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Carpenter's 3 hits leads Tides to 3rd straight win

By LARY BUMP, CORRESPONDENT, The Virginian-Pilot
May 18, 2001

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Until Thursday, May hadn't been kind to Bubba Carpenter.
He had some success during April, reaching base in 11 consecutive games during one stretch and driving in five runs on April 29.

However, until the Norfolk Tides' 7-5 victory Thursday afternoon over the Rochester Red Wings, Carpenter had totaled just 10 runs batted in this season. He was struggling with just four hits in his last 24 at-bats over eight games. But Carpenter's three hits and three RBIs helped the Tides take a 5-0 lead en route to their third consecutive win.

``Bubba wasn't getting a whole lot of playing time (69 at-bats this season),'' Tides manager John Gibbons said. ``Now he's played three games in a row; he's been seeing some pitches.''
Carpenter singled home a run in a two-run second inning, then tripled home two runs as Norfolk added three more in the fourth against losing pitcher Josh Towers (2-1).

The 32-year-old, in his 11th pro season, said, ``The situation I'm in right now, if I'm going to be in the big leagues I would be in the same situation. So it's a good opportunity for me.''
His only major league experience has been 14 games with the Colorado Rockies last season.

``I'm trying to become more aggressive early in the count and get a good pitch to hit,'' he said.

``Before I was being too tentative.

``Hitting is contagious, but unfortunately so is not hitting. There aren't any weaknesses in our lineup, and I wouldn't want to have to pitch to this lineup.''

Rochester's pitchers have had difficulty with the Tides' batters. In three games, Norfolk has battered the Red Wings for 24 runs and 40 hits.

Richie Lewis, in his first start for the Tides this season after being traded from Buffalo, improved to 3-0.

MARTY COOK
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

FAYETTEVILLE -- If worse comes to worst and former Arkansas outfielder Bubba Carpenter never makes it back to the big leagues, there is a special ball in a case at his father's lake house in Springdale.
    It is the ball hit for a pinch-hit home run by Carpenter off New York Mets reliever Turk Wendell on May 16, 2000, to help the Colorado Rockies win a game in extra innings. It was Carpenter's first major-league home run.
    "Last year was a big boost for me, getting my first big-league call-up," said Carpenter, who lettered in three sports at West Fork and played for the Arkansas Razorbacks' Southwest Conference championship teams in 1989 and 1990. "Hopefully, I'll get another shot at it and build on that. Being in the minor leagues for nine years, I finally get a taste of it [playing in the majors] and it makes me want it more. I know what I have to do to get back up there and stay."
    Carpenter, 31, had 27 at-bats for the Rockies in 2000 and hit .222 with 3 home runs and 5 RBI. His stay in the majors lasted a month, then it was back to Colorado Springs, the Rockies' AAA affiliate.
    After the season, Carpenter signed as a six-year minor-league free agent with the New York Mets. In May, the Mets traded Carpenter back to Colorado for a player to be named later.
    Carpenter succumbed to the allure of the home run last year. He hit 22 home runs in 1999 for AAA Columbus (Ohio) in the New York Yankees organization and began to swing for power with Colorado.
    "I got a little pull-happy because everyone thinks, 'Oh, you've got to hit home runs,' " said Carpenter, who hit .223 with four home runs in 57 games for Colorado Springs.
    Carpenter worked on driving the ball back up the middle during the off-season, worrying about taking a good approach and swing and letting the results work themselves out. But, when the Rockies traded for Carpenter last month, he promptly went right back to his old ways.
    "My first 10 at-bats were pretty ugly, honestly," said Carpenter, who started 1 for 15 with the Sky Sox. "I was just trying to do too much. Coming back over here, I was trying to prove to them, 'Hey, this is why you guys wanted me back.' I did too much, too soon, instead of sticking with my game.
    "Every day is a constant battle to go out and stay within yourself. You see guys on the big-league level doing it, too. It's frustrating."
    Such is the fickleness of baseball. Carpenter laughed that, even with his age and experience, there is still a lot he is learning about the game. That keeps him going 10 years into his professional baseball career.
    "It can be frustrating, but I feel great physically, and I think, mentally, I'm just now starting to put it together," Carpenter said. "I wish I knew 10 years ago what I know now. I'm just going to keep plugging away and see what happens."
    It's the same approach he is taking about a possible recall to the majors, which took a hit June 1 when Colorado acquired Cleveland's Jacob Cruz, like Carpenter a left-handed hitting, versatile outfielder.
    "It all comes back to me," Carpenter said. "If I do well here, put up some good numbers, play good in center field, I think good things will happen. [Cruz] was a kind of a blow. That sets me back a little bit, but I can't worry about what's going on up there."
    Carpenter's attitude is welcomed and encouraged by Colorado Springs hitting coach Jim Eppard.
    "If you start thinking about [the majors], then you're not thinking about what you should be doing, and that's the day-in, day-out stuff here in Triple-A," Eppard said. "If you can do that, go day by day, inning by inning, AB by AB, when it is all said and done you'll have a chance to go back to the big leagues.
    "It's nice to have him here and have a true outfielder to solidify our outfield play. It definitely gives us a shot in the arm when he comes in with the approach that he has with the bat."

