It might happen at the supermarket 30 minutes away from his ranch or at breakfast joint nearby when a neighbor or friend of a friend starts quizzing Matt Carpenter about his profession and inevitably asks what he has been unable to answer.
“Baseball, huh? What position do you play?” they’ll say.
Almost immediately after the Cardinals traded for six-time All-Star and first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, Carpenter unpacked his Rawlings infielder’s glove, enlisted a ranch hand and started going daily to a nearby high school field to take grounders at third base. For the first time in his career, the Cardinals’ leadoff hitter and last season’s leading hitter has a home before the holidays.