St. Louis Cardinals’ pitcher Chris Carpenter boasts a 73-25 record and a 2.92 ERA, during his seven seasons in Missouri. This season, the trend has continued, as Carpenter stands at 5-1, with a 3.09 ERA. 

Because of these remarkable numbers, many baseball fans forget that Carpenter was once a .500 pitcher, when he threw for the Toronto Blue Jays. Carpenter spent six seasons in Canada, compiling a record of 49-50, with a 4.83 ERA.

Aside from Carpenter’s injury plagued years of 2003, 2007 and 2008, his Cardinals’ career has been an unbridled success.  In addition to his stat line, Carpenter won the 2005 National League Cy Young Award and was the best pitcher on the Cardinals’ 2006 World Series championship team.

Is it the renowned tutelage of pitching coach Dave Duncan and manager Tony La Russa?  Perhaps the baseball friendly atmosphere of St. Louis or the talented teams that have played alongside of Carpenter?  Whatever the answer, the man who started his career in Toronto is the polar opposite of the man who will most likely finish his career with the Redbirds.

Carpenter has grown into one of the most respected pitchers in all of baseball. He also appears to be a guy who understands his standing in the game.

Below is a piece of video displaying this belief. The setting was outside of AT&T Park in San Francisco, earlier this season. Notice how the right-handed Carpenter is signing autographs with his left hand. Pretty interesting for a guy with such a powerful right arm.

Also, take a look at this article and videos highlighting Cardinals’ 1B Albert Pujols’ interaction with fans.