The All-Star鈥檚 signature was the least-valuable thing on the paper.
Matt Carpenter texts with his college coach, talks on the phone with him, too 鈥 heck, in the offseason, they even live in the same Fort Worth neighborhood. All of this makes it the more meaningful that Carpenter sent him a handwritten letter, each sentence nourished with gratitude.
鈥淚 think it can be a special deal,鈥 said the Cardinals鈥 Carpenter, a three-time All-Star and MVP candidate this season. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a dated thing, nobody really does it. It鈥檚 pretty cool 鈥 it means something.鈥
Jim Schlossnagle was 36 at the time, just four years older than Carp is now. It was 2007 and Schlossnagle was in his fourth season coaching the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University. Carpenter, a junior on the team, was 鈥 and this is the one of the worst things you can be in sports 鈥 just a guy.
鈥淗e was a good 35, 40 pounds heavier and of course most of it was beer weight,鈥 Schlossnagle said. 鈥淵ou know how guys get thick under their chin and stuff like that? 鈥 He was never late to practice and always worked hard, but he didn鈥檛 apply those things to the rest of his life. His diet. His effort in the weight room. His effort in the classroom.鈥
So, Schlossnagle told him: You鈥檙e wasting your talent.
Who knew, but that moment, right then, would be one of the biggest moments in team history. Not just the Horned Frogs, but the Cardinals as well.
鈥淭he credit goes to him because literally the next day 鈥 I mean, literally the next day 鈥 he was a different human being,鈥 Schlossnagle said. 鈥淗e changed on the spot. Some guys, it takes some time and they鈥檒l sometimes fall back and they鈥檒l go back and forth and eventually make a turn. But that conversation, combined with his (elbow) injury, it鈥檚 a good lesson for all of us 鈥 just because something negative has happened to you, it doesn鈥檛 mean you have to respond negatively. He certainly didn鈥檛.
鈥淭he very next day, he was the first guy in the weight room. The strength coach commented within a couple days 鈥 鈥榃hat in the heck has gotten into Carp?鈥 Even back then, we didn鈥檛 have the resources we do today to feed the team and have a full-time nutritionist, which we have now. But he wouldn鈥檛 drink a soda. Or eat a pizza. On the spot, he started preparing his own food. He had more energy. It just changed.鈥
Carpenter had to have Tommy John surgery on his elbow, but he was inspired to persevere, to maximize everything in his life so that once he could play, he鈥檇 maximize his baseball.
The next season, as a redshirt junior, he made second team all-conference.
At practice, the infielder would make a nifty play on a slow roller, or stretch a single into a double, and Schlossnagle would shout across the field: 鈥淔at Matt couldn鈥檛 have done that!鈥
鈥淧eople say the freshman 15 pounds? Well, he took it to another level for the first couple of years,鈥 Schlossnagle said. 鈥淏ut he definitely changed. And now he certainly has the resources from a nutrition standpoint. And he has his own garden!鈥
Yes, you may have heard, but Carpenter grows ingredients for salsa. I suppose, salsa is the new Schlossnagle, this X-factor ingredient, his secret sauce.
As a senior at TCU, Carp hit .333, spearheading a run to a super regional. The Cards picked him in the 13th round.
And now, No. 13 entered Wednesday leading the National League in homers (34) and slugging percentage (.580).
鈥淵ou need to be disciplined mentally and physically, on and off the field 鈥 it鈥檚 required for consistency in this game,鈥 Cards manager Mike Shildt said. 鈥淎nd Matt Carpenter is the poster child for all of it.鈥
Ten springs after the Schlossnagle speech, in 2017, Carpenter sat down to write him a letter.
鈥淚 just reached out and let him know it was 10 years to the month of when we had that conversation,鈥 Carp said. 鈥淭hat day had a huge impact on me and my career. The gist of (the letter) was 鈥 no matter what you do in this game, you鈥檙e not going to be measured by wins or losses. It鈥檚 going to be about the impact you鈥檝e had on other people. And the one you had on me was huge.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be here if it wasn鈥檛 for you.鈥
Schlossnagle was at home when he received the letter. He recalls his eyes almost tearing up. And showing the letter to his wife.
Not only has he kept the letter, but he typed up the words and e-mailed it to himself.
鈥淚 wanted to make sure I never lost it,鈥 said Schlossnagle, who has coached TCU to five College World Series. 鈥淚t鈥檚 at my fingertips to pull it up on my phone, show to my son, stuff like that. I鈥檓 moving him into his freshman dorm at TCU today. Jackson 鈥 he鈥檒l be a student here. And Matt is great with him. Jackson was 3 years old when I came to TCU and Matt got here (my second season). And they鈥檝e known each other for a long time, too.
鈥淭he best players I鈥檝e ever coached have the perfect combination of confidence on the field and humble away from it. And that鈥檚 Matt. 鈥 We have a saying around here: 鈥楾he game knows.鈥 The game will reward you 鈥 and the game will punish you if you鈥檙e not doing the right things. Matt is getting his just due right now.鈥