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Tonight, at around 10:30 PM Central Time, the Houston Astros bid farewell to first baseman Chris Carter. The team has elected not to tender a contract the their gentle giant of a slugger, choosing instead to clear a path for players like Jon Singleton, perhaps Luis Valbuena and Marwin Gonzalez, and (soon) prospects Tyler White and A.J. Reed to man first base in Carter's stead.
A quick look back at Chris Carter's three year Astros career, including averages:
| Farewell, Chris Carter... | |||||||||||||||||||
| G | PA | HR | R | RBI | SB | BB% | K% | ISO | BABIP | AVG | OBP | SLG | wOBA | wRC+ | BsR | Off | Def | WAR | |
| 2013 | 148 | 585 | 29 | 64 | 82 | 2 | 12.00% | 36.20% | 0.227 | 0.311 | 0.223 | 0.32 | 0.451 | 0.337 | 112 | -1.7 | 6.3 | -20.9 | 0.5 |
| 2014 | 145 | 572 | 37 | 68 | 88 | 5 | 9.80% | 31.80% | 0.264 | 0.267 | 0.227 | 0.308 | 0.491 | 0.346 | 122 | -0.4 | 13.6 | -15.5 | 1.8 |
| 2015 | 129 | 460 | 24 | 50 | 64 | 1 | 12.40% | 32.80% | 0.228 | 0.244 | 0.199 | 0.307 | 0.427 | 0.319 | 101 | -2.2 | -1.6 | -10.6 | 0.3 |
| Three Year Average | 141 | 539 | 30 | 61 | 78 | 3 | 11.40% | 33.60% | 0.24 | 0.274 | 0.216 | 0.312 | 0.456 | 0.334 | 112 | -1.4 | 6.1 | -15.7 | 0.9 |
It will be for other pieces (and the comments section, of course) to analyze this decision, but it seems likely that the lack of a trade market for Carter would have quite a bit to do with the Astros' decision. Undoubtedly, they tried very hard to trade Trogdor, who is reportedly well-liked within the Astros clubhouse.
To end this short piece, please enjoy this video look back at some of Trogdor's Astros highlights:
A piece from Carter's first spring with the Astros.
Chris Carter's 2013 highlights.
Check out the Hank Conger sighting.
And, finally, let's leave this right here. Thank you, Trogdor. Thank you for the years of memories.