#76 Larry Carter
Here is a card that I got signed in Springdale, Arkansas when I went on my little ballpark road trip. Larry is the pitching coach of the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. I got him to sign it while he was enjoying a pregame coffee in the dugout.
Larry had a weird and short professional career. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the tenth round of the 1986 draft out of West Virginia State. He pitched in eight games that year with the Cards rookie club and then missed all of '87. The Cardinals released him after that season and the Giants picked him up. He worked his way up the Giants ladder and made his Major League debut on September 6, 1992. He ended up making six starts with the Giants during his call-up and he went 1-5 with a 4.64 ERA, 18 walks, and 21 strikeouts. That is the extent of his Major League career.
The next season, Larry was back at AAA. He pitched in seven games and compiled a 2.88 ERA and then never pitched in affiliated ball again. He threw 57.1 innings the next year for the Tyler Wildcatters of the Texas-Louisiana League and that was the end of his career. But, at least he is still in the game and coaching at the AA level.
That's cool. My wife and I were in the area in '08, intending to go to Branson for the duck tours, then swing over to Springdale for a game. I had that exact Carter card (probably one of his only ones) and a card of Tommy Gregg, who was also a coach. But, of course, vacation timing never goes as planned and the game, at the end of the day, was what got cut.
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