Martin Glenn Barrett (born June 23, 1958) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

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 (A ...

second baseman, who played for 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 ...

(1982–1990) and

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

(1991).

Early life and minor league career

Barrett was born in

Arcadia, California Arcadia is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located about northeast of downtown Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Valley and at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. It contains a series of adjacent parks consisting of t ...

. He is an alumnus of

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

, and the brother of Tommy Barrett, another former MLB player who played for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. Marty played in the longest professional baseball game in history in 1981, a minor league game between the

Pawtucket Red Sox The Pawtucket Red Sox, known colloquially as the PawSox, were a professional minor league baseball club based in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. From 1973 to 2020, the team was a member of the International League and served as the Triple-A affiliate ...

and the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field, located in downt ...

. Barrett had the distinction of scoring the winning run for Pawtucket in the bottom of the 33rd inning.

Major League career

An excellent second baseman with an above-average arm, Barrett was known as a smart player and a great contact hitter, striking out only 209 times in 3378

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

, and collecting a significant number of big hits by driving tough pitches to the opposite field. He often was used as a specialist in bunting situations, leading the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

sacrifice hits In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

for three consecutive years (1986–88). In a ten-year career Barrett was a .278 hitter with 18

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 314 RBI in 941 games. Barrett successfully pulled off the hidden ball trick three times, including twice in July 1985. In 1984, Barrett batted a career-high .303 in his first full season. But his most productive year was 1986, when he posted career-highs in RBI (60),

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 s ...

(179),

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

(39), triples (4),

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 o ...

s (15) and

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

(158). He starred in the 1986 postseason, when he set a major league record with 24 hits in 14 postseason games, and was named the

ALCS The American League Championship Series (ALCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the two winners of the American ...

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a partic ...

. In the

1986 World Series The 1986 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1986 season. The 83rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion New York Mets and the Ameri ...

Barrett had 13 hits in 30 at bats (.433 BA), and posted an on-base percentage of .514 against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

. Near the conclusion of Game Six, he had been selected by the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Television broadcast team as the Player of the Game. He was the final batter in the series, striking out against Mets closer, Jesse Orosco. Barrett held the starting second baseman position with the Red Sox for most of the 1980s. On June 4, 1989, he suffered a serious knee injury while tripping over first base following a ground out.

Jody Reed Jody may refer to: *Jody (given name), a list of people with the given name *Jody (singer), French singer, real name Julie Erikssen * "Jody" (song), 1986 single by Jermaine Stewart *"Jody", a 1982 song by America from ''View from the Ground'' *"Jod ...

took over as the starter, and Barrett played only sporadically following his recovery. During the final game of the

1990 ALCS The 1990 American League Championship Series was a best-of-seven series that matched the East Division champion Boston Red Sox against the West Division champion Oakland Athletics. For the second time in three years, the Athletics swept the Red ...

, Red Sox pitcher,

Roger Clemens William Roger Clemens (born August 4, 1962), nicknamed "Rocket", is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Boston Red Sox. Clemens was one of the most dominant pi ...

, was ejected in the bottom of the second inning. Barrett protested the call by heaving plastic water containers onto the field, and also was thrown out of the game. It was his last game for the Red Sox and he was released following the season. Barrett signed with the San Diego Padres in 1991. In his National League debut he was called upon as a pinch hitter to face the San Francisco Giants'

Dave Righetti David Allan Righetti (born November 28, 1958), nicknamed "Rags", is an American professional baseball coach and former player. A left-handed pitcher, Righetti played in Major League Baseball from 1979 through 1995 for the New York Yankees, San F ...

, with two outs in the ninth inning. Barrett, not known for his power stroke, hit the ball into the left field stands for a three-run home run. He would only appear in 11 more games with the Padres, the same knee injury that he had suffered in 1989 ending his career.

References

External links

Marty Barrett
at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Marty Barrett
at Pura Pelota (Venezuelan Professional Baseball League) {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrett, Marty 1958 births American League Championship Series MVPs Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from California Boston Red Sox players Las Vegas 51s players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Living people Major League Baseball second basemen Mesa Thunderbirds baseball players Pawtucket Red Sox players People from Arcadia, California San Diego Padres players Winter Haven Red Sox players Anchorage Glacier Pilots players