Cris Carpenter

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1988-1996)

Cris Carpenter was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 1996 for 4 teams, including the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 9 seasons. Across 291 career appearances, he went 27-22 with a 3.91 ERA and 252 strikeouts. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 1239.1.

W (Wins):
Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
ERA (Earned Run Average):
Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
SO (Strikeouts):
For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.

Data updated

W–L 27–22
ERA 3.91
WHIP 1.28
SO 252
Pitcher PIV 1239.1
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'1" / 195 lb
Born
4/5/1965 in St. Augustine, FL, USA
MLB Debut
1988-05-14
Last Game
1996-04-26

Full name: Cris Howell Carpenter

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Career Pitching Statistics

Cris Carpenter — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
27 22 291 13 1 0 7 414.1 398 180 38 131 252 3.91 1239.1

Career ERA 3.91 vs. league average 4.03 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cris Carpenter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1988 SLN NL 2 3 8 8 1 0 0 47.2 56 25 9 24 4.72 3.73 (-26%) 630.7
1989 SLN NL 4 4 36 5 0 0 0 68.0 70 24 26 35 3.18 3.71 (+14%) -39.3
1990 SLN NL 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 8.0 5 4 2 6 4.50 — 0.0
1991 SLN NL 10 4 59 0 0 0 0 66.0 53 31 20 47 4.23 3.91 (-8%) 650.3
1992 SLN NL 5 4 73 0 0 0 1 88.0 69 29 27 46 2.97 3.75 (+21%) -1157.9
1993 FLO NL 0 1 29 0 0 0 0 37.1 29 12 13 26 2.89 4.19 (+31%) 979.6
1993 TEX AL 4 1 27 0 0 0 1 32.0 35 15 12 27 4.22 4.19 (-1%) -38.2
1994 TEX AL 2 5 47 0 0 0 5 59.0 69 33 20 39 5.03 4.51 (-12%) 214.0
1996 ML4 AL 0 0 8 0 0 0 0 8.1 12 7 2 2 7.56 — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 27 22 291 13 1 0 7 414.1 398 180 131 252 3.91 — 1,239

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Career Batting Statistics

Cris Carpenter — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
291 30 2 8 0 0 0 5 0 0 6 .267 .267 .267 .533 0

Career AVG .267 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .267 vs. league average .327 across their career seasons — 18.5% below league average.

Career SLG .267 vs. league average .394 across their career seasons — 32.3% below league average.

Career OPS .533 vs. league average .721 across their career seasons — 26.1% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Cris Carpenter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1988 SLN NL 8 14 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .143 — — — — 0.0
1989 SLN NL 36 9 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 .444 — — — — 0.0
1990 SLN NL 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1991 SLN NL 59 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1992 SLN NL 73 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 .333 — — — — 0.0
1993 FLO NL 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1993 TEX AL 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1994 TEX AL 47 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1996 ML4 AL 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
Career · 9 seasons 291 30 2 8 0 0 0 5 0 0 6 .267 — — — — 0

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (582 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

Cris Carpenter — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home141142603.429
Away150160202.125

Pitching — Home / Away

Cris Carpenter — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home141210.121296641334.11
Away150204.018684671193.71

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Cris Carpenter — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1996-04-26 MILSEA — 1.1211110
1996-04-22 MILOAK — 2.0000000
1996-04-21 MILKCR — 1.0211100
1996-04-17 MILNYY — 0.1200000
1996-04-11 MILOAK — 1.0333010
1996-04-09 MILOAK — 1.0000000
1996-04-05 MILSEA — 0.1000000
1996-04-02 MILLAA — 1.1332001
1994-08-09 TEXSEA — 1.1200010
1994-08-07 TEXOAK — 2.0000120

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Cris Carpenter — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
P 291 13 25 52 2 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Cris Carpenter — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1988 SLN P 8 8 6 4 0 1
1989 SLN P 36 5 3 10 0 1
1990 SLN P 4 0 0 0 1 0
1991 SLN P 59 0 4 8 0 0
1992 SLN P 73 0 7 10 0 1
1993 FLO P 29 0 2 8 0 1
1993 TEX P 27 0 1 4 0 0
1994 TEX P 47 0 2 8 1 1
1996 ML4 P 8 0 0 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Cris Carpenter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 291

Salary History

Cris Carpenter — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1996 ML4 AL $150,000
1994 TEX AL $1,000,000
1993 FLO NL $725,000
1992 SLN NL $170,000
1991 SLN NL $120,000
1990 SLN NL $100,000
Total Career Earnings $2,265,000

College History

Cris Carpenter — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Georgia Athens GA 1985, 1986, 1987

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Cris Carpenter (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Rich Monteleone
    24-17, 3.87 ERA
  2. 92
    Kyle McClellan
    19-24, 3.79 ERA
  3. 84
    Tim Hill
    29-20, 3.94 ERA
  4. 83
    Tom House
    29-23, 3.79 ERA
  5. 83
    Don Gross
    20-22, 3.73 ERA
  6. 80
    Donn Pall
    24-23, 3.63 ERA

Cris Carpenter: the record in brief

Cris Carpenter's major league career runs from a debut on May 14, 1988 to a final game on April 26, 1996. By club, Carpenter's seasons break down as the St. Louis Cardinals (1988 through 1992), the Florida Marlins (1993), the Texas Rangers (1993 to 1994), and the Milwaukee Brewers (1996). Born on April 5, 1965, in St. Augustine, FL, USA, Carpenter is listed as a pitcher and both batted and threw right-handed. The bio gives 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds. On the record, Cris Carpenter was born Cris Howell Carpenter.

Carpenter went 27-22 with a 3.91 ERA in 291 games, 13 of them starts. Carpenter had 252 strikeouts. Carpenter's 3.91 ERA was close to the 4.03 league figure for those seasons. No season topped the 10 wins of 1991. In 1992, one of the busiest seasons, Carpenter posted a 2.97 ERA; the league figure that year was 3.75. Carpenter's career Pitcher PIV, which scores run prevention against each season's league, is 1,239.1.

Frequently Asked Questions about Cris Carpenter

What years did Cris Carpenter play?
Cris Carpenter played in Major League Baseball from 1988 to 1996.
Was Cris Carpenter a pitcher?
Yes. Cris Carpenter pitched in the major leagues, recording 27 wins and 252 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Cris Carpenter hit?
Cris Carpenter hit 0 career home runs with 8 hits.
What was Cris Carpenter's career batting average?
Cris Carpenter batted .267 over his career, with 8 hits in 30 at bats.
How many RBI did Cris Carpenter have?
Cris Carpenter drove in 5 runs in his career.
What was Cris Carpenter's career ERA?
Cris Carpenter finished with a 3.91 career ERA, going 27-22 with 252 strikeouts.