Appeared in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on 6/10/01

Only Just Begun: Bubba Carpenter's nine years in the minors and his glorious shot at the show


JUNE 29, 2000:

Coors Field," he told the taxi driver.
In all the whirlwind of a quick plane trip from Tennessee, where the Colorado Springs Sky Sox had been battling the Nashville Sounds, it was Bubba Carpenter's first chance to digest the red letter day he'd worked toward for nearly ten years.
Carpenter got a pinch hit single in his first Major League at bat that day, helping to secure victory over the Giants. Three days later, he hit his first big league homer to win an 11th inning nail-biter in Shea Stadium.
"Everyone in the minors thinks he has the chance to play or he wouldn't be there," Carpenter told the reporters clamoring around his locker in New York. Carpenter had spent his career in the Yankees minor league system before signing with Sky Sox and finally getting his chance with the Rockies. "I always thought I'd hit a home run in Yankee Stadium," he told the Indy as the post-game frenzy died down. "I didn't think I'd be doing it in Shea."
A month later, Carpenter sat down with the Indy to talk about the 900-plus game path he took to become the 100th Sky Sox player to play for the Rockies. His chance came when Larry Walker went on the disabled list in May, and his respectable showing in 15 games contributed to the surge that propelled the Rockies into a pennant race for the first time in over two years.
The journey started in Fayetteville, Arkansas, rooting for the Texas Rangers as a kid "just because my grandpa rooted for them" and for his hometown University of Arkansas Razorbacks, "the only major team in the whole state."
But Carpenter was a Yankees fan. "I had an old beat-up Yankee hat that I wore all the time until it finally fell apart. I had Mattingly posters all over the wall in my bedroom. He was kind of my idol."
He and his brothers lived and breathed baseball. "When we were old enough to walk we already had a ball and a bat in our hands. My poor parents toted us all over the country," he recalled, marveling at the miles his parents logged bringing them to games in four different leagues.
Carpenter went to the Southwest Conference championships in '89 and '90 with the University of Arkansas. After his last college game, he was approached by a scout for the Yankees, who soon made him an offer.
The Yankees were in a "rebuilding" phase, but Carpenter couldn't resist the offer. He spent the next nine seasons in the Yankee organization, and he still raves about the quality of the Yankee organization, noting that the class "filters all the way down to rookie ball.
"They bring everybody together after they sign them and they tell them about the Yankee tradition. Their big thing is it's a privilege to wear the pinstripes. They preach that to you from day one."
Carpenter believes the "Yankee Way" distinguishes its players. "Just the way people carry themselves. The way you look. You have to wear your pants a certain way, you have to shave, your hair has to be a certain way, no jewelry. They enforce all those rules in the minor leagues. I used to think, "Come on, let's just go out and play hard.' But you realize if you look like a professional and people treat you like a professional, you're going to play like a professional."
His enthusiasm carries over to the new Rockies system. "When [General Manager] Dan O'Dowd and [Manager] Buddy Bell came in and took over, there was a change. They run the organization a lot like the Yankees. Everything's professional. Everything's first class. The way they want you to play the game, the way they want you to act and look."
Experience has taught Carpenter to recognize the signs of a strong organization. "From the coaching staff to the players. I'm big on team chemistry. The chemistry's unbelievable on that [Rockies] team. You get a lot of good guys together that want to win and play hard and you're going to have team chemistry."
"It's like they're a little family," Carpenter says of the new atmosphere at the resurgent parent club. "Everyone's talking, laughing, getting along. Even in the dugout, during the game. Everyone wants to win. That's why they come back from behind so many games. Everyone just has that fire inside of them. It rubs off; it's just contagious."
On an individual level, Carpenter believes self-confidence is key to success in the minors. "You have to know deep down inside that you can play in the big leagues, or you're wasting your time and everyone's time that you're playing with. Every time I've started to doubt that, I've struggled."
Carpenter reached his lowest point two years ago, when he spent two and a half months on the disabled list with an injured foot. He made a convincing turn around, having his best overall season in '99, hitting .283 with 22 HRs and 81 RBI.
While he hit a passable .222 with 3 home runs in 15 games for the Rockies, Carpenter experienced a slump where he had difficulty hitting his weight upon his return to the Sky Sox.
"I'm just starting to come out of it right now," Carpenter said last week. "When I first got sent down, I struggled for a few days to get back in the groove. I'm just starting to hit the ball hard again. I'm spending a lot of time in the cage with Eppy, [Coach] Jim Eppard, and I'm starting to feel it again. It's a great feeling, because you step up to the plate, and you know you're going to hit the ball hard somewhere. There's no better feeling in the world than that." A couple days later, Carpenter emerged from his slump with a single and a triple off the wall against the Redbirds.
Carpenter still searches out opportunities to learn. "I learned something in every at bat in the majors," he assures, but he is tight lipped about the specifics. "There might be some pitchers out there I don't want to reveal that to."
He will reveal what he learned from his Rockies teammates, however. "Those guys never give up. They're always battling, no matter what the circumstance. I'd like to bring some of that back here."
Carpenter deftly dodges questions about the notorious hijinx of minor league ballplayers, using the evasive techniques of a politician to avoid talking about his own role in any illicit shenanigans. He admits only to "witnessing" the bright red results of someone spray painting an outfield image of a bull at the home of the Durham Bulls, altering the original artwork to make it anatomically correct.
"I never had to wear a little mini-skirt or anything," Carpenter said, a mixture of relief and envy in his voice at escaping the rookie initiation at the hands of Major League veterans. "I had to sing on the team plane in front of everybody," he revealed. It was Walker's idea, so Carpenter let loose with a rendition of "Oh, Canada," honoring Walker's homeland.
With a solid starting outfield and depth on the bench, Carpenter isn't counting on an immediate trip back to Coors Field. He's taking all the extra batting practice he can, working at the consistency he knows he needs before securing a spot on the big league roster.
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it every day," he says of the ever-present hope of another shot at the big leagues that keeps him and his Sky Sox teammates striving day after day. "But once I step onto the field, all my focus is on winning today's game."

