William Christopher Carter (born September 16, 1982), nicknamed "Animal", 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 cat ...

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

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, wh ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

Career

High school

Carter attended De La Salle High School in

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the largest city in Contra Costa County, California. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 129,295 in 2019 making it the eighth largest city in the San Francisco Ba ...

, 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 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 i ...

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

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. 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'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

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

College

Carter attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, 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, human ecology, ecology, hum ...

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 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. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

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 one thousan ...

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 (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

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 east and west. 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 ...

and Double-A

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off Int ...

. In and , Carter played for the Triple-A

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. 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.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

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 and ...

. He was subsequently sent to the Red Sox as the player to be named later in the August 17 trade of

Wily Mo Peña Wily Modesto Peña Gutierrez (born January 23, 1982) is a Dominican professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Red Sox, Washington National ...

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 Covelli Loyce "Coco" Crisp (born November 1, 1979) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and MiLB team manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Kansas City Royals, and Oaklan ...

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 Manuel Arístides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30, 1972) is a Dominican Americans (Dominican Republic), Dominican-American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for parts of 19 seasons. He played with ...

, Carter was sent back to Pawtucket on June 6 in favor of

Brandon Moss Brandon Douglas Moss (born September 16, 1983) is an Americans, American former professional baseball outfielder / first baseman / designated hitter (DH). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Phil ...

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

Mark Kotsay Mark Steven Kotsay (born December 2, 1975) is an American professional baseball manager and former outfielder. He is the manager for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Kotsay appeared in 1,914 MLB games for the San ...

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 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

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). He pitched for the Houston Astros (1995–2003), Philadelphia Phil ...

, 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 a former major league manager. He previously managed the Chicago White Sox from 1998 to 2003 and the New York Mets from the middle of 2008 to 2010 and played in the major ...

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 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) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

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 Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Colo ...

. Carter agreed a minor league contract with the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

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 (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

on June 18, 2011.

Saitama Seibu Lions

On March 3, 2012, Carter signed with the

of the

Pacific League The or 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 annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

. 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 The Route Inn BCL, formerly known as the , is an independent minor baseball league in Japan. The league's abbreviated designation is "." League structure The Baseball Challenge League has three divisions, East, Middle, and West, with four teams ...

. On June 16, 2013, it was announced that Carter would be returning to the

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 Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Bravos de Margarita players 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 People from Fremont, California Saitama Seibu Lions players South Bend Silver Hawks players Sportspeople from the San Francisco Bay Area 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