Carpenter won the 2005 NL Cy Young award after overcoming a serious shoulder injury that nearly ended his career. He was forced to miss all but five games combined in the 2007 and 2008 seasons because of Tommy John surgery and other ailments. He came back to go 17-4 with a NL-best 2.24 ERA at age 34 in 2009 and finished as the Cy Young runner-up, then went 16-9 with a 3.22 ERA in 2010 while making the All-Star team. He led the league in games started in 2010 and 2011.
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