Less than a week after signing as an in-season free agent, Matt Carpenter was getting his first taste of being a member of the New York Yankees playing at Yankee Stadium. He certainly relished the moment.
Carpenter’s only hit of the night came in the first inning when he sent a two-run shot in the bottom of the first inning.
“I don’t know what the exit velo was,” Carpenter told NJ.com. “I just put a good swing on it, not a great swing. … “It flew out, so I can get used to that.”
The Bombers signed Carpenter last Thursday and he made his debut for the Yankees that same during the team’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Tuesday night marked his first time playing in the Bronx in pinstripes.
Carpenter was overcome by the moment.
“Oh man. You can’t really put it into words,” he said. “I’ve been a baseball fan a lot longer than I’ve been a baseball player … For a baseball fan, it’s pretty special.”
The decision to join the Yankees is a chance for Carpenter to work his way back to where he felt he should be. While he only has two hits in 13 at-bats his season, both of them have been long balls that left the park.
The 36-year-old had been playing for the Texas Rangers Triple-A team up until he signed with New York on May 26. During his time there, the former three-time All-Star hit .275 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 21 games.
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“I just got my path back that I had for most of my career and I kind of lost last couple of seasons,” Carpenter said. “I feel like I’m staying on balls being able to put the ball in the air with good spin and having competitive at-bats. I’m seeing the ball well. When you’re confident and you’ve got a good swing, you feel like you can step in there and face anybody, and I do feel that way right now.”
Carpenter is joining the Yankees at the right time as they’ve been off to a hot start this season. While they had dropped two games against the Rays entering their series with the Los Angeles Angeles, the Yankees took the first game against LA and held 5.5 game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East lead heading into Wednesday night’s game.
