Was Joe Carter really an Oriole? Yes, for 85 lackluster games in 1998, his farewell major league season. The 38-year-old slugger joined the O's on a $3 million free agent deal, departing the Blue Jays after seven seasons as the team's all-time home run leader with a total of 203. He's now fourth behind Carlos Delgado (336 HR), Jose Bautista (243 and counting), and Vernon Wells (223). As one of many players to underperform for the defending AL East Champion Orioles, Carter batted just .247/.297/.424 with 11 home runs and 34 RBI in 303 trips to the plate. In late July, with Baltimore treading water near the .500 mark, Joe was dealt to the Giants for the excellently-named minor league pitcher Darrin Blood. He finished strong in San Francisco, batting .295/.322/.562 with seven homers and 29 RBI in 41 games. He hung up his spikes at the end of the season, ending up with 396 career four-baggers and 1,445 RBI. So Joe Carter might not have made an impact in Baltimore, but at least he looked good in the uniform.
Joe Carter? For real? I know I wasn't paying attention much during that time but I figure i would have had a memory of him being an Oriole.
ReplyDeleteYep, Pat Gillick got one more ex-Blue Jay through the door at the end of his GM tenure. I barely remember it myself.
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