Joe Carter

Lore & Background

Carter attended Wichita State University, batting .430 in three seasons and playing in the team's first NCAA tournament appearance in 1980. He was selected second overall in the 1981 MLB draft by the Chicago Cubs. He made his MLB debut in 1983. In 1986, he led the American League in RBIs with 121. He was traded to the Cleveland Indians in 1984 and played for them through 1989. He later played for the San Diego Padres in 1990 and the Toronto Blue Jays from 1991 to 1997. With the Blue Jays, he was a five-time All-Star and won two Silver Slugger Awards. He hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series to win the championship, becoming the second player to end a World Series with a home run. He played his final season in 1998 with the Baltimore Orioles and San Francisco Giants.

In Their Own Story

The October air in Cleveland hangs thick and cold off the lake, but inside the old stadium the lights hum with a warm, amber glow. Carter is in the on-deck circle, a towel draped over his shoulders, his eyes fixed on the pitcher's mound a hundred and forty feet away. The crowd noise is a low, rolling tide—thousands of fans in windbreakers and flannel, their breath visible in the chill. He grips the bat, feels the familiar groove of the handle, and watches the next batter step in. He does not need to swing tonight. He does not need to swing ever again. But his hands still remember the rhythm, the violent, full-extension arc that once sent a ball tumbling over the left-field wall and into the dark. He taps the bat on the ground once, twice, and walks back to the dugout. The season is over. The next one will be someone else's.

Reader's Guide

Carter played for the Cleveland Indians from 1984 to 1989, not 1985–1987. He is American, not Canadian, and was not born in Toronto. His walk-off home run in the 1993 World Series won the championship for the Blue Jays. He recorded the final out of the 1992 World Series. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2003.

Did You Know?

• Carter led the American League in RBIs in 1986 with 121.
• He hit a walk-off home run in Game 6 of the 1993 World Series to win the championship for the Toronto Blue Jays.
• Carter was the second player to end a World Series with a home run, after Bill Mazeroski in 1960.
• He was a five-time All-Star and won two Silver Slugger Awards.