By Jay Kitchen

Sitting behind his desk at San Bernardino’s Arrowhead Park, Carter is currently the manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers Minor League Single-A team San Bernardino 66er’s, his first year with the team, one of the more successful teams in the Cal League the past decade.

This year, though, the team is off to a slow start, something the journeyman looks to change.

The ups and downs of minor league are nothing new to Carter, who was a star at both football and baseball in high school in Illinois, where the now 46-year-old had to make a decision come graduation in choosing the sport to pursue.

“I was leaning toward baseball, and I was more suited to baseball,” said Carter.

So in the end, it was not too tough of a decision and a globetrotting baseball adventure would begin.

After being a standout in baseball at the University of Nebraska, he was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 1985. Carter would then pack his bags many times for the black and orange, traveling to teams like Everett, Clinton, Fresno, Phoenix and Shreveport, all part of the Giants minor league system up to 1995.

But things changed in 1996, when Carter moved off the field and into the dugout on a full time basis.

Major League Baseball teams saw his experience and leadership skills and various teams picked him up for their minor league teams, helping out with their coaching and managing duties.

He started out as a manager with the Fort Wayne Wizards squad with success, and went on to coach eventually for High Desert, a Cal League team like his current IE team in San Bernardino. In 2009 Carter was part of the Dodgers’ Arizona League minor league system. He got the call to move to San Bernardino with little notice, but his switch to California did not raise any big issues for Carter.

“It is no big deal for me. I have been moving around for years,” said a relaxed Carter from behind his desk in his office.

So far, the 66ers and the local area have been a bit of puzzle for him. He is somewhat familiar with the San Bernardino area, saying that he is “picking up things” in general. He is adapting to new surroundings as usual, yet he has some work to do as far as the team goes.

The 66’ers are one of the more successful teams in the Cal League. Heck, Kevin Costner opened up the park years ago. Carter saw them last year with the High Desert. Currently, the 66ers hover around the bottom of the South Division of the Cal League. But there are reasons for the slow start.

Since he got here, Carter said, “I have had a lot of things to handle.” Indeed he has. Call-ups for some of the players to Double-AA level of the Dodger minor-league system and a spell of player injuries have slowed down the team’s progress. But the manager is upbeat, and he is also proud to be one of the ever-growing pools of African-American managers/coaches that are slowly making their way to important positions in all ranks in major league baseball.

“Once we get some more consistency, we will be ok,” says Carter of the team’s status.

Much like any manager in the minors, Carter also has ambitions to one day make the ranks of the Majors.

“Of course I do. I will keep on doing what I am doing, but who wouldn’t want that?”