All-Time Top 100 Marlins: #60 Chuck Carr

Throughout the 2016-17 offseason, Fish Stripes is counting down the top 100 Marlins of all-time. For comparison’s sake, we are using the Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metric as a measuring device. The top 100 WAR ratings are being featured. Today’s Marlin, Charles Lee Glenn Carr, earned 3.1 while with Florida.

Chuck Carr was a 5’10”, 155 lb. center fielder from San Bernardino, California. Born on August 10th, 1967, the diminutive speedster was initially selected in the ninth round of the 1986 amateur draft by the Cincinnati Reds. He slashed .171/.230/.211/.441 with the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Reds soon afterward, stealing nine bases in 44 games. The Reds granted his outright release prior to the following season.

Despite his less than stellar numbers, Carr signed with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent halfway through the 1987 campaign, and was assigned to their low-A affiliate Northwest League team, the Bellingham Mariners. In 44 games to close out the season, he displayed increased selectiveness at the plate, and hit .242/.298/.279/.577 with 20 stolen bases.

1988 would see the Mariners split Carr’s season between their class-A Midwest League team, the Wausau Timbers (82 games, .299/.327/.418/.745, six home runs, 30 RBI, 41 stolen bases) and their double-A club in the Eastern League, the Vermont Mariners (41 games, .245/.280/.314/.594, one homer, 13 RBI, 21 stolen bases). After the season the Mariners traded him to the New York Mets for right-handed pitcher Reggie Dobie.

In 1989, Carr spent the season with the Jackson Mets in the double-A Texas League, where he hit .241/.285/.275/.560 over 116 games, with 22 RBI and 47 stolen bases. The following year, he made it through three levels of ball, starting with Jackson (93 games, .258/.338/.385/.723, three homers, 24 RBI, 48 stolen bases) then later graduating to the triple-A level with the International League Tidewater Tides (20 games, .259/.287/.346/.633, eight RBI, six stolen bases). He did get called up for one at bat in April, striking out in his first major league plate appearance in an 8-4 loss to the Houston Astros. Four months later, he struck out in his second plate appearance as well, but he did steal a base on August 29th as a pinch runner in a 2-1 win against the San Diego Padres.

In 1991, Carr played most of the season with the Tides, where he appeared in 64 contests and slashed .195/.253/.240/.493, with 11 RBI and 27 steals. In 12 contests with New York, he went two-for-11 with a run, an RBI, and one steal. After the season, the Mets traded him to the St. Louis Cardinals for right-handed pitcher Clyde Keller.

Carr played a bit of the 1992 campaign with the double-A Arkansas Travelers in the Texas League (28 games, .261/.311/.351/.662, one homer, six RBI, eight steals), joining the Louisville Redbirds (96 games, .308/.365/.408/.773, three home runs, 28 RBI, 53 steals) for most of the season. In 22 games with the Cardinals, he hit 14-for-64 and stole 10 bases. The Florida Marlins chose him in the expansion draft following the season, with the 14th selection.

A long way from getting released by a rookie-level team, Carr got into Florida’s inaugural opener as an eighth-inning defensive replacement, and grounded out in his first at bat an inning later as the Marlins defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-3.

Although Carr started the season as a reserve, by the second week of the season he was starting in center field. He collected multiple hits in 37 of his 133 starts, and multiple steals eight times on his way to an NL leading 58. He hit .267/.327/.330/.657 through the season, with 19 doubles, a team-best 75 runs, four homers and 41 RBI. Carr placed fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year vote, and registered a career-high 2.0 WAR.

On April 29th, Carr led off and went three-for-five from the plate with three stolen bases in a 6-5 win against the Atlanta Braves. On May 26th, he went 0-for-3, drawing two walks, stealing a base, scoring twice (including the game-winner) and collecting an RBI in a 5-4 Marlins’ win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The very next day, he hit two singles, two doubles, stole a base, knocked in two and scored a run in a 13-8 loss to the Bucs. On August 1st, Carr singled and scored in the first, then hit a game-winning RBI-single in the ninth inning of a 5-4 victory against the Montreal Expos. On August 30th, he hit two singles, stole a base, and hit a solo home run to account for all of Florida’s run production in a 5-1 setback to the San Francisco Giants. Two days after that, Carr hit four singles, stole three bases, and scored twice in an 8-2 win against San Diego.

1994 was limited to 115 contests due to the labor dispute, but Carr still ranked amongst the NL leaders with 32 stolen bases. He hit .263/.305/.330/.635 in 106 contests, with 19 doubles, a team-best 61 runs scored, two round trippers and 30 RBI. He had 31 multi hit games out of his 100 starts, including 10 contests where he had three or more hits. In a 15-1 Marlins’ win over the Padres on April 9th, he hit two doubles and scored twice with three RBI. On May 3rd, he went five-for-five with three runs, two steals and a walk in a 6-3 win against the Braves. Click below for the worst highlight reel that I’ve ever seen.

Carr stole another 25 bags for the Marlins in 1995, but did not get near the NL leaderboard with that total. He hit just .227/.330/.312/.641 with two homers and 20 RBI in 105 contests. He started at center field in 77 contests, but only collected multiple hits 17 times, including four three-hit contests. After the season, the Marlins traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers with right-handed pitcher Ty Narcisse for right-handed pitcher Juan Gonzalez (not that one).

Carr played in 53 games over the next season-and-a-half with the Brewers (.230/.272/.322/.594/.one homer, 11 RBI, six stolen bases) before catching on for 63 games with the Astros in 1997 (.276/.333/.417/.750, four homers, 17 RBI, 11 stolen bases). Despite his newly found power stroke, it would be the last time he appeared in the major leagues, ending with a two-for-five night against the Pirates on September 27th. His 115 stolen bases for the Marlins ranked as a team-record for a while, but currently ranks fourth on the all-time team leaderboard.