Carpenter Passes On MLB Draft

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Ridge Carpenter goes to bat for Diamond
Head in a game against St. Louis at Kaimuki
High School. Photo by Byron Lee,
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In Ridge Carpenter’s version of Field of Dreams, he may be a starting center fielder for the Boston Red Sox someday. For now, however, he’ll report to class first and to the Boston Red Sox second.

“I will be going to school at Hartnell Community College,“said Carpenter,the only high school player drafted from Hawaii last month, when he was chosen in the 32nd round (983rd overall). “I want to get (finishing) my education out of the way first. I’d like to go into the field of sports medicine, maybe as a physical therapist.”

The 6-foot, 170-pound Carpenter, who graduated from Kalani High School last month, is hoping that after his two seasons at Hartnell, he will transfer to a Division I school, having already earned his associate’s degree.

It is on the baseball diamond that Carpenter is truly at his best,however.Indeed, baseball has been an all-consuming interest for Carpenter since he acquired his first glove.

“I played other sports, but never for too long,“he said.“I would try things,but I’d think to myself,‘baseball is better than this.’ I like hitting the ball and just being on the field. It’s pretty much (all) baseball for me.I’m playing every day.”

This summer, Carpenter has been competing for the Diamond Head American Legion League team as well as the Island Movers all-star team. (He plays in the Oahu games only.) As a center-fielder for Kalani this spring, Carpenter hit over .500, spending most of the spring as the Falcons’ lead-off hitter. He also hit in the No. 3 spot and played right field at times. Carpenter’s speed - he can cover 60 yards in 6.8 seconds - has served him well to date.

“Baseball is a game of streaks,“he said. “Every hitter goes into a slump. I’ve always been able to use my speed to get on base when that (a slump) has happened.

“Hitting is probably (my strength) - my batting coach has been a great mentor for me the past couple of years - but I’m trying to focus more on my defense this summer, trying to get that better,“he said.“I still have a lot of room to grow and get stronger.”

As a freshman, Carpenter competed on the junior varsity at Kalani. The following spring, he moved up to the varsity, where he played for Shannon Hirai, and baseball took on even more importance in his life.

“The seniors on that team taught me a lot about how high school baseball actually works,“he said.“At the beginning of high school, I wanted to do other things. It was something that grew on me.We won the (Oahu Interscholastic Association) East my sophomore year, and baseball became more and more important.”

Although his work-ethic has always been solid,Carpenter was still surprised to be drafted.

“I was pretty shocked,” he said. “It was early in the morning, and I was sleeping. My grandmother (Lorraine) was following it on the Internet, and she saw my name and called me.”

It was only fitting that a family member pass on the good news. They remain his biggest supporters. “I’ve always looked up to my family in general - they’ve always been there for me, and I’ve always looked to them for help,” he said.