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Heroes are born every day. Most are just ordinary people, who do extraordinary things – or who make a difference by the way they live and play. Evan Carter, an Elizabethton boy, who at the age of 21 has made it big in Major League Baseball.
Carter, who started the 2023 season in the minor leagues with Texas’ Double-A Squad, finished it in the World Series. He became the youngest player since Mickey Mantle to bat third in a World Series lineup in the opening game.
He made an immediate impact for Texas, reaching base safely in all 14 games he’s played in this year’s postseason.
It has been quite a journey for Carter, who signed with the Texas Rangers to play minor league baseball straight out of high school. Three years later he played in the World Series, and the Rangers won. Carter’s contributions were significant. He made hits, caught balls, ran the bases, and scored runs. He did everything he was asked to do. His batting gloves are among the team’s memorabilia that is headed to Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame.
Carter and his teammates were tested and they responded well.
Carter in a post-game interview with Derek Jeter shared, “You always want to be ready to go in the minor leagues. To think that I’d have been in the World Series this time, this is unreal.”
Carter not only made the home folks in Elizabethton proud with his baseball play and talent, but his character, faith, and humility were shining gems.
After Carter was called up to the Rangers in September, he took his first batting practice wearing a blue T-shirt with the message “Jesus Won” prominently displayed across his chest. Carter wore that T-shirt in the dugout prior to his Major League debut, and when being interviewed said, “I’m grateful and I thank God for the opportunity.”
That shirt has become practically ubiquitous in Elizabethton, as Carter’s performance and profile continued to skyrocket with his debut with the Rangers and World Series play. Fellowship of Christian Athletes sells a Carter edition of the shirt, with “EC” and Carter’s number 32 on the sleeve. Carter and his wife Kaylen shared on social media that they want to use their platform in baseball to give back to their community in Elizabethton.
Proceeds from sales of the shirt benefit Central Cares, a program from their home church that helps provide for children in impoverished situations, and to help provide an environment for young baseball players in their community to succeed. Carter’s family is part of Central Community Christian Church.
Carter’s youth coach, Jason Holly, shared in an interview this week: “Evan’s a very quiet, humble person. He tells people ‘you can be great without being loud, and you can be great without causing problems, and you can be great without being flamboyant.’”
Carter makes the second young man and star athlete to put Elizabethton on the map. He joins former Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who played football at Elizabethton High School and later at the University of Tennessee. Both have displayed character on and off the field and have made Elizabethton proud.
We are proud of all of our men and women who have represented the Elizabethton community well. There are others such as Teresa Bowers, who sang on Broadway.
Yes, Elizabethton is proud of Evan Carter.