They were fun to watch.
With the success of the running game at the Major League level, the Cardinals filled their Minor League system with players who were capable of pressuring defenses and pitchers with the threat of stolen bases. Several popped up with the team in the late 1980s and the early 1990s.
The one you may know best is long time White Sox outfielder Lance Johnson.
The "One Dog" only played 33 games in St. Louis before he was traded for starting pitcher Jose DeLeon. He went on to play 14 years, stole more than 300 bases, and collecting 1,500 hits. Pretty nice career.
Alex Cole was another speedster who was drafted by the Cardinals in the 1980s. While Cole never played for the Cardinals, he stole more than 50 stolen bases in 4 different seasons in their Minor League system.
He was also traded away for starting pitching, going to the Padres for Omar Olivares. Cole did not have the success that Lance Johnson enjoyed, but still managed a 7 year career as an outfielder off the bench primarily for the Twins and Indians.
Which brings us to Chuck Carr.
The Cardinals did not actually draft Chuck Carr, his career started with the Reds. He bounced around a bit and eventually ended up with the Mets. However, he was blocked in the Mets outfield due to the fact that the team signed Vince Coleman away from the Cardinals.
The Mets traded him to the Cardinals. The Cardinals used him in 22 games towards the end of 1992, which got him 64 at bats, and he managed to steal 10 bases. This was after Carr stole 61 bases in Triple A and Double A during the 1992 season.
Card companies pounced on the Cardinals new speedy outfielder. We got two pure Cardinals cards.
Always liked these 1993 Score cards. Decent design, the Cardinals cards have some nice photography. Carr is by no means a "favorite player", but this is a great picture of him running down the line at Wrigley. The Cardinals went away from their polyester pullovers in 1992, so it was nice to see cards like this that showed off the classic Cardinals uniforms. That 100th Anniversary patch on the sleeve was sharp too. Quality card.
Carr also had a 1993 Donruss card with the Cardinals, but he was fielding the ball in Wrigley Field instead of running. Same company, same game. He played in one game in Wrigley as a Cardinal, and he went 0-5.
Guess that Score card is showing a ground out.
and then there are two cards with a Cardinals picture, but with Marlins logos.
There is a Donruss Update card with the Expansion Draft logo on the bottom of the card, which is where Carr went after the Cardinals left him unprotected. Say, that picture looks familiar.
His Fleer card is a little odd. Check out his grey pants and white jersey. This looks like Spring Training Photo Day. I like the border with Marlins update. Subtle, but better than "NOW WITH MARLINS"
Let's talk about the rest of Carr's career. He spent a few years on the Marlins, and then ended up on the Brewers. This is the important and memorable part of his career. He did not last long in Milwaukee, apparently he did not agree with all of Phil Garner's strategy decisions. Luckily, James Nelson from the Milwaukee Sentinel celebrated the 20th Anniversary of one of the great moments in 1990s baseball a few summers back and offered a retell of the incident.
From his May 16th, 2017 article:
"In the 8th inning of a game in Anaheim, the Brewers were trailing 4-1 against Angels' ace Chuck Finley. Leading off the inning, Carr had a 2-0 count and was given the signal to take a pitch. He ignored the sign, swung and popped out.
Brewers manager Phil Garner who had already had two dustups with Carr in the still-young season confronted the player at his locker about the at-bat, the Journal Sentinel reported.
Carr responded in the third person: "That ain't Chuckie's game. Chuckie hacks on 2-0."
And that was the end for Carr in Milwaukee. He was sent to the minors the following day, refused the assignment and was cut, forfeiting his $325,000 salary."
and that was the end of Chuck Carr.
Maybe it's because it's almost midnight... and I'm hella tired. Or maybe it's because you led this post off with Coleman stealing home. Whatever it is... I remember Carr playing for the Marlins... but don't remember him with the Cardinals. Okay. Time for bed.
ReplyDeleteI remember Chuck Carr with the Marlins. He signed a baseball for me when I was 11.
ReplyDelete