| Michael Barrett | |
|---|---|
 Barrett batting for the Padres in 2007 | |
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1976-10-22)October 22, 1976 (age 49) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 19, 1998, for the Montreal Expos | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| April 17, 2009, for the Toronto Blue Jays | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .263 |
| Home runs | 98 |
| Runs batted in | 424 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Michael Patrick Barrett (born October 22, 1976) is anAmerican former professionalbaseball player and current catching coordinator for theWashington Nationals ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB as acatcher and started his professional career with theMontreal Expos at age 18.[1] Barrett spent three years playing inMinor League Baseball as ashortstop and catcher.[2] He played with theHonolulu Sharks,West Palm Beach Expos, andDelmarva Shorebirds, and was elected to two Minor LeagueAll-Star games.[2] Barrett made his MLB debut in1998 as athird baseman, but was shortly outrighted to the minor leagues to play with theHarrisburg Senators for a season.[3]
Upon Barrett's return to MLB in1999, he ranked among the top offensive rookies in various statistical categories.[3] Barrett failed to stay healthy during the2003 season, which prompted the Expos to trade him to theOakland Athletics, who in turn, traded him to theChicago Cubs.[3] During his tenure with the Cubs, Barrett won aSilver Slugger Award in2005, and recorded near career-high statistics in2004 season.[3] The Cubs traded Barrett to theSan Diego Padres in June of2007.[4] Barrett sustained two major injuries, which caused him to miss 115 games with the Padres, and was subsequently released after the2008 season.[5] Barrett attempted to make a comeback with theToronto Blue Jays in 2009, but continued to struggle with injury issues, which led to his release in the subsequent offseason.[6] He spent the second half of the 2010 season in theNew York Mets minor league system. Barrett was also a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team at theUniversity of North Georgia.[7]
Barrett was born inAtlanta.[1] He attendedPace Academy, where he excelled inbaseball.[8] During his senior year, Barrett won Atlanta'sGatorade's Player of the Year, and was named to the All-USA High School and First Team High School All-AmericansAll-star teams.[3] He was considered to be one of the top draft prospects that year, and declared eligibility for the upcomingMajor League Baseball Draft shortly after graduating from high school.[9] Barrett initially signed a letter of intent to playcollege baseball atClemson.[10] The Montreal Expos selected Barrett as the 28th overall selection in the1995 draft.[11] He spent the next three years in theminors, playing in theGulf Coast,South Atlantic,Hawaii Winter Baseball, andFlorida State Leagues, during which he was converted from ashortstop to acatcher.[2] His Minor League Baseball career was highlighted in1996, when he scored 57runs and recorded 113hits as a member of theDelmarva Shorebirds.[2]
The Expos called Barrett up to MLB on September 19, 1998, in a game against thePhiladelphia Phillies as a third baseman.[3] He managed to hit ahome run and a single in the game. After only playing eight games as an Expo, Barrett was sent to play for theHarrisburg Senators, aClass AA team from theEastern League.[2] He recorded 145 hits, 78 runs, 19 home runs, and 87RBI en route to winning the Double-A All-Star Catcher and Montreal Expos Minor League Player of the Year awards.[2] His performance allowed him to claim a spot on the Expos’ starting roster during the 1999 season.[3] During his first full season, Barrett had 59 starts as a catcher, 62 as a third-baseman, and six as shortstop.[3] He also led all National League rookies with 32doubles, while ranking as one of top statistical tiers in runs, hits, and runs batted in amongst all other rookies.[3][11]
Barrett struggled to perform consistently in the2000 season. He committed 15errors during the course of the season, resulting in a .891fielding percentage.[1] In addition, he hit for only a .214batting average, with a .288slugging percentage.[1] These difficulties combined to prompt the Expos to send him to the minors again. After playing 30 games with theOttawa Lynx of theInternational League, Barrett returned to the major leagues before 2001.[2] He was named onto the team's opening day lineup, and eventually earned a full-time spot on the team.[3] He was one of the Expos' most consistent hitters,[12] and posted career high statistics that season; leading allNational League catchers with 33 doubles.[3] Barrett also managed to improve his defensive performance by raising his fielding percentage to .993, while committing only seven errors.[11]
