Carter Lewis Capps (born August 7, 1990) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, and current pitching coach for the

Seattle Redhawks The Seattle Redhawks are the intercollegiate varsity athletic teams of Seattle University of Seattle, Washington. They compete in the NCAA's Division I as a member institution of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). History Between 1950 and ...

. Capps played in

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), ...

(MLB) for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

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 ...

, and Miami Marlins from 2012 to 2017.

Amateur career

Capps attended

North Lenoir High School North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

in LaGrange, North Carolina. He played for the school's baseball team as a backup

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. He enrolled at

Mount Olive College The University of Mount Olive (UMO or Mount Olive) is a private university in Mount Olive, North Carolina. Chartered in 1951, the university is sponsored by the Original Free Will Baptist Convention and accredited by the Southern Association of ...

and played for the baseball team as a

. He posted a 24–1

win–loss record In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of matc ...

after two years (including an NCAA Division II-record of 24 straight wins). In 2011, he played collegiate summer baseball in the

Cape Cod 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 ...

as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

for the

Harwich Mariners The Harwich Mariners are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Harwich, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Mariners play their home games at Whitehouse Fiel ...

, and was named a league all-star. He earned attention for a three-inning, five-strikeout performance on July 13, 2010, against

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

's collegiate all-star team.

Professional career

Seattle Mariners

Capps was drafted by the

in the third round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the firs ...

out of Mount Olive. After a poor 2011 debut with the

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

, in which he had a 1–1 record and a 6.00

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 ...

(ERA) in 18 innings, Capps improved dramatically with his performance as the closer for the

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Southern League in 2012. Before being promoted to the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960 ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). ...

Pacific Coast League Capps struck out 72 hitters in 50 innings and posted 19 saves, along with a 1.26 ERA. He pitched only innings in AAA. For his performance with the Generals, Capps was named the best relief pitcher in the Southern League in 2012. Capps was called up to the majors for the first time on July 31, 2012. He made his major league debut against 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 of ...

on August 3. His first recorded out was against Derek Jeter. Capps was recalled by the Mariners on August 6, 2013.

Miami Marlins

On December 13, 2013, the Mariners traded Capps to the Miami Marlins for

Logan Morrison Justis Logan Morrison (born August 25, 1987), nicknamed "LoMo", is an American professional baseball first baseman and left fielder for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has played in Major League Basebal ...

. In 2015, Capps pitched to a 1.16 ERA. On March 8, 2016, in Gulf Breeze, Florida,

Dr. James Andrews James Andrews (born May 2, 1942) is an American orthopedic surgeon. He is a surgeon for knee, elbow, and shoulder injuries and is a specialist in repairing damaged ligaments. Practicing in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Andrews has become one of the bes ...

performed Tommy John surgery on Capps, ruling him out for the 2016 season. Capps had entered spring training expecting to compete with A. J. Ramos for the role of Marlins closer.

San Diego Padres

On July 29, 2016, the Marlins traded Capps,

Josh Naylor Joshua-Douglas James Naylor (born June 22, 1997) is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the San Diego Padres. Naylor was the 12th overa ...

Jarred Cosart Jarred Lynn Cosart (born May 25, 1990) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres. Career Cosart attended Clear Creek High School in Le ...

, and Luis Castillo to the

for

Andrew Cashner Andrew Burton Cashner (born September 11, 1986) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres, Miami Marlins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Baltimor ...

, Colin Rea, Tayron Guerrero, and cash considerations. Capps began the 2017 season on the disabled list, to continue rehabbing from his previous Tommy John surgery. He was outrighted to Triple-A on March 26, 2018. Capps declared free agency on October 9, 2018.

Pitching style

Although his

four-seam fastball A four-seam fastball, also called a rising fastball, a four-seamer, or a cross-seam fastball, is a pitch in baseball. It is a member of the fastball family of pitches and is usually the hardest (i.e., fastest) ball thrown by a pitcher. It is c ...

was in the low 90s as a starter in college, it averaged 99 mph out of the bullpen in the majors, as-well at times 100-101 MPH. He paired the hard fastball with a sweeping curveball at 81–85 mph and an occasional

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

against left-handed hitters. With his tall frame, Capps releases the ball at a low three-quarters arm angle far to the side of the pitching rubber, making it difficult for right-handed hitters to pick up the ball out of his hand. He was notable for having a unique leaping hitch in his delivery, which was described as a "slide skip", a "hop-step", and a "crow-hop". The delivery shortened the distance between him and the batter before he released the ball. The delivery was reviewed by MLB and deemed legal, despite a rule change concerning pitching before the 2017 season.

Coaching career

On January 12, 2021, Capps joined the

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 ...

organization as a minor league pitching coach and coordinator. On November 23, 2021, Capps was announced as the new pitching coach for the

, Seattle University's men's baseball team which competes in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I as a member institution of the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

, returning him to the city where he began his major league career.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Capps, Carter 1990 births Living people People from Kinston, North Carolina Baseball players from North Carolina Major League Baseball pitchers Seattle Mariners players Miami Marlins players San Diego Padres players Mount Olive Trojans baseball players Harwich Mariners players Clinton LumberKings players Jackson Generals (Southern League) players Tacoma Rainiers players New Orleans Zephyrs players Gulf Coast Marlins players Lake Elsinore Storm players El Paso Chihuahuas players