Mike Carp finally had his chance at an everyday job in 2012, eight years after he was drafted. He was in left field for the Mariners on opening day, and that's where he was supposed to stay.
NEW YORK — The 25th man on the Red Sox was a regular for the first and only time a year ago.
Mike Carp finally had his chance at an everyday job in 2012, eight years after he was drafted. He was in left field for the Mariners on opening day in late March, and that's where he was supposed to stay.
"That was the plan," Carp said. "They had told me that going into the offseason, 'We wanted to give you more of a specific role and not have you bounce around so much.' I knew coming in I was going to be in left field, probably first base every now and then. I was excited and I was ready to take on that task, and unfortunately it didn't work out."
The Mariners and the A's made a trip to Japan to kick off the 2012 season at the Tokyo Dome, days before any other major league games were held. Felix Hernandez was on the mound in the opener, and Seattle led 1-0 with Kurt Suzuki at the plate, a runner on and two out in fourth inning.
Hernandez hung a change up and Suzuki lined it to left. Carp, already playing deep, broke straight to his right and dove with full extension, his body parallel to the ground. The ball was just out of reach, one-hopped the wall and tied the game at 1. No misplay for someone who had spent most of his career at first base — just a strong effort.
Carp stayed in for almost all 11 innings and all four of Ichiro Suzuki's hits. Carp even made a leaping catch of his own up against the wall in the ninth, robbing Josh Reddick of extra bases.
Seattle won, 3-1.
Carp didn't play another big league game until May 1.
"I knew right away it could be a pretty bad injury," Carp said. "Couldn't even move my arm. It's a good start to [being on] your first opening day roster, huh? But you don't take anything back, you play the game hard. Felix is pitching, I make the catch, we win the game 1-0, we don't go extra innings, we don't have to win it in 11."
He wasn't technically the first player to go on the disabled list in 2011, but Carp was the first to get hurt in regular-season play. He sprained his right shoulder, his throwing shoulder, on the dive.
The sprain didn't go away quickly. Carp came back, hit just .157 for six weeks, and went back to the DL to let the shoulder heal better. That's where he stayed until after the All-Star break.
The next time Carp returned, in late July, productivity started to return before he strained his left groin. Back to the DL he went in August, and his season was pretty much shot. A .213 average and five home runs in 164 at-bats was disappointing after he had a .276/.326/.466 line in 290 major league at-bats in 2011.
The 21 home runs he hit at Triple-A Tacoma in 2011 gave Carp 32 for the year. His lifetime line at Tacoma in the equivalent of two full seasons of play is .276/.356/.498, plus 67 home runs.
"Looking back, you don't think it's going to be that significant an injury, plague you the whole year," Carp said. "You put in your time in the offseason, I'm not the first person it's happened to."
Carp's always been able to hit, but he's almost always had to fight for an opportunity. He lost some weight a couple years ago, which helps him he be fast enough to play the outfield. He was a ninth-round pick by the Mets in 2004, and got an invite to big-league camp with them in 2007. He didn't get another invite in 2008, and the next offseason he was dealt to the Mariners after a very strong year in Double-A for New York.
Seattle more thoroughly believed in him.
"It's always been a battle to win a spot," Carp said. "So it's nothing new. You go in, there's always somebody trying to compete against you."
He's still just 26.
"Still looking for that first full real season in the big leagues, 400 or 500 at-bats," Carp continued. "It's been up and down the last few, and then finally got the call to play most of the year in 2011."
So how can Carp get back to an everyday job? He knows it'll require some patience off the bench. Carp's spring training performance was the worst of his career, with a .175 average in 45 at-bats, although the only spring training he had that was particularly good came in 2009.
Clearly, the Sox didn't put too much stock into the early numbers.
"You still see very good bat speed," Sox manager John Farrell said in the final week of spring training. "We've got some feel for him. We also recognize too here's a guy who's changed camps, at the outset of spring training he didn't have any of the first seven to 10 days before games began."
Now, as the season goes on, Carp will have to prove he's capable of putting up good numbers off the bench.
"It's tough but it's a part of the process, it's a a part of learning and part of understanding the game and knowing yourself too," Carp said of coming into an at-bat cold. "You got to focus a little more. As of now, a few years into it, start being more comfortable with my situation. Have a routine as far a what I needed to do for that at-bat. One at-bat that day or the two at-bats that might be coming later in the game."
There was some good that came out of last year's turmoil: his first child, daughter Calais, was born in August.
Before it became clear if Carp would make the Sox, he said the pressure of not knowing where he'd be was harder on his wife than it was on him. No surprise that fatherhood has made "a big difference" for him.
"I think I have more patience for everything," Carp said. "Before you kind of get fired up on certain things. Now there's a whole process to how you do things and how you go about your business. Definitely, definitely a lot less stressful now it seems like."
How the Sox use Carp is to be seen, but it'll be some combination of first-base and left-field at-bats. His swing could do well at Fenway Park, and an injury could open a door for him: how many games Mike Napoli can play, for example, is to be seen.
That's really all Carp wants, at-bats. He had a chance at a lot of them, it just didn't quite work out. But there's still a path to regain them.
"I mean that's what everybody's looking for," Carp said of an every day job. "Last year I got a consistent chance. Things changed, health was a factor. Things changed coming into this year. The team and the organization is still going to be a good opportunity, so you got to make the most of the opportunity you get."
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