November 17, 2011
Carpenter crafts another championship
NH native leads St. Louis to World Series title
by Kevin Henkin/
Chris Carpenter celebrates the Cardinals' World Series victory at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (photo: Getty Images)
The Cinderella story of the St. Louis Cardinals this year — and Chris Carpenter’s starring role in it — ultimately began the moment that Adam Wainwright’s season ended.
Until Wainwright blew out his right elbow in February while throwing batting practice, the Cardinals were considered playoff contenders primarily because of their duo of co-aces in Wainwright and Carpenter. Once it became clear that Wainwright would be shelved for the year, however, most prognosticators were quick to slap a “Wait ’Til Next Year” bumper sticker on the Cardinals’ 2011 season.
Looking back on their roller-coaster ride of a year, so many Cardinals players and coaches pointed to Carpenter as the glue that held the team together in fulfilling its pursuit of a World Series championship. Not that it was ever an easy path, mind you.
Carpenter — a Raymond, N.H., native and graduate of Trinity High of Manchester — began the year by going 1-7 with a 4.47 ERA as of June 17. From that point forward, Carpenter went 10-2 and played a major role in helping the Cardinals capture the wild-card playoff spot on the last day of the season.
It’s what he did in the 2011 postseason, however, that fans will recall more readily.
In total, Carpenter compiled a 4-0 record with a 3.25 ERA in 36 postseason innings pitched. Two of those wins were series clinchers. The first came in Game 5 of the first round in a matchup against Philadelphia ace Roy Halladay. In an electric 1-0 pitchers’ duel, Carpenter came up bigger by hurling a three-hit shutout that allowed the Cardinals to advance past the heavily favored Phillies.
The other clincher came in Game 7 of the World Series, in which Carpenter was asked to pitch on only three days’ rest (a choice that came courtesy of a rainout before Game 6). Although Carpenter had been hammered by the Phillies in his only other short-rest start earlier in the playoffs (5 H, 4 ER in 3.0 IP), Cardinals manager Tony La Russa didn’t hesitate to put his ace back on the mound one more time with the season on the line.
“(Pitching coach Dave Duncan) and I had a heart-to-heart with him to gauge just how ready he was to pitch, not mentally but physically,” La Russa told reporters after Game 7. “He’s the guy our club wants to have out there. Plain and simple, he’s our guy.”
Carpenter accepted the assignment and submitted a gritty and effective performance. After he allowed a pair of runs in the first inning in which it appeared that his breaking ball lacked movement, Carpenter settled down and put his team in position to win.
“I had no idea how long I was going to go, because they didn’t tell me,’’ Carpenter said after the game. “As things got going, my stuff and my command got better and better, and I really felt I was in a good rhythm out there.’’
By the time Carpenter handed the ball over in the seventh, his team was ahead 5-2 with the bats of the Texas Rangers rendered cold. After the St. Louis bullpen held the lead, Carpenter and the Cardinals had the World Series crown.
“This speaks volumes about the personality on this club,” Carpenter said in a postgame interview. “It’s why I love them so much. This is an amazing group of guys. They’re unbelievable and this is an unbelievable feeling. I don’t even have the words.”
Wainwright, still recovering from his Tommy John surgery performed in February, said after Game 7, “True aces like ‘Carp’ really don’t worry about who else is playing. They put the most pressure on themselves, as much as anyone could ever put on us. Whether I was there or not, the situation was never really any different for ‘Carp.’”
Weighing in on Carpenter’s postseason heroics, Concord, N.H., native and 13-year major-league veteran Bob Tewksbury told the New Hampshire Union Leader, “He’s proven to be a big-game pitcher, and he’s in that same breath with Bob Gibson and guys who’ve won all the big games for the Cardinals.
“Look at what he’s done in the postseason, beating the Phillies on the road in Game 5 (of the division series), pitching into late October after an incredible amount of innings this season, pitching on three days’ rest in Game 7. It just shows you how much he loves competition and how much he loves a challenge.”
Carpenter, who spends his offseasons in Bedford, N.H., finally will get some well-earned rest after racking up 273⅓ innings in 40 starts from April through October. At 36 years old, he also will have some peace of mind after signing a two-year, $21 million contract extension in September.
His final task related to the 2011 season will be to have his finger measured for a World Series ring, a rare piece of jewelry richly deserved.
This article originally appeared in the November-December 2011 issue of New England Baseball Journal.
Kevin Henkin can be reached at feedback@baseballjournal.com
