Cris Howell Carpenter (born April 5, 1965, in St. Augustine, Florida) is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He is an alumnus of the University of Georgia. Carpenter was the punter for the Georgia football team in 1985 and 1986, and still ranks fourth for longest career average (44.1 yards) in Georgia’s record book.
Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round of the 1987 MLB amateur draft, Carpenter would make his Major League Baseball debut with the St. Louis Cardinals on May 14, 1988, and appeared in his final game on April 26, 1996 with the Milwaukee Brewers. Over his career, he had 27 wins, 4141⁄3 innings pitched, and 252 strikeouts along with a 3.91 ERA. He was used mainly as a relief pitcher.
Cris Carpenter now works at Gainesville High School, in Gainesville, Georgia as a social studies teacher. Carpenter is often confused with the later St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Chris Carpenter.
Carpenter was a member of the inaugural Florida Marlins team that began play in Major League Baseball in 1993.