William Henry "Skeeter" Barnes (born March 3, 1957) is a retired

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), ...

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1983–1984 and 1989),

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 ...

(1985),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1987) and

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 ...

(1991–1994).

Biography

Barnes was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

. After playing college baseball at his hometown

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...

, Barnes was selected by the Reds in the 16th round of the 1978

Major League Baseball draft The first-year player draft is the primary mechanism of Major League Baseball (MLB) for assigning amateur baseball players from high schools, colleges, and other amateur baseball clubs to its teams. The draft order is determined based on a lo ...

. Barnes worked his way through the minors, earning promotion to the Reds in 1983 after hitting .337 for the Reds'

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

farm club. He made his Major League debut on September 6, 1983 at

Candlestick Park Candlestick Park was an outdoor stadium on the West Coast of the United States, located in San Francisco's Bayview Heights area. The stadium was originally the home of Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, who played there from 1960 un ...

and was twice

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

. , he is the only player to be hit by more than one pitch in his debut. Although Barnes continued to have great success at the Triple-A level for many years, he was unable to find a home in the majors. Between 1984 and 1990, he played in just 60 big-league games, including four for the 1987 National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. In four of those years, he hit .300 or better in the minors. Barnes finally achieved stable big-league status at the age of 34, when most players have long retired. After hammering

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

pitching at a .330 clip through the first two months of the 1991 season, Barnes was called up by the Tigers. A capable fielder at several positions and a good contact hitter, he turned out to be a good fit for the Tigers, which had defensive problems and a lineup that struck out a lot. Barnes spent most of the next three seasons with the Tigers. Detroit fans appreciated his blue-collar work ethic; he was sometimes called "Crash Davis" after the fictional character in the film ''

Bull Durham ''Bull Durham'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy sports film. It is partly based upon the minor-league baseball experiences of writer/director Ron Shelton and depicts the players and fans of the Durham Bulls, a minor-league baseball team in ...

'', who had spent most of his career in the minor leagues. During all or part of nine seasons in the majors, Barnes played in 353 games with 614 at-bats, 95 runs, 159 hits, 30 doubles, four triples, 14 home runs, 83 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, 41 walks, .259 batting average, .306 on-base percentage, .389 slugging percentage, 239 total bases, eight sacrifice hits, eight sacrifice flies, and three intentional walks. In the minor leagues, Barnes batted .296 for his career and had 1,773 career hits. At the time, he ranked as one of the all-time leading hitters in the minor leagues. He retired as a player following the 1994 season, and was active in the game as a minor-league coach and manager. Barnes' post-playing jobs have included a stint as manager of the Southwest Michigan Devil Rays of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

in 2006, two coaching stints in the Midwest League (1997–98 and 2005), coaching in the Southern League in 2003–04, in the

(1995–96, 1999), and managing the

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia *Lakeland, Queensland Canada *Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta *Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of La ...

in 2000. From 2007 to present, Barnes served as the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

minor-league outfield and base-running coordinator.

References

External links

Skeeter Barnes
at Baseball Almanac
Sports PoolPura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Skeeter 1957 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Cincinnati Billings Mustangs players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cincinnati Bearcats baseball players Cincinnati Reds players Denver Zephyrs players Detroit Tigers players Indianapolis Indians players Jacksonville Expos players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Minor league baseball managers Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Portland Beavers players St. Louis Cardinals players Tiburones de La Guaira players Toledo Mud Hens players University of Cincinnati alumni Waterbury Reds players Wichita Aeros players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople