season in with 443
at-bat
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...
s. He
hit .248 that season, with a .420
slugging percentage
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player ...
.
After the 1997 season, Everett was traded to the
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...
for
John Hudek. He hit .325 with 27
stolen bases in . That year, his .571 slugging percentage was in the top 10 in the league.
After being traded on December 14, 1999, to the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...
for minor leaguers
Adam Everett
Jeffery Adam Everett (born February 5, 1977), is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played college baseball for both the NC State Wolfpack and South Carolina Gamecocks. He was drafted in the first round of ...
and Greg Miller, he had a career high 34
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...
s in . The Boston fans welcomed him at first, but their enthusiasm cooled somewhat after he was suspended for 10 days for bumping into umpire
Ron Kulpa
Ronald Clarence Kulpa (born October 5, 1968) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46.
Umpiring career
Kulpa's professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Kulpa ...
. The following year, Everett was fined for grabbing his crotch while yelling at
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
pitcher
Jamie Moyer
Jamie Moyer (born November 18, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Over his 25-year career in Major League Baseball (MLB), Moyer pitched for the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers, St. Louis Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Boston ...
after hitting a home run. He struggled in , with a shoulder injury hampering his performance, and ongoing controversy with the Boston media serving as a distraction to the team. One of the few bright spots for Everett that season came on September 2, 2001, when Everett came into the game as a pinch hitter and broke up a potential
perfect game by
Mike Mussina
Michael Cole Mussina (born December 8, 1968), nicknamed "Moose", is an American former baseball starting pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1991–2000) and the New York Yankees (2001–2008). ...
of the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...
. Mussina had retired the first 26 Boston Red Sox and gotten two strikes on Everett before he hit a soft single to left center.
On December 12, 2001, Everett was traded to the
Texas Rangers for
Darren Oliver
Darren Christopher Oliver (born October 6, 1970) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He is a second generation major league player, as his father Bob Oliver played in the major leagues for nine seasons between 1967 and 1975.
...
. His nine home runs in April 2003 matched a team record that was shared (through 2008) with
Iván Rodríguez
Iván Rodríguez Torres (born November 27, 1971), nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball catcher. He played for the Texas Rangers (in two separate stints, comprising the majority of his career), Florida ...
(2000),
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...
(2002), and
Ian Kinsler
Ian Michael Kinsler ( he, איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball second baseman, World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, Olympian, and advisor in the San Diego Padres fron ...
(2007).
Everett was traded to the
Chicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...
during the 2003 season for
Frank Francisco
Franklin Thomas Francisco (born September 11, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets and Chicago White Sox.
Baseball career
Fr ...
,
Josh Rupe and Anthony Webster. He signed as a free agent with the
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They p ...
for the 2004 season, but was traded back to the White Sox on July 18, 2004 for
Gary Majewski
Gary Wayne Majewski (; born February 26, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Montreal Expos, Washington Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, and Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Majewski gradua ...
and
Jon Rauch.
In October , Everett won his first and only World Series championship with the White Sox. Everett stepped in as the starting DH for most of that season for the White Sox after an early season injury to
Frank Thomas.
On December 14, 2005, Everett was signed by the
Mariners off the
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
market to a one-year contract for the season, with a vesting option for . On
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is a celebration honoring the mother of the family or individual, as well as motherhood, maternal bonds, and the influence of mothers in society. It is celebrated on different days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the ...
, May 14, 2006, Everett was one of more than 50 hitters who brandished a
pink bat
In baseball, pink bats are limited-supply baseball bats manufactured by Louisville Slugger for use by select Major League Baseball players on Mother's Day, first introduced in 2006 in association with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization. ...
to benefit th
Breast Cancer Foundation
The majority of the time, he was a
designated hitter
The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...
and very rarely played the field, backing up the corner outfield positions. He played in 92 games before the Mariners designated Everett for assignment on July 26, 2006, effectively ending his tenure with the Mariners organization. At the time of his release, Larry Stone pointed out in the Seattle Times, he was 85th out of 86 AL players with qualifying at bats in batting average, at .227.
In 2007, Everett played for the
Long Island Ducks
The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "part ...
of the
Atlantic League of Professional Baseball
The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...
. In 2007, he hit .312 with 25 home runs and 97 RBI. In 2008, he hit .327 with 29 home runs and 100 RBI in 115 games.
On May 11, 2009, Everett agreed to a contract with the
Newark Bears
The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. ...
of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball to be their designated hitter.
