Twins' Carroll marks 10 years in majors with rare homer

It took Jamey Carroll a long time to break into the major leagues, so looking ahead to a long career was unrealistic. He was 28 years old when the Montreal Expos called him up to play against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 11, 2002, at Wrigley Field.

"I just remember when I first got called up and thinking, 'Wow, I'll be 38 if I ever make it 10 years,'" said Carroll, now with the Minnesota Twins. "Honest to God, I'll tell you, I would have bet everything I had -- not that I owned anything at that time -- that that wouldn't be the case, and here we are."

Carroll, 38, officially marked 10 years of major league service time Monday, going 3-for-4 with a walk and his first home run in more than three years in the Twins' 4-2 loss to the White Sox in Chicago. It was the 1,186th game of his career, and his wife, Kim, and children Cole and Mackenzie were at U.S. Cellular Field to see it.

So were his father and brothers, one of whom, Wes, is the head coach at Carroll's alma mater, University of Evansville.

"It's a proud moment in my family," he said.

Carroll was looking forward to handing his home run ball to son Cole, who earlier this year was driven to tears when his father went hitless in his first five games with the Twins, who signed him to a two-year, $5.5 million deal last winter. The home run -- a solo shot in the second off White Sox starter Hector Santiago -- was Carroll's first since Aug. 9, 2009, and was retrieved from the White Sox bullpen by Minnesota left fielder Darin Mastroianni.

"He's been known to let me know, even though he's only 4, that I don't have enough energy, or I'm not strong enough to hit homers," Carroll said. "Mastroianni got the ball for me, so I'm anxious to get out there and give him the ball."

Carroll had gone 1,384 at-bats without a homer, the longest active streak in baseball.