Hunt and Peck

Let us bow down to Matt Carpenter, for we are not worthy - A Hunt and Peck

The man is incredible and we need to keep appreciating him.

By lil_scooter93 Aug 9, 2018, 1:00pm EDT

If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

MLB: St. Louis Cardinals at Miami Marlins

Just three days ago, I wrote that Matt Carpenter was the most valuable [position] player in the National League. Today, not only does that fact hold true, it has somehow become truer. So much so, it warranted another post. Since that post was publish Matt Carpenter has...

Hit two more home runs
Raised his Isolated Slugging (ISO - slugging percentage minus batting average) from .311 to .317
Raised his Slugging (SLG - total bases divided by at bats) from .593 to .598
Raised his Win Probability Added (WPA) from 2.90 to 3.39

The point here is that Matt Carpenter has been on a historic run. His turnaround from the beginning of the season to now has been so unbelievable, I find it my duty as a humble scribe of this revered game to document it for posterity. To do that, I have combed the Internet for Matt Carpenter-related facts and anecdotes and compiled the best ones here:

Entering May 16th, Matt Carpenter was hitting .140/.286/.272 with 3 home runs.

In the 75 games since then, he's hitting .339/.437/.731 with 28 home runs pic.twitter.com/hD9cQsm4bz
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) August 9, 2018

Matt Carpenter's full-season ranks among NL leaders:

▪️ .594 SLG, 1st
▪️ .987 OPS, 1st
▪️ 30 HR, 1st
▪️ 160 WRC+, 1st
▪️ 63 XBH, T1st
▪️ 33 2B, T1st
▪️ 4.8 WAR, T1st
▪️ 234 TB, T3rd
▪️ .393 OBP, 4th
▪️ 72 BB, 4th
▪️ 75 R, T4th#ItsGottaBeTheSalsa pic.twitter.com/S1sRgN85lL
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 8, 2018

So Matt Carpenter has had a nice little season the last month or so... #STLCards pic.twitter.com/TbOITne4bd
— Brenden Schaeffer (@bschaeffer12) August 9, 2018

St. Louis @Cardinals' Matt Carpenter might just be the hottest hitter in all of baseball right now pic.twitter.com/Ukt4XYgeaN
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) August 7, 2018

During the postgame interview with Matt Carpenter, Bud Norris was off camera giving him the “we’re not worthy” bow. #STLCards
— Jim Hayes (@TheCatOnFox) August 9, 2018

Matt Carpenter turned existential after the game. He's perplexed by all this too:

"It’s just not who I am. It’s not who I was. It’s not the hitter I’ve ever been. I’m developing into somebody I’ve never dreamt of or tried to be like. I don’t have an explanation for it."
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) August 8, 2018

Matt Carpenter on his torrid stretch: "“It surprises me I’m able to do what I’m doing, but at the same time, I’ve put in the work to get it to. It’s not like I’ve rubbed some magic ball and its happening." #STLCards
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) August 9, 2018

Another big series win! Here we come... back at it Friday in Kansas City! Proud to be a redbird... #ItsGottaBeTheSalsa
— Matt Carpenter (@MattCarp13) August 9, 2018

Handicapping the Award Races: MVP | FanGraphs Baseball

Matt Carpenter hits 30th homer in win | St. Louis Cardinals