Carlos Carrasco (baseball)


Carlos Luis Carrasco, nicknamed "Cookie", is a Venezuelan-born American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball.

Early life

Carlos Luis Carrasco was born March 21, 1987, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.

Career

Philadelphia Phillies

Carrasco was signed as an undrafted free agent on November 25, 2003, by the Philadelphia Phillies. In 2006, Carrasco spent the entire season at the Single-A level with the Lakewood BlueClaws, compiling a 2.26 ERA in innings pitched. He split time in between the Single-A Clearwater Threshers and the Double-A Reading Phillies. Carrasco compiled a 2.84 ERA in innings pitched at Clearwater and a 4.86 ERA in innings pitched with Reading. Carrasco threw his first no-hitter on August 21, 2007. He was on the World roster of the 2006, 2007, and 2008 All-Star Futures Games.
Entering the 2007 season, Carrasco was ranked as the top prospect in the Phillies organization and the 41st-best prospect in baseball. He was still ranked as the top prospect in the Phillies system entering 2008, and was listed as having the organization's best fastball and changeup.

Cleveland Indians

On July 29, 2009 the Phillies traded Carrasco, along with Jason Donald, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco.
Carrasco made five starts with the Indians, resulting in an 0–4 record with 8.87 ERA.
During the 2010 season, Carrasco had a 2–2 record and 3.83 ERA in seven starts for Cleveland.
On July 29, 2011, Carrasco was ejected from the game after throwing a pitch over the head of Kansas City Royals' designated hitter Billy Butler, right after allowing outfielder Melky Cabrera the Royals' first grand slam of the season. Carrasco made 21 starts for Cleveland, pitching to an 8–9 record with 4.62 ERA and striking out 86 batters in innings. In September 2011, Carrasco underwent Tommy John surgery and eventually missed the entire 2012 season as a result.
On April 9, 2013, Carrasco made his first start since his Tommy John surgery and suspension. His season began with a rather poor outing against the New York Yankees during which he surrendered seven runs in innings and hit batter Kevin Youkilis resulting in his ejection by home plate umpire Jordan Baker. On April 10, 2013, Carrasco was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, and eventually suspended eight games for hitting Youkilis. He was recalled to the majors on June 8, and then sent back down to Triple-A on June 24. He was recalled on July 6, and then designated for assignment on July 7. He was then optioned to Columbus on July 9. Carrasco's record for the 2013 season with Cleveland was 1–4 with a 6.75 ERA.
For the 2014 season, Carrasco appeared in 40 games for Cleveland and had an 8–7 record with 2.55 ERA while striking out 140 batters in 134 innings.
On April 7, 2015, Carrasco signed a 4-year extension worth $22 million that also includes club options for 2019 and 2020.
During a game against the Chicago White Sox on April 14, Carrasco was struck in the face by a line drive off the bat of Melky Cabrera. He left the game as he was carted off on a motor stretcher. Carrasco had a bruise on his jaw while X-rays were negative. On July 1, Carrasco took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, only to surrender a two-out, two-strike single to Joey Butler before retiring the side. It would have been the first no-hitter by an Indians pitcher since Len Barker's perfect game on May 15, 1981. On July 19, Carrasco hit the first single of his major league career against the Cincinnati Reds' Johnny Cueto in the top of the second inning. Carrasco went six innings giving up four hits and one earned run with a no decision. In 30 starts during the 2015 season, Carrasco compiled a 14–12 record with a 3.63 ERA, and struck out 216 batters in innings.
Carrasco made two trips to the disabled list in 2016, the second of which resulted from a line drive to his right hand on September 17 that fractured the fifth metacarpal bone. This injury forced Carrasco to miss the entire postseason. Carrasco finished the 2016 season with an 11–8 record and 3.32 ERA in 25 starts, recording 150 strikeouts in innings.
In the fifth inning of a July 7, 2017, game against the Detroit Tigers, Carrasco pitched an immaculate inning, striking out the side on the minimum nine pitches. He became only the second pitcher in Indians history to do so, following Justin Masterson in 2014, and the 84th in Major League history. Carrasco struck out 14 Minnesota Twins batters on September 28, in a 5–2 game to give Cleveland their 100th win of the season. For the 2017 season, Carrasco was 18–6 with a 3.29 ERA, striking out 226 in 200 innings.
During 2018, Carrasco struck out 231 batters in 192 innings, pitching to a record of 17–10 with a 3.38 ERA. On December 6, 2018, Carrasco signed a contract extension through the 2022 season with a club option for the 2023 season.
On June 5, 2019, Carrasco was placed on the 10-day injured list, with the team stating that he had been "diagnosed with a blood condition." He subsequently spent the remainder of June on the injured list. On July 6, 2019, Carrasco revealed that he had been diagnosed with leukemia.
On August 28, 2019, Carrasco was activated from the IL. On September 1, he made his first appearance since his diagnosis, pitching an inning in relief against the Tampa Bay Rays. Carrasco was named the 2019 AL Comeback Player of the Year.

Personal life

Carrasco shared in a Players' Tribune article some rather unusual experiences during his early time in the United States. In his first spring training, he ate Domino's Pizza every day for 90 consecutive days, because "it was the only thing I knew how to order." Domino's awarded him one month of free pizza for being their "best customer." He added, he did little outside of baseball in his first few years in the U.S., including not speaking with his teammates. "Not because I didn’t want to, but because I didn’t know how." After being traded to the Indians, he dedicated his efforts to learning English. In August 2016, he became a US citizen.
Carrasco is married to Karelis Carrasco. They have five children. Carrasco and his daughter, 4 year old Camila, visited kids at the hospital in 2010. This inspired Camila to take a pair of scissors and started to cut her hair and want to give it to the cancer patients.
Carrasco is heavily involved in community development and charity work; he has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars, time, and supplies to organizations in countries including Venezuela - his home country - Colombia, United States, Africa, and more in 2018-2019. He was the 2019 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award that highlights MLB players making a profound difference in communities.