One in a series
Box-Toppers’ Stick-A-Fork-In-Them series looks at 14 players whose careers are done or may be done. Included is a look at how they have fared in Box-Toppers points over their careers, reflecting their impact on the game over time. This is the 12th of the series:
12. Chris Carpenter
Chris Carpenter, who retired at the end of the 2013 season, led all National League pitchers in Box-Toppers points in 2005, the same year he won the NL Cy Young Award.
Chris Carpenter
Here are Chris Carpenter's Box-Toppers statistics. The third column shows his Box-Toppers points (BTP) per season. The final column shows his All-Star Selections, his Box-Toppers key season rankings and his standing in key postseason awards voting.| Year | Team | BTP | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | tor al | 1.0 | |
| 1998 | tor al | 5.7 | |
| 1999 | tor al | 5.0 | |
| 2000 | tor al | 2.0 | |
| 2001 | tor al | 10.0 | BTP-67, BTP-AL pi-21 |
| 2002 | tor al | 1.0 | |
| 2003 | stl nl | 0.0 | |
| 2004 | stl nl | 10.7 | BTP-41, BTP-NL pi-17 |
| 2005 | stl nl | 21.0 | AS, BTP-2, BTP-NL pi-1, CYA-1, MVP-8 |
| 2006 | stl nl | 15.4 | AS, BTP-9, BTP-NL pi-4, CYA-3, MVP-19 |
| 2007 | stl nl | 0.0 | |
| 2008 | stl nl | 1.0 | |
| 2009 | stl nl | 15.7 | BTP-14, BTP-NL pi-4, CYA-2, MVP-14 |
| 2010 | stl nl | 16.1 | AS, BTP-10, BTP-NL pi-6 |
| 2011 | stl nl | 8.7 | |
| 2012 | stl nl | 0.0 | |
| 2013 | stl nl | 0.0 | |
| Total | 113.3 | BTP-37, BTP-pi-24 |
AS All-star selection
BTP Finish among all players in Box-Toppers points
BTP-AL pi Finish among all AL pitchers in BTP
BTP-NL pi Finish among all NL pitchers in BTP
CYA Finish in league Cy Young Award voting
MVP Finish in league Most Valuable Player Award voting
Source: Information for player awards comes from Baseball-Reference.com
Carpenter, 38, was also among the top 10 NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points four times in his 17-year career and three times among the top three in NL Cy Young voting.
Carpenter recorded 113.3 career Box-Toppers points, 24th among all pitchers and 37th among all players (Box-Toppers record keeping began in 1995). He battled injury several times during his career but consistently battled back to pitch effectively and rank among the league’s top players in Box-Toppers points.
He was NL Comeback Player of the Year in 2009 with the Cardinals and a two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals in 2006 and 2011.
He began his career in 1997 with the Blue Jays and moved to the Cardinals in 2004. Injuries prevented him from playing in 2003 and 2013, his final season. He played in only three games in 2012. And he earned his final Box-Toppers points Sept. 28, 2011, when he was Player of the Day.
Some career highlights:
• In 2001 with the Blue Jays, he had 10.0 Box-Toppers points, 21st among American League pitchers and 67th among all players.
• In 2004 with the Cardinals, he had 10.7 Box-Toppers points, 17th among NL pitchers and 41st among all players. He had only 1.0 Box-Toppers point during the previous two seasons—2002 and 2003.
• In 2005, he had 21.0 Box-Toppers points, a career high, the most among NL pitchers and second among all players (behind only Johan Santana of the Twins, with 24.1.) Carpenter won the NL Cy Young Award over Dontrelle Willis of the Marlins (Willis had 18.7 Box-Toppers points, third among NL pitchers).
• In 2006, he had 15.4 Box-Toppers points, fourth among NL pitchers and ninth among all players. He finished third in NL Cy Young voting. (Brandon Webb of the Diamondbacks won the NL Cy Young. Webb had 13.4 Box-Toppers points, ninth among NL pitchers. John Smoltz of the Braves led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 19.1.)
• In 2009, he had 15.7 Box-Toppers points after scoring only 1.0 point the previous two seasons—2007 and 2008. Carpenter ranked fourth among NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points and 14th among all players. He finished second in NL Cy Young voting. (Tim Lincecum of the Giants won the NL Cy Young and led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 19.7.)
• In 2010, he had 16.1 Box-Toppers points, sixth among NL pitchers and 10th among all players. Though it was his second-best season in Box-Toppers points, he received no NL Cy Young votes. Roy Halladay won the NL Cy Young and led NL pitchers in Box-Toppers points with 23.4.
Carpenter had six seasons with 10.0 or more Box-Toppers points, three seasons with 15.0 or more and one season with 20.0 or more.
Box-Toppers tracks who most helps their team win the most games. Using standard box score statistics, Box-Toppers uses a simple formula to determine a Player of the Game for each Major League Baseball game played. That player is the person who contributed most to his team’s win. Players earn Box-Toppers points for being named Player of the Game and can earn bonus points for being Player of the Day or top player or batter in their league for the day.
Coming next in the series: Lance Berkman
Previously in the series: Alex Rodriguez, Roy Halladay, Manny Ramirez, Johan Santana, Jim Thome, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera, Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, Todd Helton, Barry Zito