St. Louis Cardinals: Happy Birthday to Matt Carpenter

There hasn’t been a lot of love lately for St. Louis Cardinals third baseman, Matt Carpenter. On his 34th birthday, let’s look back at his best moments.

There hasn’t been a lot of love for Matt Carpenter lately from the St. Louis Cardinals fanbase and I have been no different. After his 2019, Carpenter deserves criticism but don’t think that he doesn’t hurl the most criticism of anyone at himself. If you didn’t read the headline of this article, today is Carpenter’s 34th birthday and what I want to do is remember some of the best moments he’s had with the team.

We don’t do many Birthday posts, but I think this one is important so that we don’t forget the player that Carpenter used to be, and could still be.

Carpenter came into the league in his age 25 season in 2011. He played third base then, but many will forget that in his first full year in 2012, he played left, right, third, first, and second base. 2012 was also the first year where fans saw the type of hitter Carpenter really could be.

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

As you can see, Carpenter has always had a ton of hits and a ton of walks. He may not have hit for the highest batting average every year, but his OBP was always what made him a great leadoff hitter, even though Carpenter was anything but the normal leadoff type.

Carpenter has been a three-time All-Star and has finished top-12 in the MVP ballot voting three times as well, with his highest finish coming in at fourth in 2013. That year was his clear best as his .873 OPS lead the team and his 55 doubles broke Stan Musial’s longstanding record with the Cardinals.

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In his more recent years, the average has fallen, but the OBP (with 2019 being an outlier) has stayed right where it’s always been.

2019 was a clear outlier and looks really bad given the two year, $39M extension the team gave him in the Spring. Other than the fact that the contract has kindof hamstrung the Cardinals, I think the extension was just saying thank you to a player who has led the Cardinals lineup for so many years after being a 13th round draft pick.

Carpenter hasn’t just been great in the regular season though. With 2019 being Carpenter’s 5th postseason appearance, he’s had a lot of experience and a lot of big moments.

This moment from 2014 has to be my favorite from Carpenter, as it was an unlikely outcome and really turned the momentum of the entire series.

Another great moment from Carpenter was his five-hit day against the Cubs last season.

This came during the hottest part of Matt Carpenter’s 2018 season where he played his way into the MVP conversation after starting the year in a putrid slump.

Another moment from Matt Carpenter was his record-tying six straight games with a homer.

During this time Carpenter also tied the MLB record for most doubles in one game.

All of this is to celebrate a player who most fans need to be reminded of how good he once was. Hell, I also needed this. I have been super down on Carpenter and after the year he had in 2019, it’s really easy for all of these records, all of this performance to be forgotten.

Matt Carpenter has been a top-five Cardinals player of the last decade, and I don’t think I am going out on too far of a limb to say that. He has had some huge moments, broke some records, and made memories. One bad year may signal that Carpenter will never be this player again, but he didn’t just forget how to hit. 34 in baseball may be “old,” but to think the Carpenter we saw in 2018 is what he will be forever is just childish. Best of luck to Carp in 2020 and let’s all wish him a Happy Birthday.