Conrad Powell "Nick" Carter (May 19, 1879 – November 23, 1961), was a professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player. He played one season in

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 ...

as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in 1908 for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

Early career

Carter attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Carter was drafted by Athletics' owner and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

in 1907 after playing minor league baseball for the Syracuse Stars of the

New York State League The New York State League was an independent baseball league that played six seasons between 2007 and 2012 in New York State and the New York City metro area. Over 500 NYSL players have been signed by professional teams. Players from forty-eigh ...

from 1903 to 1907. He was considered the best pitcher in the league that season by New York State League team managers.

Philadelphia Athletics

Carter pitched a late 1908 spring training game against the Athletics' cross-town rivals the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and his performance was praised by the Philadelphia newspapers. Although he had never played in the majors prior to 1908, he was the Athletics' Opening Day starting pitcher on April 14, 1908, against the

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

Hilltop Park Hilltop Park was a ballpark in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It was the home of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball from 1903 to 1912 when they were known as the "Highlanders". It was also the temp ...

. The Athletics lost that game. For the 1908 season, and his career, he pitched in 14 games, with 5 starts and 2

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s. He had a

win–loss record Win–loss may refer to: * Win–loss analytics, analysis of the reasons why a visitor to a website was or wasn't persuaded to engage in a desired action * Win–loss record, also winning percentage * Win–loss record (pitching), the number of ...

of 2–5 and an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 2.97. He had 17 walks and 17

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s. The ''Cameron County Press'' described Carter as "a big husky chap" who has "great speed, good

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and an excellent spitter."

Return to the minor leagues

On June 8, 1908, Carter gave up 7 runs in less than 4 innings in a 10–0 loss to the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

. A few days later Carter was sold to the Kansas City Blues of the minor league American Association. Carter pitched in 26 games for the Blues in 1908, pitching 208 innings and posting a 10–13 won-lost record. In 1909 he spent the entire season with the Blues, pitching in 32 games and 229 innings, posting a 15–12 record. By 1911 he was back in the

, pitching for the Elmira Colonels. He had a 10–13 won-lost record in 34 games for the Colonels in 1911. In 1913, he pitched for the

Newport News Shipbuilders The Newport News Shipbuilders were a minor league baseball team based in Newport News, Virginia. The Shipbuilders first played as members of the Virginia League in 1900 and the 1901 Virginia-North Carolina League. Newport News then resumed minor l ...

of the

Virginia League The Virginia League was a minor league baseball affiliation which operated in Virginia and North Carolina from 1906 to 1928. It was classified as a "C" league from 1906 to 1919 and as a "B" league from 1920 to 1928, folding in June. The most fa ...

. There he posted a 12–10 won-lost record in 28 games and 216 innings.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Nick Philadelphia Athletics players 20th-century American sportsmen Major League Baseball pitchers Virginia Cavaliers baseball players Syracuse Stars (minor league baseball) players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Elmira Colonels players Newport News Shipbuilders players Baseball players from Loudoun County, Virginia 1879 births 1961 deaths