Anthony Lee Barnette (born November 9, 1983) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

. He played in

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 ...

(MLB) for the Texas Rangers and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

and in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) for the

Tokyo Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the ...

Career

Barnette is from

Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-larg ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and attended Thomas Jefferson High School. He attended

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 ...

, where he pitched for the Sun Devils.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Barnette was drafted by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

in the 10th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft. The two sides agreed to a deal on June 8, 2006. He played in the Diamondbacks' organization through 2009. He was released on January 5, 2010.

Tokyo Yakult Swallows

Barnette signed with the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yo ...

prior to the 2010 season. At the conclusion of the 2015 NPB season, his sixth with the Yakult Swallows, Barnette had appeared in 260 career games as a relief pitcher, compiling an 11–19 record and 97 saves with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. His 2015 season, in which the Swallows won the

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

, was his most successful by several measures. Barnette tied for first in the

in saves (41) and recorded the lowest ERA among closers (1.29, a career best). He allowed just one home run in 62.2 innings and set a career-low WHIP of 0.89.

Texas Rangers

Barnette signed a two-year deal with the Texas Rangers of

on December 15, 2015. He made his major league debut against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

on April 5, 2016. He allowed two runs on 3 hits while getting his first career MLB strikeout in two-thirds of an inning pitched. He finished the season with an ERA of 2.09, appearing in 53 games. He recorded 7 wins and 3 losses in innings. The following season, his ERA fell to 5.49 in innings. The Rangers declined Barnette's 2018 option on November 6, 2017, making him a free agent. He was re-signed by the team days later. On July 4, 2018, he was placed on the disabled list. Barnette became a free agent following the conclusion of the season.

Chicago Cubs

On February 1, 2019, Barnette signed a one-year major league contract with the

. He opened the 2019 season on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

while dealing with right shoulder tightness. He rehabbed with the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The Cubs play their h ...

before being activated off the disabled list on June 23. On June 27, 2019, he was optioned down from the MLB

, to the Triple AAA

for

Craig Kimbrel Craig Michael Kimbrel (born May 28, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, Chicag ...

Barnette announced his retirement on January 28, 2020. Barnette is currently in baseball operations and pro scouting for the

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnette, Tony 1983 births Living people People from Federal Way, Washington Sportspeople from Anchorage, Alaska Baseball players from Alaska Baseball players from Washington (state) American expatriate baseball players in Japan Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Tokyo Yakult Swallows players Texas Rangers players Chicago Cubs players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Missoula Osprey players South Bend Silver Hawks players Mobile BayBears players Reno Aces players Iowa Cubs players