Jamey Carroll

Jamey Blake Carroll (born February 18, 1974) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals. He was primarily a second baseman but also spent some time at third base and shortstop.

Early life and college career

Carroll was born in Evansville, Indiana. In 1992, he graduated from Castle High School in Newburgh, Indiana. He attended John A. Logan College and the University of Evansville, where he played college baseball for the Logan Volunteers and Evansville Purple Aces. At Evansville, Carroll was named an All-American.

Professional career

Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals The Montreal Expos selected Carroll in the 14th round (400th overall) of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft. After spending parts of the 2000–2002 seasons with the Expos AAA affiliate Ottawa Lynx, Carroll was the second (and final) player in Lynx history to have his number retired by the team. Carroll made his Major League Baseball debut with the Expos on September 11, 2002, against the Chicago Cubs. He played third base and finished 2-for-3 in the game. His first hit was a single to left field in the fourth inning against Alan Benes. In his second game on September 13, Carroll recorded three hits and scored twice in an 11–8 win over the New York Mets. Two days later, he hit his first major league home run off Mets pitcher Tyler Walker in a 10–1 win. Carroll played in 16 games to close the season with the Expos, and hit .310 with five doubles, three triples, a home run and 6 RBI.

Carroll spent the entire 2003 season with the Expos, batting .260 with a home run and 10 RBI in 105 games. He made 67 appearances at third base, 14 at shortstop, and 11 at second base. Carroll batted .289 with 14 doubles, two triples, and 16 RBI in 102 games during the 2004 season.

Carroll posted the best season of his career in 2006, finishing with a .300 batting average, five home runs, 36 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 136 games. He played third base, shortstop, and second base, seeing by far the most action at second, where he appeared 109 times and made 102 starts. He committed just three errors as a second baseman, and five overall.

On January 4, 2007, Carroll signed a two-year, $4 million contract extension with the Rockies. The deal included a club option for 2009. On August 11, 2007, Carroll hit his first career grand slam as a pinch hitter against Chicago Cubs' pitcher Rich Hill in the sixth inning to break a 2–2 tie. He also made a key defensive play in the seventh, where with the bases loaded Cubs' outfielder Matt Murton hit a high chopper that Carroll snatched before throwing it to first, getting Murton and stranding all three baserunners. The Rockies won that game, 15–2, as Carroll finished the game 1-for-2 with two runs and 5 RBI.

On October 1, Carroll won the NL Wild Card tie-breaker game for the Rockies with a sacrifice fly that scored Matt Holliday. Later dubbed Rocktober, the team made it all the way to the 2007 World Series before being swept by the Boston Red Sox. Carroll batted .225 with two home runs and 22 RBI in 108 regular season games, and made four appearances in the postseason, going 0-for-2 with a walk. The PTBNL would be minor league pitcher Sean Smith.

In 2008, Carroll batted .277 with a home run and 36 RBI in 113 games with Cleveland. In Cleveland's final spring training game on April 4, 2009, Carroll was hit on the hand by a pitch from Houston Astros pitcher Doug Brocail, resulting in a fracture of the fifth metacarpal in his left hand. He was placed on the disabled list on April 6. On May 12, Carroll was activated after a rehab assignment with the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. For the 2009 season, he batted .276 with two home runs and 26 RBI in 93 games. He saw extended action at shortstop in 2010 due to injuries to Rafael Furcal. He appeared in 133 games with the Dodgers, hitting .291 with 15 doubles, 23 RBI and a career-high 12 stolen bases. He collected his first hits as a Twin on April 11, 2012, including the game-winner that capped a comeback win over the Los Angeles Angels.

Carroll was thrown out of a game for the first time in his career on May 25, 2012. He was ejected by umpire Alan Porter after Porter called him out at first base. Later, Carroll claimed that, "Tie goes to the runner." On September 4, Carroll hit his first home run since 2009 in a 4–2 loss to the Chicago White Sox, snapping a stretch of 1,384 at bats without a home run. He finished the season batting .268 with a home run and a career-high 40 RBI in 138 games. Carroll hit .230 with 9 RBI in 58 games with Minnesota in 2013. He hit .111 with three doubles and 2 RBI in 14 games with Kansas City.

Return to Washington Nationals On January 9, 2014, Carroll signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals. He was released on March 25.

Pittsburgh Pirates Front Office On January 12, 2015, the Pittsburgh Pirates announced that Carroll would be joining their front office as a special assistant. This was cited by some sources as his official retirement as a player. On January 5, 2022, it was announced that Carroll would be leaving the Pirates organization after seven years in the position.

Personal life On February 28, 2008, Carroll's wife Kim gave birth to fraternal twins. His brother Wes Carroll is the head coach at Evansville. Jamey and Wes appeared in spring training games together with the Washington Nationals.

He resides in Rockledge, Florida.