He also saw success during the2002 season. Barrett started the season by hitting home runs in the first two games of the season.[3] He would go on to have one of his best months in the Majors, scoring with four home runs, 17 RBI, eight doubles, and scored 10 runs.[13] The League recognized his efforts, and named Barrett the "National League co-Player of the Week" for the second week of April after he recorded a franchise record 11 RBI within two games.[3] Barrett finished the season with mixed results. While increasing his number ofstolen bases and batting andslugging percentage, he failed to record as many runs, hits, and RBI, as he did in the previous season.[11] He committed nine errors, which resulted in a lower fielding percentage, but excelled at throwing out base runners.[11][14]
Barrett missed almost half of the 2003 on account of three injuries. He suffered the first during a game against theColorado Rockies, during which one ofSteve Reed's pitches accidentally hit and bruised Barrett's index finger.[15] Barrett was able to continue playing, but claimed the injury had hindered his playing performance.[15] He eventually managed to overcome the injury in July. He recorded a batting average of .333 and 15 RBI.[16] During this period, Barrett began to complain about tightness in his righthip flexor.[16] This ailment took its toll on Barrett during a game against theAtlanta Braves, when he strained the muscles while taking achecked swing.[16] The Expos sent Barrett on a rehabilitation assignment to play with theEdmonton Trappers, a AAA team from thePacific Coast League. He only managed to play two games with team before fracturing his index finger on August 9.[17] Barrett returned to the major leagues on September 12, although the Expos were already out of playoff contention.[17][18]
Barrett's long tenure with the Expos ended in December 2003. The team traded Barrett to theOakland Athletics in exchange for minor leaguepitcher Brett Price.[19] The Athletics then traded Barrett to theChicago Cubs forDamian Miller, only days after the initial transaction.[20] Barrett, who had just spent six days with three teams, shortly signed a one-year contract with the Cubs, which was worth nearly $1.55 million.[21] He first practiced with the Cubs during their annualspring training sessions, and reported receiving a cold reception from teammates.[22] Barrett went on to become one of their top hitters during the 2004 season. He played a crucial role in theirwild card chase; Barrett maintained a .287 batting average and hit 16 home runs and 65 RBI during the 2004 season.[3] He finished the season as one of the league's top defensive catchers (fielding at a .994 clip with six errors),[3] and led the Cubs intriples andsacrifice flies.[23][24] Barrett was involved in two incidents withHouston Astros pitcherRoy Oswalt during the 2004 season. On August 22, Oswaltbeaned Barrett.[22] Barrett, believing the pitch was a reaction to a three-runhome run thatAramis Ramírez had previously hit, confronted Oswalt, and prompted both teams to take the field. Oswalt wasejected from the game, as the Astros went on to lose 11–6.[25][26] Five days later, during another Cubs-Astros game, Barrett mouthed off to Oswalt and attempted to confront him.[22] The game's umpires restrained the two before a fight could break out, but not before both benches cleared out.[26] Oswalt remained in the game, and defeated the Cubs 15–7.[27] In a post-game press conference, Barrett condemned Oswalt's actions, and stated, "We're going to see him again."[26]
Barrett continued to be one of the Cubs’ most consistent hitters in the 2005 season. He batted over .300 in three months of the season, and finished with 16 home runs, 32 doubles, and 61 RBI.[28] Although he failed to meet and surpass the same statistical figures in the previous season, Barrett received aSilver Slugger Award for his efforts.[3] Additionally, Barrett was selected to represent the United States in the 2006World Baseball Classic. He played in four games, and recorded one run batted in.[29]
Barrett sought to improve his numbers in the2006 season, but ran into several obstacles. On May 20, 2006, Barrett was involved in an infamous altercation withA. J. Pierzynski during the ChicagoCrosstown Classic between theChicago White Sox and Cubs. During the game's second inning,Brian Anderson hit asacrifice fly, which allowed Pierzynski to score the game's first run.[30] Pierzynski collided with Barrett en route to home plate, causing Barrett to fall down.[31] Pierzynski showed his enthusiasm by slapping home plate. As Pierzynski got up, he bumped into Barrett, who proceeded to punch him.[31]Scott Podsednik came to Pierzynski's aid and subdued Barrett.[31] Anderson andJohn Mabry eventually joined the brawl before both teams emptied their dugouts and stormed the field.[31] The game's umpires ejected Barrett, Pierzynski, Anderson, and Mabry.[31] Barrett later received a ten-game suspension, while Pierzynski was fined.[32] Additionally, Anderson and the Sox' third base coach were also suspended for a fewer number of games.[32] The Cubs went on to lose the game by a score of 7–0.[30] On June 30, the two met during batting practice, and made amends.[33][32] Barrett rebounded after the incident, and batted over .300 in the final four months of the season.[24] He suffered an intrascrotal hematoma in early September, and was forced to miss the rest of the season. The injury and suspension caused Barrett to miss a significant portion of the season.[34] In his shortened season, Barrett hit 16 home runs, which matched his previous career high, and nearly surpassed his hit total from 2005.[1]
