Matt Carpenter brings solid career stats and a nice mustache to Yankees
Yankees' Matt Carpenter runs to first base after grounding out against Tampa Bay Rays' Ryan Yarbrough during the third inning of a baseball game Thursday, May 26, 2022, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Credit: AP/Chris O'Meara
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The highlights from Thursday night’s Yankees victory over the Rays were on in the clubhouse before Friday night’s game.
Specifically, the Yankees debut of Matt Carpenter.
More specifically, the new mustache Carpenter is sporting.
Carpenter, the former All-Star infielder with St. Louis, signed with the Yankees on Thursday, flew from Dallas to Tampa, arrived at the ballpark two hours before first pitch, and immediately was inserted to the lineup. He went 0-for-2 with a hit by pitch, a walk and two runs scored in the Yankees’ 7-2 victory.
None of that was being talked about on the TVs that were on inside the Yankees' clubhouse at Tropicana Field, though. It was all ‘stache, all the time. Photos of Carpenter — who hit a 384-foot home run in the fourth inning Friday night to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead over the Rays — alongside mustachioed Yankees of years past (Don Mattingly, Thurman Munson, Sparky Lyle, Goose Gossage, to name a few).
Carpenter was known for his bushy beard during his 11 years with St. Louis. Of course, part of joining the Yankees is parting with your facial hair. Well, most of it, as the 36-year-old decided to keep some hair above his upper lip.
A lot of hair, actually.
“I think the best comparison I heard was Luigi [the character from "Super Mario'']," said Nestor Cortes, who until Carpenter arrived was the undisputed Yankees mustache king.
Now there are three, with reliever David McKay part of the club.
“I think it’s pretty cool that I can share the mustache with other guys in this clubhouse,” Cortes said. “Honestly, I would like for more people to do it. Get the attention off me.”
Carpenter’s whirlwind Thursday included a date with a razor before he left home.
“My kids didn’t recognize me when I walked out of the bathroom,” he said. “I’ve got a 6- and 5-year-old at home and they’ve never seen me without a beard. It’s a little different. But I’m here to rock it.”
Carpenter hopes to rock more than his mustache. He was in the lineup again on Friday. The Yankees were without the injured Giancarlo Stanton, Josh Donaldson, DJ LeMahieu and Aaron Hicks (although LeMahieu and Hicks appeared to be available off the bench), so manager Aaron Boone wrote in the lefthanded-hitting Carpenter as the designated hitter in the fifth spot against Tampa Bay lefthander Jeffrey Springs.
“He's someone who's been on our radar the last couple of months," Boone said. “We've been eyeing him for a while as a lefthanded bat off the bench. Just a professional guy from the left side, and we feel he can help us."
Carpenter was available after opting out of a contract with Texas’ Triple-A team. In 21 games for Round Rock, he hit .275 with six home runs.
Carpenter was a three-time All-Star with the Cardinals, but last year he hit .169 in 207 at-bats after hitting .186 in 140 at-bats in 2020. From 2012-18, he had a .275/.377/.471 slash line (.849 OPS), and in 2018, he hit 36 home runs and had an .897 OPS.
He has mostly played third base, first base and second base in his MLB career but also has played the corner outfield spots.
“I’m excited to put a Yankee uniform on and be a part of the best team in baseball right now,” Carpenter said. “I’m just fired up to be here, whatever that role looks like.”
Carpenter barely had time to meet his new teammates before he was added to Thursday’s lineup when the Yankees scratched Hicks because of a tight right hamstring. Carpenter had an immediate impact in his first game. He led off the Yankees’ three-run sixth inning by getting hit by a 3-and-2 pitch and came around to score the game’s first run.
“It was pretty crazy,” he said. “To get here and be in the lineup right away . . . I don’t think I landed until 3:20, so it happened fast, but it was a lot of fun. Huge win. It was good to be a part of. Pretty cool.”
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
