Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Dandy Dozen: Bart Carlyle

Bart Carlyle
Cheyenne
Seminoles
Age: 38B/T: R/R
Born: East Grand Rapids, MI
Position(s): C/DH
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The Resume:
Bart Carlyle has spent his entire career with the Cheyenne Seminoles. The 38-year old continues to be the everyday catcher, playing in 139 games this season. He has been an All-star 8 times, trailing only 3 players. He's won the silver slugger at catcher 3 times; and he's won the gold glove 3 times. He actually won both silver and gold in seasons 6 and 7.

Carlyle holds Seminoles team records for games played (1556), hits (1782), batting average (.327), home runs (348), RBI (1189), triples (69), and walks (661). He's gunned down a league record 417 attempted base stealers (33.5%).

In 9 post season appearances, Carlyle has hit .310 in 216 ABs, with 9 HR and 32 RBI. He's done his finest post season work over the past 4 years, where he's hitting a combined .458. The face of the Seminole franchise is reportedly contemplating retirement as he finishes his 15th major league season at age 38.

The Rest of the Story: Bart Carlyle hails from East Grand Rapids, MI, home to former President, Gerald Ford. Carlyle shares something with Ford, a penchant for clumsiness. He's best known in baseball circles for falling into the stands trying to catch an Alex Shibata foul ball in the Season 9 NLCS (pictured to the left). Carlyle became so entangled in the decorative bunting, that the game had to be delayed 15 minutes while he was unfurled.

But, to his teammates, his best stories of clumsiness have occurred on the golf course. Carlyle, a 4-handicapper, plays regularly with fellow East Grand Rapidser, Tom Lehman. Lehman describes Carlyle as an excellent driver of the golf ball, but not of the golf cart. While playing with Carlyle in the annual Cheyenne team scramble, Bart actually fell out of the cart WHILE DRIVING IT. Lehman, the passenger, was laughing so hard that he jumped out of the cart and was rolling on the ground himself. That is, until he realized that the cart was traveling uphill. While Carlyle wallowed on the ground in a re-make of the bunting incident, the cart stopped, and then started to roll back right at him. Only Lehman's quick action to stop the cart kept Carlyle from being run down by his own cart. Team officials have since forbidden Carlyle from driving the cart during team outings.

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