Hall of Fame
A native of Oklahoma City, OK, and a product of Millwood High, Joe Carter put Wichita State and Missouri Valley Conference baseball on the national map.
A here-time first-team All-American (1979-1981), Carter was batted the 1981 NCAA Player of the Year by The Sporting News and All-America Baseball News – becoming the first Valley player to receive the honor.
During his Valley career, Carter received first-team all-conference honors two times and was the Conference’s Player of the Year in 1980 and 1981.
The Valley’s all-time batting leader with a .430 average, Carter led the league in hitting in 1979 with a .450 average – Wichita State’s single-season top mark. Carter also owns the Valley’s single-season records for doubles (34 in 1980) and triples (13 in 1980).
He still ranks among the league’s career totals for runs scored (267 for ninth), hits (349 for fourth), doubles (74 for fifth), homers (58 for fourth), runs batted in (312) and sacrifice flies (22 for third).
During his collegiate career, Wichita State won the league tournament in 1980, and played in the NCAA Tournament in 1980 and 1981. The Shockers compiled a 174-42-1 record during Carter’s stay in Wichita.
Originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1981, Carter played with six teams during his 16-year Major League career: Chicago Cubs (1983), Cleveland Indians (1984-89), San Diego Padres (1990), Toronto Bluejays (1991-97), Baltimore Orioles (1998) and San Francisco Giants (1998).
During his career, he batted .259 with 396 homers and 1,445 RBI. In fact, Carter had ten 100-RBI seasons in the majors and won two World Series championships as a member of the Toronto Bluejays (1992 and 93). He ended the 1993 World Series with a three-run homer in the ninth off Philadelphia’s Mitch Williams.
Selected for the Major League Baseball All-Star Game five times (1991-1994, 1996), Carter was inducted into the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.