Former Mid Nineties Mets Outfielder: Carl Everett (1995-1997)

Carl Edward Everett was born on June 3, 1971 in Tampa, Florida. The six foot Everett was an all around star athlete at Hillsboro high school, rushing for 948 yards as the schools running back.

He was a letterman in fotball, track & baseball. He was a fast switch hitting outfielder getting drafted as a first round draft pick for the A.L. New York club in 1990, the tenth pick overall.

He struggled in his early minor league career & in 1992 the controversial Everett became an original Florida Marlin when he was drafted in the expansion draft. He moved up the ranks to AAA Edmonton in 1993 where he hit over .300 getting a call up to the Marlins team. In 1994 at AAA he hit .336 with 11 HRs 47 RBIs in 78 games getting back the big leagues. He only played in 27 games at the major league level in his first two seasons, in Florida.

In 1994 he was traded to the New York Mets for Quilvio Veras. His Mets career started out bad when he cursed out David Segui in Spring Training 1995 for not running hard enough while shagging fly balls. This did not sit well with Mets manager Dallas Green, the Mets soon signed Bret Butler and any hopes of Everett being the everyday centerfielder were gone.

His season began well at the end of April, hitting safely in his first four games. He hit HRs in back to back games at Shea Stadium in a series against the St. Louis Cardinals. They were only his third & fourth games as a Mets player. But he soon fell off & was hitting just .193 at the end of May when he was sent down to AAA Norfolk.

In two months at AAA Norfolk but he hit .300 with six HRs, 16 doubles in 67 games & couldn't be ignored. By the time August rolled around he was back with New York getting regular playing time. He hit safely in eight of his first ten games back, highlighted early on by a five RBI day in Philadelphia on August 8th. That day he homered had three hits & walked three times in the Mets 12-10 win. That month he hit six HRs & drove in twenty runs but was batting down in the .230 range.

On August 25th he hit a grand slam HR against the San Diego Padres at Shea Stadium in a Mets 10-5 win. In September he raised his average twenty three points with eight multi hit games, while driving in 23 runs for the second place Mets who finished 21 games behind the Atlanta Braves. On the year Everett hit .260 with a .352 on base % 12 HRs 13 doubles & 54 RBIs in 79 games played.

In 1996 he missed time in April on the DL and wound up having a terrible year. He got into 100 games but only had 192 at bats hitting .240 with one HR & 16 RBIs.

Also that season the dramas of his Mets career escalated. He didn’t get along with his team mates, and caused tirades with umpires, proving to be nothing but trouble. He constantly was in conflict with manager Dallas Green and demanded a trade that July.

Drama: In 1997 a child care worker at Shea, noticed bruises on Everett’s five year old daughter. Soon his two children were placed in foster care, but were soon returned to him & his wife, who was the step mother. The legal battles dragged on, and the little girl said she did not want to return to live with Everett & his wife.

By 1997 Bobby Valentine had taken over as Mets manager, Everett was the Opening Day right fielder batting in the seventh position. On April 20th he hit two HRs & drove in five of the Mets eight runs, in an 8-2 win at Shea over the Chicago Cubs.

But Everett was struggling & didn't hit another HR for almost a full month. He couldn't get his average up over .200 until mid May & struggled to keep it there into June. That month he hit five HRs & raised his average over .260 by July 1st.

At the end of July he got hot, it began with a two HR, four RBI day at Shea Stadium against the Cincinnati Reds on July 21st. From there the Mets went on a road trip & Everett drove in runs in six straight games. In September he hit a grand slam HR off Montreal's Ugueth Urbina, leading New York to an exciting 9-6 win over the Expos at Shea Stadium.

He saw action in 142 games as one of the Mets main outfielders, leading the team in stolen bases (17) hitting .248 with 14 HRs 28 doubles & 57 RBIs, while posting a .308 on base %. In the off season Everett had overstayed his welcome and he was traded to the Houston Astros for pitcher John Hudek.

Quotes: Over the years Everett has said some wild things; he spoke out against gays, saying he wouldn’t accept any gay teammates.

He said he doesn’t believe dinosaurs ever existed; saying "God created the sun, the stars, the heavens and the earth, and then made Adam and Eve. The Bible never says anything about dinosaurs. You can't say there were dinosaurs when you never saw them. Somebody actually saw Adam and Eve. No one ever saw a Tyrannosaurus Rex." He also said he thinks their bones & fossils are all fakes. Everett also doesn't believe in the moon landings.

Everett spent two years in Houston, having a big year in 1999; batting .325 (seventh in the NL) with 25 HRs 33 doubles & 108 RBIs. He got traded to the Boston Red Sox for Adam Everett (no relation) & a minor leaguer.

With Boston, he made his first All Star appearance in 2000, matching his career high in RBIs (108) as well as setting his career high in HRs (34) while batting an even .300. Injuries & personal issues made his numbers fall off, then the journeyman was off to Texas (2002-2003).

In 2003 he made another All Star team, hitting 28 HRs with 92 RBIs & a .287 average in between Texas & the Chicago White Sox.

In 2004 he began the year signing as a free agent in Montreal but by the end of the season was back with the Sox, batting .266 with 5 HRs & 21 RBIs in 43 games. In 2005 he was part of the White Sox World Championship team hitting 23 HRs with 87 RBIs while batting .251 in 135 games.

Post Season: In the ALCS against the Anaheim Angels he drove in three runs while hitting .250 playing in all five games. World Series against the Houston Astros, he was 4-9 (.444). In three post seasons he was 16-68 (.235) with four RBIs.

Everett finished his career in Seattle in 2006 batting .227 in 92 games. In a 14 year career he hit .271 with 1304 hits, 202 HRs 258 doubles a .341 on base % & 792 RBIs.

In 1028 games in the outfield he posted a .977 fielding % with 74 assists. He came in the league's top three in that category three times, each year having double figures in assists.

From 2010- 2012 he was playing for the Newark Bears in the Independent League.

Drama: In late April of 2011, Everett was arrested for allegedly putting a gun to his wife's head & tampering with a witness in a Tampa, Florida suburb. His wife attempted to call 911 on two different cell phones, but Everett grabbed them both & broke them.