William Christopher Carter (born September 16, 1982), nicknamed "Animal", is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

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 catch ...

who played for 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

between 2008 and 2010. He also played for the

Saitama Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway ...

Nippon Professional Baseball is a professional baseball league and the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning simply ''Professional Baseball''; outside of Japan, NPB is often referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league ...

Career

High school

Carter attended De La Salle High School in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

, and graduated in 2001. He hit for a

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .571 and led the league in

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s as a senior, and was named his team's

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

. He also was named a 2001 Preseason First Team All-American by Baseball America and Bay Valley Athletic League MVP in 2001. He was twice selected as North Coast Section High School Sports Focus Scholar-Athlete of the Year (2000, '01) and earned honorable mention All-American honors from

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

as a junior in 2000. His father, Bill Carter, was his high school coach.

College

Carter attended

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

, where he majored in

human biology Human biology is an interdisciplinary area of academic study that examines humans through the influences and interplay of many diverse fields such as genetics, evolution, physiology, anatomy, epidemiology, anthropology, ecology, nutrition, populat ...

and was Pre-Med, graduating in just three years. He was awarded Stanford's Most Valuable Freshman Award in and helped the Cardinal to the final eight in the

2002 College World Series The 2002 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was played at the end of the 2002 NCAA Division I baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the College World Seri ...

and 2003 College World Series. He was mainly a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. Unlike other players in a team's lineup, they generally only play as an offensive player and usually do not play defense as ...

for the team, and played some outfield as well. In 2002 and 2003, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox.

Minor leagues

Carter was drafted as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and

by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

in the 17th round (506th overall) of the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. In , Carter played for the Single-A

Yakima Bears The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season ...

and

South Bend Silver Hawks South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

. In , he played for the Single-A

Lancaster JetHawks The Lancaster JetHawks were a baseball team located in Lancaster, California. They were named for the city's association with the aerospace industry and played their home games at The Hangar. From 1996 to 2020, they were members of Minor League B ...

and Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

. In and , Carter played for the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson metropolitan s ...

. After expressing a desire to be traded, Carter was traded by the Diamondbacks on August 21, 2007, to the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

for

Emiliano Fruto Emiliano Ricardo Fruto roo'-toh/small> (born June 6, 1984) is a Colombian former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Seattle Mariners in its 2006 season. Listed at 6' 3" ft. .90 m. 230 lb. 07 k./small>, Fruto batted an ...

. He was subsequently sent to the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the August 17 trade of Wily Mo Peña from the Red Sox to the Nationals. After the trade, Carter was assigned to Triple-A Pawtucket. On November 20, 2007, Carter was placed on the Red Sox 40-man roster.

Boston Red Sox

Carter made his major league debut on June 5, 2008. He went 2-for-3 with two runs scored after entering the game when Coco Crisp was ejected in the second inning. With the Red Sox facing a possible Crisp suspension and injuries to both

Jacoby Ellsbury Jacoby McCabe Ellsbury ( ; born September 11, 1983) is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox from 2007 through 2013 and then played for the New York Yankees from 2 ...

and Manny Ramírez, Carter was sent back to Pawtucket on June 6 in favor of Brandon Moss. Chris Carter - Pawtucket Red Sox

In the 2009 season, Carter made the Red Sox Opening Day roster. He filled the final spot on the bench until Mark Kotsay returned from the

disabled list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 Major League Baseball season, 2019 season, it was known as the disabl ...

New York Mets

Carter was traded to the

as a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

in the deal for

Billy Wagner William Edward Wagner (born July 25, 1971), nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston ...

, and was then added to the 40-man roster. During spring training, Carter was given the nickname "The Animal" by Mets manager

Jerry Manuel Jerry Lorenzo Manuel Sr. (born December 23, 1953), nicknamed "the Sage", is an American former professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, and San Diego Padres ...

for his relentless drive and work ethic. On May 10, 2010, the Mets promoted Carter from the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

to fill Frank Catalonotto's roster spot. On May 11, 2010, his first at-bat as a Met, in the bottom of the eighth inning, he hit a double that drove in the winning run against the Washington Nationals. On June 11, 2010, Carter hit his first major league home run against

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

pitcher

Jeremy Guthrie Jeremy Shane Guthrie (born April 8, 1979) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, Kansas City Royals, and Washington Nationals. ...

as the

. Two days later, Carter, again playing DH, hit his second home run against Orioles pitcher Kevin Millwood.

Tampa Bay Rays

Carter agreed a minor league contract with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

on January 6, 2011. He opted out of his contract on June 16.

Atlanta Braves

Carter signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

on June 18, 2011.

Saitama Seibu Lions

On March 3, 2012, Carter signed with the

of the

Pacific League The , or , or the , due to sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the a ...

. Carter was waived by the Lions after the 2012 season. In the first part of 2013 he played for the semi-professional Ishikawa Million Stars in the independent Baseball Challenge League. On June 16, 2013, it was announced that Carter would be returning to the

Acereros de Monclova

On April 24, 2014, Carter signed with the

Acereros de Monclova The Acereros de Monclova (English: Monclova Steelers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports l ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He was released on June 13. In 27 games he hit .384/.410/.485 with 2 home runs and 14 RBIs.

Vaqueros Laguna

On June 14, 2014, Carter signed with the Vaqueros Laguna of the

. He was released on July 1. In 13 games he hit .269/.321/.404 with 1 home run and 8 RBIs.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Chris 1982 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Azucareros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Boston Red Sox players Bravos de Margarita players 21st-century American sportsmen Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Durham Bulls players Gwinnett Braves players Ishikawa Million Stars players Lancaster JetHawks players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball left fielders Mexican League baseball right fielders New York Mets players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Pawtucket Red Sox players Baseball players from Fremont, California Saitama Seibu Lions players South Bend Silver Hawks players Stanford Cardinal baseball players Stanford University alumni Tennessee Smokies players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tigres de Aragua players Tucson Sidewinders players Vaqueros Laguna players Yakima Bears players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players De La Salle High School (Concord, California) alumni