Chris Carpenter

Chris Carpenter was one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball over the course of a 15-year career with the Toronto Blue Jays and St. Louis Cardinals. Carpenter battled through many injuries as a player, always returning better on the mound. He was a first round pick by the Blue Jays in 1993 and emerged to become one of best prospects in baseball. Carpenter debuted in Toronto in 1997 and spent the first six seasons of his career with the club. He would truly emerge as an ace in St. Louis, however, getting selected to three All-Star teams and winning the World Series in 2006 and 2011. Carpenter was named National League Cy Young in 2005 after posting a career best 21-5 record with a 2.83 ERA. Elbow problems derailed his season in 2007 and 2008, but he came back big in 2009. Carpenter went 17-4 with a career-low 2.24 ERA on the way to winning the NL Comeback Player of the Year award and finishing runner-up in Cy Young voting. He followed that performance up with strong campaigns in 2010 and 2011 before injuries would halt his career for the final time. Despite his struggles, he was the picture of perseverance going 144-94 with a 3.76 ERA and 1,697 strikeouts in his career. Carpenter is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.