Spoon Carter

Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records

Spoon Carter was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball for 11 teams, including the Birmingham Black Barons. Across 142 career appearances, he went 53-31 with a 4.86 ERA and 325 strikeouts. He also batted .199 with 1 home runs. Spoon Carter was a 2-time All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 829.6.

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 53–31
ERA 4.86
WHIP 1.48
SO 325
Pitcher PIV 829.6
Position
Pitcher
Bats / Throws
L / R
Height / Weight
5'11" / 176 lb
Born
12/8/1902 in Harpersville, AL, USA
Died
1/23/1974 in Birmingham, AL, USA
Awards
2× All-Star

Full name: Ernest C. Carter

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Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

Spoon Carter — Batting
PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
289.0 266.0 33.0 57.0 6.0 0 2.0 19.0 13.0 2.0 0 .214 .259 .259 .518

Pitching

Spoon Carter — Pitching
W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
68 31 107 56 83 7 894.0 886 512 157 55 234 221 1.58 1.25

Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Spoon Carter — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting
Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1934 12.0 10.0 1.0 3.0 0 0 1.0 2.0 0 1.0 0 .300 .300 .600 .900
1949 3.0 2.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.0 0 0 .000 .333 .000 .333
Listed seasons · 2 15 12 1 3 0 0 1 2 1 1 0 .250 — — —

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching

Spoon Carter — Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Pitching
Season W L GS CG GF SV IP H R ER HR BB SO ERA WHIP
1934 3 0 3 3 0 0 27.0 24 15 5 7 8 10 1.67 1.19
1949 2 1 2 2 9 0 38.1 16 24 1 1 7 10 0.23 0.60
Listed seasons · 2 5 1 5 5 9 0 65.1 40 39 6 8 15 20 0.83 0.84

Career Pitching Statistics

Spoon Carter — Career Pitching Statistics
W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER HR BB SO ERA Pitcher PIV
53 31 142 82 45 1 5 754.1 853 407 43 265 325 4.86 829.6

Career ERA 4.86 vs. league average 4.00 across their career seasons — 21.4% worse than league average.

Season-by-Season Pitching

Pitching Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Spoon Carter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg W L G GS CG SHO SV IP H ER BB SO ERA Lg ERA Pitcher PIV
1932 BBB NSL 2 1 4 3 1 0 0 26.0 26 10 5 9 3.46 4.13 (+16%) 251.2
1932 LVB NSL 1 3 4 3 3 0 0 27.0 23 10 4 13 3.33 4.13 (+19%) 553.0
1932 MRS NSL 2 1 3 2 2 0 0 25.0 20 3 4 8 1.08 4.13 (+74%) 502.5
1933 ACG NN2 0 4 4 4 2 0 0 24.2 41 25 8 9 9.12 3.86 (-137%) -617.3
1933 PC NN2 0 2 3 2 2 0 0 22.1 16 8 9 13 3.22 3.86 (+16%) 178.4
1935 PC NN2 4 1 11 5 3 0 0 55.2 53 19 19 20 3.07 4.35 (+29%) 389.5
1936 PC NN2 3 2 9 3 1 0 0 35.0 38 28 25 14 7.20 4.59 (-57%) -1074.5
1937 PC NN2 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 3.0 11 11 4 0 33.00 — 0.0
1938 PS NN2 7 3 20 12 5 0 0 109.1 124 77 47 55 6.34 4.35 (-46%) -1645.6
1938 BBB NAL 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 8.0 7 4 1 4 4.50 — 0.0
1939 PS NN2 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 13.2 22 14 8 9 9.22 4.28 (-115%) -459.7
1939 TC NAL 3 0 5 3 3 0 0 30.0 30 14 15 15 4.20 4.28 (+2%) -513.3
1940 TIC NAL 1 0 2 1 1 0 0 12.2 10 1 3 11 0.71 4.21 (+83%) 710.1
1940 NE NN2 1 0 6 2 1 0 2 17.1 18 8 8 9 4.15 4.21 (+1%) -275.7
1940 NYC NN2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2.2 3 1 1 3 3.38 — 0.0
1942 HG NN2 2 4 12 7 3 0 0 62.0 79 42 16 23 6.10 3.57 (-71%) 37.3
1943 HG NN2 14 2 21 12 8 1 0 119.1 127 50 36 45 3.77 3.50 (-8%) 579.8
1944 HG NN2 6 3 12 10 6 0 0 78.0 103 41 24 25 4.73 3.57 (-32%) 811.5
1945 HG NN2 2 1 7 3 1 0 1 35.0 40 12 9 23 3.09 3.67 (+16%) 1315.9
1946 MRS NAL 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 9.1 11 4 3 4 3.86 3.59 (-7%) 0.0
1947 MRS NAL 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 5.2 9 4 1 4 6.35 — 0.0
1948 MRS NAL 3 2 8 5 2 0 0 32.2 42 21 15 9 5.79 4.10 (-41%) 86.5
Career · 22 seasons 53 31 142 82 45 1 5 754.1 853 407 265 325 4.86 — 830

