Chris Carpenter
Chris Carpenter
Christopher John "Chris" Carpenteris an American retired professional baseball starting pitcher. He played 15 seasons in Major League Baseballfor the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals from 1997 to 2012. A Cy Young Award winner and two-time World Series champion, he was also a three-time All-Star selection. In addition, he was twice named the Sporting News National League Pitcher of the Year, and voted for a number of Comeback Player of the Year awards for surmounting injury...
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth27 April 1975
CityExeter, NH
They are a lot like our club. They take quality at-bats. They are patient and they have an idea about what they are doing and the pitcher they are facing. They've got speed. They've got some guys who can hit the ball out of the park. They have got quality guys from top to bottom, and you've definitely got to be on your game and make quality pitches to get these guys out.
I thought I kept the ball down in the strike zone,
I got my work in and I'm ready to go. I kept the ball down.
Oh yeah. I knew. I got a little careless in the sixth with the catcher there, throwing him a bunch of breaking balls in a row. That's why it's so hard to do it. I wasn't concerned about it. I wanted to win the game, and we did.
Since the time in Oakland to now he's become a different pitcher. Now he pitches. He's thinking about location. He's thinking about the count. He's thinking about working the hitter. He's not just thinking about heaving the ball as hard as he can.
I hate losing, never mind losing that way, not being able to make an adjustment and get the ball down in the strike zone. It's just an angry, disgusting, embarrassing feeling.
I had pretty good sink on my fastball, my cutter was good, my breaking ball was good.
I felt like I kept the ball down in the strike zone, and that's why I was getting those ground balls,
Every ball was up in the strike zone. No matter who you're facing, you're going to give up hits when you do that.
It was a strange night. I put good swings on two balls and hit them hard. It was nice, but it would have been nice to win.
We won't know what everything is like until we play in it. If the ball is going to carry, if it's not. No matter what the stadium is, you deal with it. It's going to be there for a long time.
I was cruising along and I felt like I was throwing the ball well, and got there in the seventh and all of a sudden I started getting some balls up and it got away from me. No matter who you face, you're going to give up hits if you don't execute pitches down in the zone.
I know I got a little careless. I threw him a lot of breaking balls in a row.
I had no idea. They were asking for the ball and I didn't know why. I didn't know until I came into the dugout.