By Aaron J. Lopez / AP Sports Writer

    TUCSON, Ariz. -- After nine seasons toiling in the New York Yankees' minor league system, Bubba Carpenter is on the verge of a breakthrough with the Colorado Rockies.
    Which begs the question: Who's Bubba?
    "I think a lot of people were (asking that) when I came into camp this year. No one knows anything about me," Carpenter said Friday. "Everyone's new to everyone else here, so I was just another one of the new faces."
    Carpenter is the underdog with the catchy moniker -given to him by his brother as a toddler.
    Signed as an Undrafted free agent in 1991, the 29-year-old Carpenter has never been on a major league roster, but he has played with the likes of Yankees stars Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera.
    "I think without a doubt it's harder to break through (with the Yankees) because of the success they've had the last five seasons," Rockies hitting coach Clint Hurdle said. "That's a tough organization to have upward movement in."
    Carpenter, whose given name is Charles Sydney Carpenter, enjoyed his best season last year, hitting .283 with 22 home runs and 81 RBIs for Triple-A Columbus. But like every previous year, Carpenter did not receive a call from the Yankees when they expanded their roster in September.
    "There were a few times I really thought I had a good shot, and then something else would happen," Carpenter said. "They'd either go out and sign someone else, or whatever. It was always something. A few times it was disappointing, but that's baseball."
    Carpenter's fortune could be changing. Several split squad games gave him a chance to play regularly early this spring, and he responded by hitting .278 with a home run and five RBIs in 18 at-bats.
    With Darren Bragg slowly recovering from off-season knee surgery, Carpenter is a strong candidate to win a job as a reserve outfielder who would provide a left-handed bat off the bench.
    "Bubba's holding his own," Hurdle said. "He's made the most of his opportunities so far. He's opened some eyes.
    "Any time you have a kid with the qualities that Bubba's brought to the table, you root for him. He's got a great attitude, loves to play and has been very open to instruction. There's something to be said for the resiliency and the perseverance that he's shown."
    So how will Carpenter celebrate if he parlays his free agent contract into an opening day roster spot?
    "I'll tell you April 3 if that happens," he said with a smile. "Find me then, and I'll talk to you."

RailCats say bye-bye to Bubba

BY JEFF CARROLL
Times Sports Writer

June 26, 2003

GARY -- The things men playing a boys game will do to occupy themselves.
Especially men on a grueling 90-game road trip.

Last year, in the middle of the RailCats season on the road, Billy Malone challenged Bubba Carpenter to a good old-fashioned fist fight.

Just for fun. Carpenter, a little older and wiser, declined.

The fun ended Wednesday. Both players were issued their walking papers by the team.

"That's the hardest part about it, leaving the guys on this team," said Carpenter, 34, a veteran who once won a game for the Colorado Rockies with an 11th-inning home run at Shea Stadium. "Knowing tomorrow I'm not gonna get to go to the stadium and see those guys."

Carpenter was batting .268 with no home runs and five RBIs.

"How long was I supposed to wait? I need production," said manager Garry Templeton. "You look at the teams that are good in this league, you notice all their veterans have numbers. The one thing that was hurting us is we didn't have numbers from our veterans."

The right fielder, who had inspired the fans at The Steel Yard to spontaneously chant "Bub-ba! Bub-ba!" at times this year -- had never actually been released by a team until Wednesday. His affiliated career ended when he became a six-year free agent, free to negotiate with whomever he chose.

"It's a gut-wrenching feeling," Carpenter said.