Glen F. Barker (born May 10, 1971, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

) is a former

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) who played three seasons for the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

. He was a

leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hit ...

who was known for his defensive skills and was used mainly as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

. He has the rare distinction of having more major league career runs scored (53) than hits (38). Barker is also one of only seven players to have had more career games appearances than plate appearances. He currently serves as a scout for the Astros.

Career

Barker attended Albany High School and the

College of Saint Rose The College of Saint Rose is a private Roman Catholic college in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1920 by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet as a women's college. It became fully co-educational in 1969; the following year, the college ad ...

, an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division II school in one of the only college conferences to use wood bats throughout the leagues' season. Barker was selected by

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

in 11th Round (305th overall) of 1993 amateur entry draft. Known for his speed on the basepaths (238 career minor league

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

s) and in center field, Barker advanced as far as Triple A with the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, but was selected by the

from Tigers in the 1998 MLB Rule 5 draft. Per Rule 5, he spent the

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

season on the Astros' roster. Because of his last name, Barker gained temporary distinction as one of the Astros' " Killer B's", which included

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

Jeff Bagwell Jeffrey Robert Bagwell (born May 27, 1968) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who spent his entire 15-year Major League Baseball (MLB) playing career with the Houston Astros. Originally a Boston Red Sox fourth- ...

and second baseman Craig Biggio, two formidable veteran players who helped established the Astros as perennial playoff contenders in the 1990s and 2000s. In fact, journalist Dayn Perry jocosely noted the 1999 Astros, "in pursuit of arcane history, used eight players whose last names began with 'B.'" The eight included Bagwell,

Paul Bako Gabor Paul Bako II (; born June 20, 1972) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball. Bako is an example of a baseball "journeyman", having played for 11 different major league teams during his 12-year career. He is officially listed ...

, Barker, Derek Bell,

Sean Bergman Sean Frederick Bergman (born April 11, 1970) is an American former right-handed Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres, Houston Astros, Atlanta Braves, and Minnesota Twins between 1993 and 2000. Be ...

, Lance Berkman, Biggio, and Tim Bogar. Successful in very limited playing time, the Astros used Barker mostly as a pinch runner and sometimes as a pinch hitter. Barker played in 81 games, made 90

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner ...

s and batted .288 with a .384

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

and 17 stolen bases that season. He scored 23 runs while having 21

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

. He appeared in two games against

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

in the National League Division Series (NLDS), stealing a base and scoring a run. Barker spent the

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

season between the major league club and AAA

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. He struggled for the Astros, batting .224 in 67 at-bats. Similar results followed in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

, as he struggled even more at the plate (.083 batting average in just 24 at-bats) and was again used primarily as a pinch runner. Although attracted to Barker's blazing speed, the Astros felt that his bat was not developing as they had hoped and they released him after the 2001 season. Before the 2002 season, Barker was signed by the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

but released after

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

. He was picked up by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and assigned to AAA Pawtucket. Again Barker struggled with the bat and was released by the Red Sox after appearing in only 14 games. He signed with Reynosa in the Mexican League and spent the remainder of the season there. He signed with the Atlanta before the

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

season but was once again released after Spring Training. He played 3 games with the Somerset Patriots an independent team in the Atlantic League before being picked up by the Baltimore Orioles and assigned to the AA

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

. After batting just .237 in a brief stint for the Baysox, Barker retired from baseball.

Personal life

Barker is married and currently resides in

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

. He was the outfield/baserunning coordinator for the San Diego Padres. Barker also served as the hitting coach for the Somerset Patriots. He is currently a Physical Education teacher at James H. Johnson Elementary School in Cherry Hill, NJ.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Glen 1971 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball coaches from New York (state) Baseball players from New York (state) Bowie Baysox players Broncos de Reynosa players Fayetteville Generals players Houston Astros players Houston Astros scouts Jacksonville Suns players Lakeland Tigers players Major League Baseball outfielders Mexican League baseball center fielders Minor league baseball coaches New Orleans Zephyrs players Niagara Falls Rapids players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey Saint Rose Golden Knights baseball players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Albany, New York Toledo Mud Hens players American expatriate baseball players in Australia 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople