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Kerry Carpenter

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Kerry Carpenter
Carpenter with the Toledo Mud Hens in 2022
Detroit Tigers – No. 30
Outfielder
Born: (1997-09-02) September 2, 1997 (age 27)
Eustis, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 10, 2022, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Batting average.276
Home runs44
Runs batted in131
Teams

Kerry William Carpenter (born September 2, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

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Carpenter attended Eustis High School in Eustis, Florida, where he batted .463 with three home runs as a senior in 2016.[1] After graduating, he enrolled at St. Johns River State College where he played two years of college baseball, before transferring to Virginia Tech to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies for the 2019 season. In his year with Virginia Tech, he started 53 games, and hit .272 with ten home runs and 45 RBI.[2]

Professional career

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Carpenter was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 19th round, with the 562nd overall selection, of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft.[3] Carpenter signed with the Tigers and split his first professional season between the rookie–level Gulf Coast League Tigers and Low–A Connecticut Tigers, batting .303 with nine home runs and 35 RBI over 47 games. He did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[4] Carpenter spent 2021 with the Double–A Erie SeaWolves and hit .262 with 15 home runs, 74 RBI, and 24 doubles over 112 games.[5] He returned to Erie to open the 2022 season.[6] He was named Eastern League Player of the Month for May.[7] After batting .304 with 22 home runs and 48 RBI over 63 games with Erie, he was promoted to the Triple–A Toledo Mud Hens in late June.[8]

On August 10, 2022, the Tigers selected Carpenter's contract and added him to the Major League roster.[9] He made his MLB debut the same day as Detroit's starting designated hitter, going hitless over four at-bats.[10] He collected his first MLB hit on August 14, a single versus the Chicago White Sox.[11] Carpenter hit his first MLB home run on August 15 off of Eli Morgan of the Cleveland Guardians.[12] For the 2023 season, Carpenter played in 118 games, batting .278 with 20 home runs and 64 RBI.

Carpenter began the 2024 campaign with Detroit, hitting .283 with eight home runs and 29 RBI across 50 games. He was placed on the injured list with lumbar spine inflammation on May 29, 2024.[13] Carpenter was transferred to the 60–day injured list on July 21.[14] He was activated on August 13.[15] In his return, Carpenter hit two home runs against the Seattle Mariners. In the regular season, Carpenter hit .284 with 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 87 games. On October 7, in Game 2 of the 2024 American League Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Carpenter hit a three-run home run with two outs in the top of the ninth inning off of Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase, who had given up only 2 home runs in 74.1 innings, breaking a 0–0 tie and leading to a 3-0 Tigers win.

Personal life

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Carpenter is a Christian. He has said, “My goal, basically, is to just be as great as I possibly can be, to reach my full potential. And I personally believe the only way to do that is through Jesus Christ. That’s the foundation. That’s the rock. He’ll guide me and lead me wherever, but that’s kind of the way I think I can honor Him through this sport that I play.”.[16] Carpenter got engaged to girlfriend, softball player Lauren Burke, in December 2023.

References

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  1. ^ "A hitting machine".
  2. ^ "Going out in style".
  3. ^ "Eustis' Carpenter drafted by Detroit".
  4. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Canceled".
  5. ^ "Erie SeaWolves outfielder Kerry Carpenter developing power stroke early in season".
  6. ^ "Around the Tigers' farm: Kerry Carpenter is putting up 'real' numbers at Double-A Erie".
  7. ^ "Erie SeaWolves outfielder Kerry Carpenter's hot season, faith have him looking up".
  8. ^ "Tigers promote power-hitting outfielder to Toledo". June 25, 2022.
  9. ^ "Minor League HR leader to debut for Tigers". MLB.com. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  10. ^ McCosky, Chris. "Tigers rookie Kerry Carpenter hitless in debut; Guardians hold on for 3-2 victory". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  11. ^ "Family in tears after witnessing Tigers prospect's first MLB hit". MLB.com.
  12. ^ "Schoop, Carpenter homer, Tigers split DH with Guardians". USA Today.
  13. ^ "Tigers' Kerry Carpenter goes on IL with back injury". espn.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  14. ^ "Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Shifts to 60-day IL". cbssports.com. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  15. ^ "Tigers Reinstate Kerry Carpenter". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  16. ^ Doering, Joshua. "Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter enjoys 3-homer weekend as he plays 'all for His glory'". Sports Spectrum. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
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