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

Spoon Carter — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
147 302 32 60 8 1 1 23 0 16 1 .199 .241 .242 .483 -186

Career AVG .199 vs. league average .268 across their career seasons — 25.8% below league average.

Career OBP .241 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 28.0% below league average.

Career SLG .242 vs. league average .378 across their career seasons — 36.0% below league average.

Career OPS .483 vs. league average .713 across their career seasons — 32.2% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Spoon 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
1932 BBB NSL 4 11 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 .091 — — — — 0.0
1932 LVB NSL 4 10 1 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
1932 MRS NSL 3 11 2 2 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .182 — — — — 0.0
1933 ACG NN2 5 11 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .182 — — — — 0.0
1933 PC NN2 3 8 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .250 — — — — 0.0
1935 PC NN2 11 25 1 7 1 0 0 3 0 1 1 .280 — — — — 0.0
1936 PC NN2 9 10 5 4 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 .400 — — — — 0.0
1937 PC NN2 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1938 PS NN2 20 38 5 5 1 0 0 4 0 2 0 .132 — — — — 0.0
1938 BBB NAL 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1939 PS NN2 3 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1939 TC NAL 6 15 1 7 0 0 0 2 0 2 0 .467 — — — — 0.0
1940 TIC NAL 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1940 NE NN2 7 11 2 3 0 0 1 3 0 1 0 .273 — — — — 0.0
1940 NYC NN2 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 — — — — 0.0
1942 HG NN2 12 25 4 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
1943 HG NN2 22 52 4 10 4 0 0 1 0 4 0 .192 .255 (-25%) .324 (-23%) .346 (-22%) .671 (-23%) -186.3
1944 HG NN2 12 28 2 4 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .143 — — — — 0.0
1945 HG NN2 7 13 1 3 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 .231 — — — — 0.0
1946 MRS NAL 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1947 MRS NAL 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 — — — — 0.0
1948 MRS NAL 8 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .083 — — — — 0.0
Career · 22 seasons 147 302 32 60 8 1 1 23 0 16 1 .199 — — — — -186

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

Spoon Carter — Playoff Career Batting
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .143

Playoff Batting by Year

Spoon Carter — Playoff Batting by Year
Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1944 NWS HG 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1943 NWS HG 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1942 NWS HG 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
1935 NLC PC 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250

Playoff Career Pitching

Spoon Carter — Playoff Career Pitching
W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
0 1 5 2 0 18.2 16 5 2 9 2.41

Playoff Pitching by Year

Spoon Carter — Playoff Pitching by Year
Year Round Team W L G GS SV IP H ER BB SO ERA
1944 NWS HG 0 1 1 1 0 5.0 5 2 1 1 3.60
1943 NWS HG 0 0 1 1 0 6.0 7 3 0 5 4.50
1942 NWS HG 0 0 1 0 0 0.1 1 0 0 0 0.00
1935 NLC PC 0 0 2 0 0 7.1 3 0 1 3 0.00

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (323 games) →

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

Batting — Home / Away

Spoon Carter — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home9898122217.224
Away657881603.205

Pitching — Home / Away

Spoon Carter — Pitching — Home / Away
SplitGIPHERBBSOERA
Home96375.23297786721.84
Away64237.02745071691.90

Last 10 Games — Batting

Spoon Carter — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1949-09-04 BIRMEMW 000000000
1949-08-29 BIRIN9L 000000000
1949-08-21 BIRKCML 000000000
1949-08-17 BIRCAGL 000000000
1949-07-30 BIRBLGL 000000000
1949-07-24 BIRMEML 000000000
1949-07-10 BIRPH5W 000000000
1949-07-03 BIRMEML 000000010
1949-06-26 BIRKCML 100000000
1949-06-26 BIRKCMW 000000000