Controversy
Everett is quite outspoken with his beliefs, and his remarks have proven controversial on several occasions. Perhaps the best-known of these was his denial of the existence of
dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of reptiles of the clade Dinosauria. They first appeared during the Triassic period, between 243 and 233.23 million years ago (mya), although the exact origin and timing of the evolution of dinosaurs is t ...
s. He was quoted as saying, "God created the sun, the stars, the heavens and the earth, and then made
Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors ...
. The Bible never says anything about dinosaurs. You can't say there were dinosaurs when you never saw them. Somebody actually saw Adam and Eve eating apples. No one ever saw a ''
Tyrannosaurus rex
''Tyrannosaurus'' is a genus of large theropod dinosaur. The species ''Tyrannosaurus rex'' (''rex'' meaning "king" in Latin), often called ''T. rex'' or colloquially ''T-Rex'', is one of the best represented theropods. ''Tyrannosaurus'' live ...
''." He also derided
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
s of dinosaur bones as man-made fakes.
In reference to these comments, ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' columnist
Dan Shaughnessy
Dan Shaughnessy (born July 20, 1953) is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for '' The Boston Globe'' since 1981. In 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Shaughnessy is often r ...
dubbed Everett "
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The J ...
Carl." Everett, in turn, referred to Shaughnessy as the "curly-haired boyfriend" of Globe beat writer
Gordon Edes.
Everett in an interview with Shaughnessy,
questioned the validity of the
Apollo Moon Landing.
Everett frequently got into altercations with umpires during his career. Some of these tirades have resulted in suspensions and fines. Everett's longest suspension came during the 2000 season after an incident in which he bumped heads with umpire
Ron Kulpa
Ronald Clarence Kulpa (born October 5, 1968) is an American umpire in Major League Baseball. He wears uniform number 46.
Umpiring career
Kulpa's professional umpiring career began in 1992 and he advanced to the Pacific Coast League in 1998. Kulpa ...
while arguing Kulpa's ruling that Everett's batting stance was illegal. Everett was suspended for 10 games and fined $5,000. Everett has stated that he thrives on being hated, and that it keeps him on top of his game. Opposing players, umpires, and even his own teammates are not immune, as evidenced by his postgame shouting match with Seattle manager
Mike Hargrove
Dudley Michael Hargrove (born October 26, 1949) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. He is currently employed as an advisor with the Cleveland Guardians.
Hargrove batted and threw left-handed. He played for the Texas Rang ...
after a 14–6 loss to the
Los Angeles Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
on July 5, 2006.
Everett has also made controversial remarks about
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to pe ...
. He once said that if he had an openly gay teammate that he would consider retiring, or, at the very least, "set him straight." In the 2005 season, he told ''
Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
*Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim ...
'' that he has had gay teammates and accepted them, but, "Gays being gay is wrong. Two women can't produce a baby, two men can't produce a baby, so it's not how it's supposed to be. … I don't believe in gay marriages. I don't believe in being gay."
In 1997, Everett temporarily lost custody of two of his children when a worker at Shea Stadium noticed his five-year-old daughter covered in bruises. A family court judge found enough evidence to suggest child neglect on behalf of Everett and his wife, Linda, the latter whom "inflicted excessive corporal punishment" on the children that Everett did nothing to stop. The Everetts never admitted to abuse or neglect, and a settlement was reached where they could be reunited with their children after undergoing therapy and attending parenting classes.
In April 2011, Everett was arrested at his home in Tampa on charges of
aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and tampering with a witness. Everett held a handgun to the head of his wife of 18 years. He was held at a $5,500 bond and ordered no violent contact with his wife, who asked for his release so he could take care of their three children. In September 2011, he was arrested again, for assaulting a family member.
References
External links
, o
Retrosheet o
Long Island Ducks o
Pelota Binaria (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Everett, Carl
1971 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
African-American Christians
American expatriate baseball players in Canada
American League All-Stars
Baseball players from Tampa, Florida
Boston Red Sox players
Brevard County Manatees players
Charlotte Rangers players
Chicago White Sox players
American Christian creationists
Edmonton Trappers players
Florida Marlins players
Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
Greensboro Hornets players
Gulf Coast Red Sox players
High Desert Mavericks players
Houston Astros players
Long Island Ducks players
Major League Baseball designated hitters
Major League Baseball outfielders
Montreal Expos players
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
New York Mets players
Newark Bears players
Norfolk Tides players
Players of American football from Tampa, Florida
Prince William Cannons players
Sarasota Red Sox players
Seattle Mariners players
Texas Rangers players
21st-century African-American sportspeople
20th-century African-American sportspeople