Andy Carter had himself a tough major league debut in May 1994 as he hit two out of the three batters he faced and got ejected, The Allentown Morning Call wrote.
The umpire cited recent bad blood between the two teams. Teammates, however, cited nerves, The Morning Call wrote.
"That's not exactly the way I dreamed my debut would be," Carter told The Morning Call afterward. "I'm just glad it's out of the way."
Carter went on from there to see 19 more outings with the Phillies that year, then four more the next. Those 24 total outings would prove the extent of his major league career, a career all but ended by another hit-by-pitch.
Carter's career began in 1987, taken by the Phillies in the 37th round of the draft out of Springfield High School in Pennsylvania.
Carter started with the Phillies at short-season Utica. He went 0-1 over 12 outings, one start, with a 5.65 ERA.
He moved to single-A Spartanburg for 1988, high-A Clearwater in 1990 and AA Reading in 1991. He went 11-5, with a 4.84 ERA at Reading in 1991.
Carter made AAA Scranton in 1993, then Philadelphia in May 1994. Two weeks into his big league stint, Phillies director of player development Del Unser complemented Carter to The Philadelphia Daily News.
"He's such an intense kid. I think he likes being in all-or-nothing situations," Unser told The Daily News. "He took to the bullpen very well."
In his 20 games with the Phillies that year, he went 0-2 with a 4.46 ERA. He then returned for four outings early in 1995 and returned to AAA.
In mid-June, after another dustup, Carter hit another batter. This one was intentional and led to a brawl. In the brawl, Carter suffered dislocated ring and index fingers on his throwing hand, The Wilkes Barre Times Leader wrote. He didn't make it back to the AAA field until late in the year.
"I'd do it all over again," Carter told The Times Leader about hitting that batter. "Because you've got to protect your teammates."
Carter played 1996 with the Giants at AA Phoenix, then 1997 with independent Allentown. He finished out his career in 1998 in Taiwan with Uni-President.
- Allentown Morning Call, May 4, 1994: Phils' follies give Padres 8-3 victory
- Philadelphia Daily News, May 20, 1994: Phils' Carter truly on homestand
- Wilkes Barre Times Leader, Aug. 20, 1995: Disappointed Carter would do it all over again
Made the Majors:1,269-33.9%-X
Never Made Majors:2,475-66.1%
5+ Seasons in the Majors:523
10+ Seasons in the Minors:310
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