Last 10 Games — Pitching

Spoon Carter — Last 10 Games — Pitching
DateTmOppDecIPHRERBBSOHR
1949-09-04 BIRMEM W 7.0010000
1949-08-29 BIRIN9 — 0.0000000
1949-08-21 BIRKCM — 6.0300000
1949-08-17 BIRCAG — 0.0000000
1949-07-30 BIRBLG — 2.2030000
1949-07-24 BIRMEM — 1.0000000
1949-07-10 BIRPH5 — 0.1111201
1949-07-03 BIRMEM — 1.1460200
1949-06-26 BIRKCM — 2.2100110
1949-06-26 BIRKCM — 0.1000200

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Spoon Carter — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
OF 5 4 5 0 0 0
P 142 83 25 164 15 5

Season-by-Season Fielding

Spoon Carter — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1932 BBB P 4 3 0 5 0 0
1932 LVB P 4 3 0 5 2 0
1932 MRS P 3 2 1 10 0 1
1933 ACG OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1933 ACG P 4 4 2 6 1 0
1933 PC P 3 2 0 5 0 0
1935 PC P 11 5 2 11 1 0
1936 PC P 9 3 1 6 1 1
1937 PC OF 1 0 3 0 0 0
1937 PC P 2 1 0 2 0 0
1938 PS P 20 12 1 28 3 1
1938 BBB P 1 1 1 3 0 0
1939 PS P 3 3 0 3 0 0
1939 TC OF 1 1 1 0 0 0
1939 TC P 5 3 2 9 1 0
1940 TIC P 2 2 0 3 1 0
1940 NE OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1940 NE P 6 2 0 6 0 0
1940 NYC P 1 0 1 1 0 0
1942 HG P 12 7 3 19 0 1
1943 HG OF 1 1 0 0 0 0
1943 HG P 21 12 3 15 0 0
1944 HG P 12 10 3 16 2 1
1945 HG P 7 3 3 3 0 0
1946 MRS P 3 0 0 3 0 0
1947 MRS P 1 0 1 0 0 0
1948 MRS P 8 5 1 5 3 0

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Spoon Carter Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Pitcher 142
Left Field 3
Right Field 2

Most Similar Players

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

  1. 98
    Jesse Hubbard
    34-41, 4.79 ERA
  2. 97
    Willie Gisentaner
    40-49, 5.14 ERA
  3. 96
    Chris Codiroli
    38-47, 4.87 ERA
  4. 96
    Ping Gardner
    41-46, 4.96 ERA
  5. 95
    Johnny Babich
    30-45, 4.93 ERA
  6. 95
    Bob Griffith
    25-31, 4.76 ERA

Spoon Carter: the record in brief

The season rows for Spoon Carter begin in 1932. The season rows list, in order, the Birmingham Black Barons (1932 to 1938), the Louisville Black Caps (1932), the Memphis Red Sox (1932 through 1948), the Akron Grays / Cleveland Giants (1933), the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1933 to 1937), the Philadelphia Stars (1938 to 1939), the Toledo Crawfords (1939), and the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords (1940), with further stops in the season rows. Carter played primarily as a pitcher and threw right-handed and batted left-handed. The bio adds a birth date on December 8, 1902, in Harpersville, AL, USA and a listed size of 5'11" and 176 pounds. Carter's death is recorded on January 23, 1974, in Birmingham, AL, USA. On the record, Spoon Carter was born Ernest C. Carter.

Carter pitched in 142 games, starting 82, and finished with a 53-31 record and 4.86 ERA. The totals include 325 strikeouts and 45 complete games. The league ERA over Carter's seasons was 4.00, so the 4.86 figure ran 21.4% worse than average.

Frequently Asked Questions about Spoon Carter

Was Spoon Carter a pitcher?
Yes. Spoon Carter pitched in the major leagues, recording 53 wins and 325 strikeouts.
How many home runs did Spoon Carter hit?
Spoon Carter hit 1 career home runs with 60 hits.
What was Spoon Carter's career batting average?
Spoon Carter batted .199 over his career, with 60 hits in 302 at bats.
How many RBI did Spoon Carter have?
Spoon Carter drove in 23 runs in his career.
What was Spoon Carter's career ERA?
Spoon Carter finished with a 4.86 career ERA, going 53-31 with 325 strikeouts.
How many strikeouts did Spoon Carter have?
Spoon Carter recorded 325 career strikeouts.