Joe Carter

Outfielder · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1983-1998)

Joe Carter was an outfielder who played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1998 for 6 teams, including the Chicago Cubs, a span of 16 seasons. In 2,189 career games, he hit .259 with 2,184 hits, 396 home runs, and 1,445 RBI. Joe Carter was a 5-time All-Star and a 2-time Silver Slugger. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 7,384.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .259
HR 396
RBI 1,445
H 2,184
OPS .771
PIV 7,384
Position
Outfielder
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'3" / 215 lb
Born
3/7/1960 in Oklahoma City, OK, USA
MLB Debut
1983-07-30
Last Game
1998-09-28
Awards
5× All-Star · 2× Silver Slugger

Full name: Joseph Chris Carter

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Career Batting Statistics

Joe Carter — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
2,189 8,422 1,170 2,184 432 53 396 1,445 231 527 1,387 .259 .306 .464 .771 7,384

Career AVG .259 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .306 vs. league average .329 across their career seasons — 6.8% below league average.

Career SLG .464 vs. league average .399 across their career seasons — +16.3% above league average.

Career OPS .771 vs. league average .728 across their career seasons — +5.9% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Joe Carter 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
1983 CHN NL 23 51 6 9 1 1 0 1 1 0 21 .176 .260 (-32%) .324 (-46%) .389 (-40%) .714 (-42%) -350.3
1984 CLE AL 66 244 32 67 6 1 13 41 2 11 48 .275 .259 (+6%) .322 (-5%) .384 (+21%) .707 (+9%) 333.4
1985 CLE AL 143 489 64 128 27 0 15 59 24 25 74 .262 .257 (+2%) .323 (-8%) .390 (+5%) .714 (-1%) -188.2
1986 CLE AL 162 663 108 200 36 9 29 121 29 32 95 .302 .257 (+17%) .325 (+3%) .395 (+30%) .720 (+18%) 2065.8
1987 CLE AL 149 588 83 155 27 2 32 106 31 27 105 .264 .262 (avg) .331 (-8%) .415 (+15%) .746 (+5%) 403.4
1988 CLE AL 157 621 85 168 36 6 27 98 27 35 82 .271 .254 (+6%) .317 (-1%) .377 (+27%) .695 (+14%) 1422.2
1989 CLE AL 162 651 84 158 32 4 35 105 13 39 112 .243 .254 (-4%) .319 (-9%) .375 (+24%) .694 (+9%) 850.8
1990 SDN NL 162 634 79 147 27 1 24 115 22 48 93 .232 .257 (-10%) .324 (-11%) .385 (+1%) .710 (-4%) -530.0
1991 TOR AL 162 638 89 174 42 3 33 108 20 49 112 .273 .255 (+7%) .323 (+2%) .384 (+31%) .708 (+18%) 2037.0
1992 TOR AL 158 622 97 164 30 7 34 119 12 36 109 .264 .255 (+3%) .322 (-4%) .377 (+32%) .699 (+15%) 1521.9
1993 TOR AL 155 603 92 153 33 5 33 121 8 47 113 .254 .265 (-4%) .332 (-6%) .403 (+21%) .735 (+9%) 841.5
1994 TOR AL 111 435 70 118 25 2 27 103 11 33 64 .271 .269 (+1%) .338 (-6%) .424 (+24%) .763 (+10%) 614.6
1995 TOR AL 139 558 70 141 23 0 25 76 12 37 87 .253 .266 (-5%) .337 (-11%) .417 (+3%) .755 (-4%) -444.4
1996 TOR AL 157 625 84 158 35 7 30 107 7 44 106 .253 .269 (-6%) .340 (-10%) .426 (+11%) .767 (+2%) -15.8
1997 TOR AL 157 612 76 143 30 4 21 102 8 40 105 .234 .266 (-12%) .336 (-16%) .419 (-5%) .756 (-10%) -1161.7
1998 BAL AL 85 283 36 70 15 1 11 34 3 18 48 .247 .266 (-7%) .335 (-11%) .420 (+1%) .755 (-5%) -255.5
1998 SFN NL 41 105 15 31 7 0 7 29 1 6 13 .295 .266 (+11%) .335 (-4%) .420 (+34%) .755 (+17%) -255.5
Career · 17 seasons 2,189 8,422 1,170 2,184 432 53 396 1,445 231 527 1,387 .259 — — — — 6,889

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.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

Joe Carter — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
29 119 15 30 5 0 6 20 7 20 .252

Playoff Batting by Year

Joe Carter — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1993 ALCS TOR 6 27 2 7 0 0 0 2 1 5 .259
1993 WS TOR 6 25 6 7 1 0 2 8 0 4 .280
1992 ALCS TOR 6 26 2 5 0 0 1 3 2 4 .192
1992 WS TOR 6 22 2 6 2 0 2 3 3 2 .273
1991 ALCS TOR 5 19 3 5 2 0 1 4 1 5 .263

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (2188 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Joe Carter — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home110241835851096213753.262
Away108642355851088183692.257

Last 10 Games — Batting

Joe Carter — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1998-09-27 SFGCOLL 423001200
1998-09-26 SFGCOLW 100000000
1998-09-25 SFGCOLW 301000210
1998-09-24 SFGPITW 311001200
1998-09-23 SFGPITW 412001301
1998-09-22 SFGPITW 323100110
1998-09-21 SFGPITW 111001200
1998-09-20 SFGLADL 301000000
1998-09-19 SFGLADW 202000000
1998-09-18 SFGLADW 100000010

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Joe Carter — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 308 275 2221 169 29 199
2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
OF 1730 1665 3669 111 89 22

