| Eddie Carnett | |
| Position: | Left fielder |
| Bats: | Left |
| Throws: | Left |
| Birth Date: | 21 October 1916 |
| Birth Place: | Springfield, Missouri, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Ringling, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Debutleague: | MLB |
| Debutdate: | April 19 |
| Debutyear: | 1941 |
| Debutteam: | Boston Braves |
| Finalleague: | MLB |
| Finaldate: | July 7 |
| Finalyear: | 1945 |
| Finalteam: | Cleveland Indians |
| Statleague: | MLB |
| Stat1label: | Batting average |
| Stat1value: | .268 |
| Stat2label: | Home runs |
| Stat2value: | 1 |
| Stat3label: | Runs batted in |
| Stat3value: | 67 |
| Teams: | |
Edwin Elliott Carnett (October 21, 1916 – November 4, 2016) was an American left fielder and pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three different teams from 1941 to 1945. Listed at, 185lb, he batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Springfield, Missouri.
Carnett was noticed by big league scouts when he was pitching in high school. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1935, assigned to the Class C Ponca City Angels of the Western Association in his hometown, Ponca City, Oklahoma, and won 19 games. In 1936, he was in spring training with the Los Angeles Angels, the Cubs' top farm club in the Pacific Coast League, but an accident during a "pepper" game led to a serious shoulder injury that jeopardized his career. He was reassigned back to Ponca City, pitched with the injury and lost ten straight games, took off some time to work on his hitting, and then won 16 consecutive games.[1]
Carnett, nicknamed "Lefty", entered the major leagues in 1941 with the Boston Braves, playing in two games before joining the United States Navy during World War II (1942–43).[2] After he was discharged, he played for the Chicago White Sox in 1944 and the Cleveland Indians in 1945, mostly as an outfielder and first baseman. In his three-season career, Carnett pitched 5 innings in six appearances, and posted a 3.40 earned run average with four strikeouts, three walks, and no decisions. His career batting statistics included a .268 batting average with 25 doubles, 8 triples, 1 home run, and 67 runs batted in.[3]
After World War II ended, he played for the AAA PCL Seattle Rainiers in 1946 before returning to Class C balls and eventually returned to Ponca City to play for the Jets in 1954 and 1955 prior to their moving to Gainesville, Texas.
Carnett died in November 2016 in Ringling, Oklahoma, two weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday.[4] At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former Major League Baseball player;[4] that distinction then passed to Bobby Doerr, who was born on April 7, 1918.