PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. — This was the sound coming from the outdoor batting cage at 7:30 in the morning. Whack. Whack. Whack.
It was the same sound that could be heard last spring at the same hour in Port St. Lucie and could mean only one thing: Chris Carter, better known as the Animal, was in town.
No one enjoys being a baseball player more than Carter. Though he thought he was coming to a team that did not have a veteran DH in Manny Ramirez or a veteran outfielder in Johnny Damon, they were not signed yet — after first thinking he was coming back to the Mets — Carter still is making the best of his new situation with the Rays.
That’s what Chris Carter does.
“I’m doing the same thing, getting here early, leaving late, working hard and just really enjoying it here so far, right off the bat, no pun intended, it’s been great,” Carter said with his usual smile.
Since he left the Mets, Carter has gotten married. Chris and Emily, a nurse he met while playing years ago in the Cape Cod League, are making this baseball journey together. He was with the Whiting Red Sox when he first met Emily, but he was going to college at Stanford and she was going to school on the East Coast.
“I knew from the get-go that she was special,” Carter said. “I went to the West Coast. She stayed on the East Coast. We just stayed in touch through Facebook and calling each other. Then when I got traded to the Red Sox in ’07, we got back together and we dated for four years and got married.”
Carter, a left-handed hitter who batted .263 last season with four home runs in 167 at-bats, thought he would be back with the Mets, but the new front office had other plans.
“I don’t know what happened. I found out through a player, who looked online,” Carter said of learning about his release in Venezuela.
“Once I found out it wasn’t going to be the Mets, I said, ‘OK.’ I just started working hard. I didn’t expect it to happen. I loved playing for the Mets. I was surprised by it. It was completely unexpected. I didn’t hear any rumors, but I didn’t want to dwell on it too long. I had to move forward because I didn’t have any plans.”
The Rays, who always seem to find creative ways to win, gave Carter a
shot and he is
excited about seeing a winning organization from the inside out.
“I signed with the Rays because they have a great reputation throughout baseball of giving people like me, kind of in the middle of their career, an opportunity,” Carter said.
He will miss the Mets.
“Every time I think about it, I smile,” he said. “It was the best time of my life being with the Mets. I felt a part of that Mets spirit. It was really special. Shoot, they deserve to win a World Series. Hopefully it’s not while I’m playing because I’m with the Rays right now, but they’re amazing. And I really miss the Mets fans.”
Carter, 28, did take off two days to get married up in Cape Cod, then it was back to work and then back to Winter Ball. His team went to the playoffs. From there, it was right to spring training for the newlyweds.
This is the way Carter looks at his career and it transcends baseball.
“I try to be as honest with myself as possible,” he said. “I try to put in as much as I possibly can so I can get out as much as I can. I try to be the best team player and focus on winning and hopefully winning the World Series or going to the playoffs. Whatever we can do as a team.
“I love winning,” Carter added. “You’re only as strong as your weakest link. Make sure the chain is strong. Winning is the goal of baseball. The players are intended to win. The best players, that’s what they focus on, not so much their individual stats but just doing whatever they can so the team wins.
“I think ultimately, that makes you a better individual so it works both ways.
“All this has definitely made me a better person,” Carter said. “All my weakness, I realized I had to get better. Even my attitude, if I don’t have a good attitude this game will eat me up. It’s been great. I give everything I have to baseball, and I think it’s given me much more back.”
For Chris Carter, though he owns just 190 major league at-bats, this baseball life has been a home run.
kevin.kernan@nypost.com