A series of features on significant “hitting accomplishments” by Phillies pitchers. Because of the designated hitter, these past performances will last forever.

Left-hander Don Carman was among many pitchers who experienced the thrill of stepping on a Major League mound and the agony of stepping in a batter’s box.

A lefty swinger (not to be confused with a lefty hitter), Carman was hitless in 31 at-bats in 1986 -- a Phillies record. The previous (0-for-30) had been set 20 years earlier by Rick Wise, who batted from the right side.

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However, Carman’s first hit didn’t occur until his 49th career at-bat, spanning three seasons.

History was made on a Saturday night, May 16, 1987, at Veterans Stadium when Carman was dominant on the mound, shutting out the Padres, 3-0, on three hits. 27,713 fans were there.

But the big news came while standing in the batter’s box in the seventh inning. He swung and grounded a ball up the middle for his first hit. It came off right-hander Storm Davis. Goodbye 0-for-48.

Richie Ashburn, who was doing play-by-play that inning, said, “I don’t believe it.”

In the Philadelphia Inquirer the next day, Carman joked that he had gotten inspiration from Phils rookie Wally Ritchie, a fellow lefty pitcher who the night before had gotten a hit in his very first Major League at-bat.

“I took a videotape home of Wally’s at-bat to see if it would help,” he was quoted. “And I used his bat. Actually, it’s my bat I had lent him. Actually, he sort of just took it out of the bat rack, because it didn’t have any smudge on it, because nothing had ever hit it.

“Can I remember the hit? Well, no. I really can’t remember a thing about it, other than I figured Davis would throw me nothing but fastballs and I started swinging about when he let go of the ball.”

Now, 35 years later Carman, 62, provided a recall.

“There was a runner on first [Steve Jeltz walked to start the inning]. Was sure I would get the sign to bunt again. A couple of innings earlier, I struck out trying to bunt. No sign this time. I swung, made contact and saw the ball go up the middle. Smiled some when I got to first base. Didn’t want overdo it.”

Carman fell way, way short of the Major League record. Bob Buhl actually holds two records, hitless for one season (0-for-70, 1962) and overall (0-for-87, 1961-63).

Carman's career

He was signed by the Phillies after graduation from Leedey (Okla.) High School and being passed up in the 1978 summer Draft.

10-year career (1983-92) in the Majors with the Phillies, Reds, Rangers. ... 53-54, 11 saves, 4.11 ERA in 340 games (102 starts). ... Lost a perfect game at the Giants on a questionable scoring-decision double leading off the ninth inning on Aug. 20, 1986. He left the game after nine innings; the Phillies won,1-0, in 10 innings. ... 1-hit the Mets (fourth-inning single) at the Vet on Sept. 29, 1987. ... As a batter, 12 singles, 2 walks and .057 average in 239 plate appearances.

Perky personality

Carman was a fun person to be around. He acknowledged he had a “left-handed way of thinking.”

It was common for players, using a sharpie, to print their name on the back of their spikes. Found on the bottom of his locker one time was a pair of spikes, “Namrac." Carman backwards. “Yeah, you always called me Namrac after that,” he laughed.

During the 1990 season, he posted a list of 37 handwritten responses on his locker, responses for questions from the media.

My top 10:

“I’m glad to be here. I just want to help the club any way I can.”

“With a couple of breaks, we win that game.”

“I just wanted to go as long as I could.”

“I’d rather be lucky than good.”

“We’re going to take one game at a time.”

“I don’t get paid to hit.”

“This team is ready to gel.”

“I didn’t have my good stuff, but I battled ‘em.”

“We’ve got to have fun.”

“We need two more players to take us over the top, Babe Ruth & Lou Gehrig.”

Then in 2006, Don was featured in the Tampa Bay Times, a story about how he had finally gotten around to answering all of his fan mail from years gone by.

"We had moved often and this big box kept going with us. Finally opened it and there were letters, cards and things to sign. Bought a bunch of stamps and emptied the box,” he said.

There is also an inquisitive and deep-thinking side to Carman. He experienced and recognized the mental stress of being a ballplayer. Following his career, he obtained a degree in sports psychology from Florida Gulf Coast University in Naples, Fla., where he lives. He is employed as a sports psychologist with the Boras Corporation, the highly successful baseball agency.