In the News
11/28/06.. addition.. Post
Carroll's concerns about his role following the re-signing of Kaz Matsui were eased in telephone conversations with manager Clint Hurdle and O'Dowd. Agent Jonathan Mauer said the versatile Carroll was told he would still start about 120 games.
9/8/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Though his plays may not show up on highlight reels consistently, Carroll has been a shining star among Rockies glove men, leading all NL second basemen with a .994 fielding percentage. The consistent playing time predominantly at one position has certainly helped his game, but defense has always been one of Carroll's strong suits.
"I don't have to think about it as much as I do when I'm bouncing around all over the place," said Carroll, who played short for most of his career before being used as a utility man in the Majors. "I never try to get too comfortable, because if you do, that's when your focus can subside a little bit."
7/26/06.. addition.. MLB.com
"He's as good as anybody that I've ever seen wearing a uniform at second base," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "I was fortunate to see one right in front of me, Frank White. He's kind of always been the yardstick of yardsticks when I've seen guys play that position.
7/5/06.. addition.. FOXSports.com
Rockies second baseman Jamey Carroll, a career utility player who suddenly is thriving as a regular, could find himself in an interesting predicament this off-season. Carroll's salary likely will jump from $700,000 in arbitration, but his inflated number would be too high for teams that view him as a utility man. A multi-year deal with the Rockies at a slightly higher salary probably is the best solution. Carroll's .897 OPS at second is the highest in the majors.
6/30/06.. addition.. Post
"I had a scout compare him to (David) Eckstein recently," O'Dowd said. "And when you went through all the (categories), he made an interesting point of, 'Why is Eckstein an all-star and Carroll isn't?"'
Carroll's problem is overcoming his stereotype as a utility player. With Dan Uggla expected to make it as a reserve behind Philadelphia's Chase Utley, Carroll is a longshot for an all-star berth....
6/24/06.. addition.. MLB.com
For the month, his .407 average is second best in the National League and fourth best in baseball.
"One, I try to get on base," Carroll said of his philosophy leading off games, "and two, I'm trying to see what the pitcher has and to get a feel for the rest of the guys."
5/22/06.. RoxHead.. RC
Jamey Carroll has become the number one second basemen and he has clearly earned the position. He is far more productive than the other choices. Who is this man that is now hitting .315 and hitting home runs at the prodigious rate of one in every 1000 AB's? He is a 32 year old sprite weighing about 180 lbs and standing 5'10". He was selected by the Expos in the 14th round of the 1996 draft. Historically, he has no history of hitting over .270 and that includes about seven years of minor league Baseball. On the other hand his OBA tends to be much better at .344. He has four years of big league experience and has averaged about 106 games per year over the last three years.
We hope this new hitting power house continues to mystify NL pitching and we hope that Mr. Hurdle rides Mr. Carroll and gets as much out of him as he can. My guess is that eventually he will fizzle out as he has no history of being a good hitter, but, we hope we are wrong.
5/3/06.. addition..MLB.com
The "situational hitting" is an area Carroll takes special pride in, despite the fact that it tends to reflect poorly on his average --.310 entering Wednesday's game. Referring to the underrated art of moving baserunners with productive outs, Carroll makes sure to recreate the kind of situations he might face during the course of his daily swings during batting practice.
"I treat it like there's a guy on second, and try to hit a ground ball to the right side with the mindset that you're going to move the runner," Carroll explained. "With a guy on third, you want to elevate the ball a little in the strike zone so you can have a chance to hit a fly ball. Towards the end [of BP], I try to let it fly a little bit."
4/6/06.. addition.. MLB.com
Carroll, 32, spent 10 professional seasons in the Montreal/Washington organization, the last three-plus getting limited playing time in the Majors. Still, Carroll displayed the ability to play three infield positions, pinch-hit and handle the bat with men on base.
He is becoming one of baseball's best bunters which is no surprise to anyone who saw him work on the skill daily. According to the Stat of the Week Web site, Carroll was successful in sacrifice bunt attempts 87 percent of the time last season -- tied with Cleveland's Coco Crisp for second behind San Francisco's Omar Vizquel's 91 percent among position players.
2/26/06... addition.. MLB.com
Carroll, 32, said he takes pinch-hitting seriously, "It's just paying attention and doing your homework, knowing who you could be facing, preparing for him, knowing how much he has been throwing the last few days. It's tough, but you just have to prepare yourself. I definitely saw what Piedra did last year, and that was good to know."
2/11/06... addition.. Washington Times
The Washington Nationals sold the contract of infielder Jamey Carroll to the Colorado Rockies.
Jamey was not going to make this team," Nats GM, Jim Bowden said. "And because of how strong our personal feelings were toward Jamey, we felt we owed it to him to make this move prior to the start of camp."
"Frank Robinson made it very clear he wanted Jamey on this team," Bowden said. "But at the end of the day, a manager doesn't always have to agree with his general manager, and vice versa. ... On certain teams, I think Jamey is the ideal 25th player. Unfortunately with our club, we needed more than that."