Season-by-Season Fielding

Joe Carter — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1983 CHN OF 16 13 26 0 0 0
1984 CLE 1B 7 7 47 2 0 4
1984 CLE OF 59 48 122 9 6 0
1985 CLE 1B 11 7 33 5 1 2
1985 CLE 2B 1 0 0 1 0 0
1985 CLE 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1985 CLE OF 135 113 278 11 5 2
1986 CLE 1B 70 62 559 47 4 50
1986 CLE OF 104 98 241 8 6 2
1987 CLE 1B 84 80 644 45 12 61
1987 CLE OF 62 60 138 1 5 0
1988 CLE OF 156 156 444 8 7 3
1989 CLE 1B 11 11 93 14 1 4
1989 CLE OF 146 144 350 6 8 3
1990 SDN 1B 14 13 107 3 6 15
1990 SDN OF 150 148 385 13 5 4
1991 TOR OF 151 152 283 13 8 2
1992 TOR 1B 4 4 27 3 1 1
1992 TOR OF 129 129 257 10 8 2
1993 TOR OF 151 151 289 7 8 0
1994 TOR OF 110 109 205 4 2 1
1995 TOR 1B 7 6 47 3 0 2
1995 TOR OF 128 127 269 9 7 1
1996 TOR 1B 41 33 249 16 2 31
1996 TOR OF 115 109 167 7 7 1
1997 TOR 1B 42 42 325 22 1 24
1997 TOR OF 51 51 104 1 3 0
1998 BAL 1B 1 0 3 1 0 0
1998 BAL OF 50 44 96 4 4 1
1998 SFN 1B 16 10 87 8 1 5
1998 SFN OF 17 13 15 0 0 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Joe Carter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
First Base 308
Second Base 1
Third Base 1
Left Field 774
Center Field 432
Right Field 625
Designated Hitter 173

Awards & Honors

Joe Carter — Awards & Honors
Year Award Notes
1994 Player of the Month April
1994 Player of the Week Week of 1994-04-23
1994 Player of the Week Week of 1994-04-09
1992 Player of the Week Week of 1992-06-13
1992 Player of the Week Week of 1992-08-15
1992 Silver Slugger OF
1992 TSN All-Star OF
1991 Player of the Month June
1991 Player of the Week Week of 1991-06-22
1991 Silver Slugger OF
1991 TSN All-Star OF
1989 Player of the Week Week of 1989-07-21
1986 Player of the Week Week of 1986-09-05

Salary History

Joe Carter — Salary History
Year Team League Salary
1998 BAL AL $3,151,380
1997 TOR AL $6,500,000
1996 TOR AL $6,525,000
1995 TOR AL $7,500,000
1994 TOR AL $5,550,000
1993 TOR AL $5,550,000
1992 TOR AL $3,691,667
1991 TOR AL $3,791,667
1990 SDN NL $1,866,667
1989 CLE AL $1,630,000
1988 CLE AL $840,000
1987 CLE AL $250,000
1986 CLE AL $190,000
1985 CLE AL $110,000
Total Career Earnings $47,146,381

College History

Joe Carter — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
Wichita State University Wichita KS 1979, 1980, 1981

Award Voting History

Joe Carter — Award Voting History
Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1994 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 35.0 392 0
1993 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 25.0 392 0
1992 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 201.0 392 4
1991 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 136.0 392 1
1990 Most Valuable Player NL 17th 7.0 336 0
1989 Most Valuable Player AL 16th 23.0 392 0
1988 Most Valuable Player AL 20th 5.0 392 0
1986 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 72.0 392 0

Most Similar Players

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

Career Spans

Joe Carter (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Ruben Sierra
    .268 avg, 306 HR
  2. 88
    Torii Hunter
    .277 avg, 353 HR
  3. 85
    Alfonso Soriano
    .270 avg, 412 HR
  4. 77
    Andruw Jones
    .254 avg, 434 HR
  5. 76
    Andre Dawson HOF
    .279 avg, 438 HR
  6. 76
    Raul Ibanez
    .272 avg, 305 HR

Joe Carter: the record in brief

Joe Carter played a first major league game on July 30, 1983 and a last one on September 28, 1998. Club by club, the record runs the Chicago Cubs (1983), the Cleveland Indians (1984 to 1989), the San Diego Padres (1990), the Toronto Blue Jays (1991 through 1997), the Baltimore Orioles (1998), and the San Francisco Giants (1998). Carter is listed as an outfielder at 6 feet, 3 inches and 215 pounds. The bio says Carter batted and threw right-handed. Carter was born on March 7, 1960, in Oklahoma City, OK, USA. On the record, Joe Carter was born Joseph Chris Carter.

Carter finished with 2,184 hits from 8,422 at bats in 2,189 games, which works out to .259, plus 396 home runs, 1,445 RBI, and 231 stolen bases. The on-base percentage is .306 and the slugging percentage .464, for an OPS of .771. Carter hit .259 while the league hit .261 over the same span, a figure close to average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Joe Carter

What years did Joe Carter play?
Joe Carter played in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1998.
Was Joe Carter a pitcher?
No. Joe Carter was a position player (Outfielder).
How many home runs did Joe Carter hit?
Joe Carter hit 396 career home runs with 2184 hits.
What was Joe Carter's career batting average?
Joe Carter batted .259 over his career, with 2,184 hits in 8,422 at bats.
How many RBI did Joe Carter have?
Joe Carter drove in 1,445 runs in his career.
Is Joe Carter in the Hall of Fame?
No. Joe Carter has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.