Courtesy of Jill Gearin, Charleston Dirty Birds

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Former Shepherd University All-American Jared Carr of the Charleston Dirty Birds is not only the top centerfielder in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball the league announced today that its coaches, managers, and executives also named him the 2024 Drake Defensive Player of the Year. Of all the players whose defensive prowess was also recognized as part of the ALPB Drake All-Defensive Team earlier this week, the people who paid the closest attention to defensive talent determined that Carr had the most impact on games.
 
"All year long, his teammates and our fans witnessed Jared making spectacular plays all over the outfield and right on-target throws to gun down opposing base runners to prevent runs," said Dirty Birds Owner and CEO Andy Shea. "To have the rest of the league recognize the tremendous impact he had on defense is very gratifying."
 
The Martinsburg, West Virginia native started in 114 of the 126 games with his only time off due to a hand injury. Carr boasts a .990 fielding percentage with only three errors in 290 total chances this season. He had 270 putouts with 15 assists and was a part of four double plays. The 15 assists were the most by an outfielder this year and more than any other outfielder over the past three seasons. Only three other players this season recorded more than nine assists from the outfield.
 
"In a league with dozens of former Major Leaguers and top draft picks, Jared Carr is recognized as the best defender, bringing even more pride to the Dirty Birds and our state this year as a native of West Virginia playing for our home team," said Dirty Birds General Manager Ben Blum. "In addition, on a team with a heavy emphasis on offensive production, clearly Jared added huge value on both offense and defense as a key reason why this year's Dirty Birds went further into the post-season than another Charleston team since 2008."
 
Carr attended Shepherd University and played all four years for the Rams. He started his final two years and was First Team All-PSAC East his senior year. In 2021, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 13th round.