During the2007 Chicago Cubs season, Barrett was involved in another altercation with teammateCarlos Zambrano. During a game against theAtlanta Braves on June 1, tensions began to rise between the two players when the Cubs allowed the Braves to score five runs in the fifth inning.[35] The Braves recorded 20 hits, en route to winning 8–5.[36] Barrett and Zambrano engaged in a heated conversation upon returning to the dugout, which escalated into a small fight.[35] AfterLou Piniella dismissed the two from the game, another fight ensued within the Cubs’ clubhouse, and Zambrano punched Barrett's lip.[35] The wound required Barrett to go to the hospital immediately and receive stitches.[35] Zambrano remorsefully admitted he was at fault after the ordeal, and Barrett later stated they had resolved their differences.[37][38] Both players received fines for undisclosed amounts of money.[37]
Various news sources reported that the Cubs had traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres on the morning of June 20.[39][40] The Cubs officially confirmed these details in the afternoon, and revealed that Barrett was traded in exchange forRob Bowen and Kyler Burke.[41] Despite stating he had no knowledge of the trade until hearing rumors in the morning, Barrett expressed his appreciation and well wishes to the Cubs organization on hishomepage.[42][43] He received a one-game suspension on July 22, after arguing with anumpire over a third strike.[44] Barrett sustained a concussion on August 5, after a base-running accident against theSan Francisco Giants.[45] The Padres placed Barrett on the fifteen-daydisabled list.[45] After returning from the injury, Barrett's performance declined. His batting average dropped from .266 to .244, while he produced near career low statistics.[24]
Barrett became afree agent after the end of the season, but was offeredarbitration from the Padres.[46] TheTampa Bay Rays expressed interest in signing Barrett, even though the signing would involve trading the Padres a future second round draft pick as compensation.[47] Barrett accepted the Padres' arbitration offer on December 7.[46] The Padres placed Barrett on the disabled list on April 8, 2008, after he sustained an elbow injury.[48] The team later activated him on May 25, after he had recovered, and completed a minor league rehabilitation assignment.[48] On July 2, 2008, Barrett was rushed to the hospital after fouling a pitch off his face.[49] He required surgery to repair the damage, and had been placed on the disabled list for the second time in 2008.[50] The Padres waived Barrett on October 11, after he previously expressed interest in testing the free-agent market.[51]
On December 29,2008, Barrett signed aMinor League deal with theToronto Blue Jays, and attendedspring training as a non-roster invitee.[52] He earned the back-up catcher role for theToronto Blue Jays during spring training. He was scheduled to back upRod Barajas,[53] but Barrett tore a muscle in his right shoulder while attempting to retrieve a wild pitch on April 17, 2009.[54] Barrett was placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 18, and was expected to return within the two weeks.[54] Prior to the injury, Barrett had made seven appearances with a .167 batting average.[54] The Blue Jays activated Barrett from the disabled list on July 6, 2009, and designated toTriple-A for a rehab assignment, where he sustained a season-ending injury.[55] The Jays never recalled Barrett to their roster after the designation, and released him in the following offseason.[6] He only played seven Major League games in 2009, in which he recorded a .167 batting average, three hits, and one home run.[24]
Barrett signed a minor league deal with the Mets on June 29, 2010, and was assigned to the Class-ASt. Lucie Mets.[56] In early August, he was reassigned to play for their Class AAA affiliate, theBuffalo Bisons.[57] On November 6, Barrett elected and was granted free agency.[58]
On December 20, 2013, theWashington Nationals named Barrett the manager of theGulf Coast League Nationals.[59] Barrett has also served as the catching coordinator for the Nationals since2015.[60]
Barrett is married with 4 children. His cousin,Scott Fletcher, also played for the Cubs, along with many other teams over his fifteen-year career.[61] Barrett has spent a considerable portion of his personal life devoted to helping children.[62] He runs several youth baseball programs, including one inHawaii, which was inspired from his tenure with theHawaiian Winter Baseball League.[62] He also works with theMake-A-Wish Foundation and the Cubs Care Program to help lesser fortunate and sick children.[3] More recently, he has worked withKerry Wood andRyan Dempster to raise money to helpDerrek Lee's daughter and research forLeber's congenital amaurosis. Michael Barrett donated $50,000 to Project 3000 and pledged an additional sum of money for every home run he hits.[63] Barrett was also a regular guest onFOX Chicago'sThe Final Word television show, which is co hosted byTom Waddle, a formerChicago Bearswide receiver.[64]
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