Countdown to Spring Training - 37 Days

Joe Carter's name is forever burned into Blue Jays history for his monster walk off home run in the 1993 World Series, but today we're going to look at one of the other achievements he had after the 1993 season. In 1994, Carter reached base safely in 37 consecutive games, a team record that stands to this day.

Carter started getting noticed by Major League Baseball teams while attending Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. In 1981 after his junior year, he was drafted second overall by the Chicago Cubs. While playing in college, he was named Sporting News magazine's College Player of the Year in 1981.

Carter has had a career that can be envied by many baseball players. After making his debut with the Chicago Cubs in 1983, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians. While with Cleveland, his game continued to develop and he began to emerge as a power hitter. His 1986 season showcased his talents when he finished with a batting average of .302 - up from the previous season's average of .262. He also had an increase in RBIs from 59 to 121, hits from 128 to 200 and increased his runs from 64 to 108.

Prior to the 1990 season, Carter was traded to the San Diego Padres for Sandy Alomar Jr., Carlos Baerga and Chris James. While his hitting remained consistent, his defense lacked, and he was ultimately traded to the Toronto Blue Jays along with Roberto Alomar in exchange for Fred McGriff and Tony Fernandez following his one year in San Diego.

When Carter joined the Toronto Blue Jays, he really began to flourish, improving both his defense and hitting. While with Toronto he had a career total of 203 home runs, 736 RBIs and 1051 hits over seven seasons.

Besides being a part of both of the World Series teams for Toronto, he has also been a member of the All Star team five times - 1991, '92, '93, '94 & '96 (In 1995, there was no All Star game due to the Players strike). He has also won the Silver Slugger Award twice (1991 & 1992).

Though his streak of reaching base safely in 37 consecutive game was impressive, his most memorable moment as a Blue Jay would have to be when he hit his huge walk off home run in the bottom of the 9th to win the 1993 World Series. The saying "Touch 'em all Joe! You'll never hit a bigger home run in your life!" was said after Carter sealed Toronto's win against the Philadelphia Phillies in a series Toronto was winning 3-2.

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