Billy Carthel

William Albert Carthel

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 210 lb.
• School Sul Ross State University
• High School Plainview High School
• Born April 16, 1946 in Plainview, TX USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Utilityman Billy Carthel played in the New York Mets system from 1968 to 1971 and in the Montreal Expos system from 1972 to 1974. He spent three full seasons at Triple-A, but never reached the major leagues.

He was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 39th round of the 1966 amateur draft, but did not sign. He was then taken by the Cleveland Indians in the 14th round of the secondary phase of the 1967 January draft, but it appears he, again, did not sign. The only other person taken in that round was Taylor Toomey, who never played professionally. Carthel eventually wound up in the Mets system.

His first professional campaign was among his best. In 1968, with the Raleigh-Durham Mets, he slashed .221/.288/.335 with 8 home runs, 43 RBI, 18 doubles and 89 hits in 121 games. Though he hit .269/.357/.372 for the Memphis Blues in 1969, he played just 81 games. With Memphis in 1970, he hit .245/.325/.387 with 11 home runs, 45 RBI and 81 hits in 105 games. He reached Triple-A for the first time in 1971, hitting .224/.331/.477 with 7 home runs and 27 RBI in 49 games for the Tidewater Tides.

On December 3, 1971, he was traded by the Mets with Curtis Brown, Arsenio Diaz and Don Koonce to the Expos for Jim Gosger. He spent two middling years with their Triple-A club, the Peninsula Whips, then hit .197 in the low- and mid-minors in 1974 to wrap up his career. By this time, he was mainly a catcher, also appearing occasionally at first base and in the outfield. He was the regular catcher at Peninsula in 1972, then backed up Barry Foote in 1973.

Overall, Carthel hit .234/.315/.353 with 40 home runs, 231 RBI and 409 hits in 585 games over 7 seasons. He also made 11 relief appearances between 1968 and 1969, posting a 1-2 record and a 5.40 ERA.