David Carpenter Named Manager of the West Virginia Black Bears

Fairmont, West Virginia native and former West Virginia catcher (2004-06) David Carpenter, was recently named the manager of the West Virginia Black Bears for the 2023 season.

“We’re excited to have Carpenter as our new manager. Being able to continue the tradition of having a West Virginia native as manager is a great experience for our organization and our fans,” said General Manager Leighann Sainato. “Carp had a long professional career, and he played for WVU, so he understands the culture of Morgantown. I know he’ll bring a lot of experience and knowledge to our young squad this season.”

“This means the world, especially getting to be around people who supported me growing up, from the time I was in little league,” Carpenter said in a statement released by the team. “Getting to have that type of support and being in my home state, it’s really important to me.”

Carpenter replaces another former Mountaineer and big leaguer, Jedd Gyorko, who led the Black Bears to a 78-49-6 overall record in his two season at the helm, including a championship in 2022.

Carpenter was drafted in the 12th round by the St. Louis Cardinals and after a couple of years in the minor league system, he made the full-time switch to pitcher, which worked out pretty well for him. He made his Major League debut with the Houston Astros in 2011 where he spent the first two seasons of his career. He bounced around the league spending time with the Toronto Blue Jays (2012), Atlanta Braves (2013-14), New York Yankees (2015), Washington Nationals (2015), and Texas Rangers (2019). Carpenter finished his playing career with an 11-11 record as a relief man, posting a 3.69 ERA across 222 appearances.

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