Player Profile: Skeeter Barnes

I have 21 cards of Skeeter Barnes. This one is from 1985 Donruss.

Playing career: Utilityman Skeeter Barnes played parts of nine seasons in the major leagues for the Reds, Expos, Cardinals and Tigers. Primarily a bench player, his best season was 1991, when he hit .289 with 5 HR and 17 RBI in 75 games for the Tigers. A fuller account of his career can be found at The Greatest 21 Days.

Where he is now: Baserunning Coordinator for the Tampa BayRays.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fifth when you type Skeeter B, between Skeeter Beeter Pro, a hammock, and Skeeter Boat Parts, referring to a boat manufacturer. The first entry when you google Skeeter Barnes is not the ballplayer but a restaurant in Nebraska.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Darwin Barney.

Rick Austin on baseball cards

Rick Austin pitched four seasons in the major leagues for the Indians and the Brewers, winning four games and saving six. Now a financial adviser at Austin & Associates in Kansas City, he kindly answered my questions about baseball cards.

"I guess my favorite card of me would be my first one with the Indians.

I only own a few cards of some of the players I played with……..Robin Yount, Hank Aaron, Charlie Moore, Gorman Thomas, Don Money, Jim Slaton, Jim Colborn, etc.  I am not really a collector."

Thanks! Here is a card of him from my collection, from 1976 Topps.

Player Profile: Richard Barnes

I have one card of Richard Barnes, from 1984 Donruss. He had only one major league card, and he is not even on it! The photo is of Neal Heaton.

Playing career: Richard Barnes pitched in 10 games for the White Sox and Indians in 1982 and 1983, going 1-3 with a 5.65 ERA.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Richard Barnes is now:

Google Autocomplete results: He is seventh when you type Richard Ba, between Richard Bandler, a self-help author, and Richard Bay, a character on the TV Show “The Practice”. There are no references to the ballplayer on the first page of results; the most prominent Richard Barnes is an English politician.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Skeeter Barnes.

Player Profile: Matt Barnes

I have one card of Matt Barnes, from 2011 Bowman Draft Picks and Prospects.

Playing career: The Red Sox first round draft pick in 2011, Matt Barnes made his pro debut in 2012, going 7-5 with a 2.85 ERA for Greenville and Salem.

Where he is now: In sixteen starts at AA Portland, he is 4-5 with a 5.32 ERA but has struck out 83 batters in 67.2 innings.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is third when you type Matt B, between Matt Bissonette, who participated in the mission to kill Osama Bin Laden and wrote a book about it, and Matt Bomer Gay, an actor. There are no references to the baseball player on the first page of results; most refer to an NBA player.

 

Coming up next: The next profile will be Richard Barnes.

Player Profile: Larry Barnes

I have four cards of Larry Barnes. This one is from 2002 Ultra.

Playing career: First baseman Larry Barnes played in 46 games in the major leagues for the Angels in 2001 and the Dodgers in 2003, hitting .154 with 1 HR and 4 RBI.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Larry Barnes is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is ninth when you type Larry Bar, between Larry Barshay, a corporate law partner at Fried Frank in New York, and Larry Barnett, who was an American League umpire from 1969 to 1999. Another prominent Larry Barnes was a boxer.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Matt Barnes.

Player Profile: Jon Barnes

I have four cards of Jon Barnes. This one is from 1992 Classic Draft Canadian.

Playing career: Jon Barnes pitched in the Padres organization from 1991 to 1995, going 18-25 with a 4.58 ERA.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Jon Barnes is now?

Google Autocomplete results: There are no autocomplete results for Jon Barnes – they give you John Barnes instead. The first page of results do not list the ballplayer, but a racing driver and a trumpeter.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Larry Barnes.

Player Profile: John Barnes

I have one card of John Barnes, from 1998 Topps.

Playing career: John Barnes played 20 games in the outfield for the Twins in 2000 and 2001. After that, he played four years at AAA for four different organizations. In an attempt to return to the major leagues, he reinvented himself as a knuckleball pitcher, and reached AAA in the Red Sox organization in 2006 and 2007.

Where he is now: He has a full-time job as a sales representative at Rotech Healthcare, but is also the Co-Director of The HittingZone in Spokane, WA as well as a coach for the Spokane Dodgers 15U team.

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type John Barn, ahead of John Barnett, a nineteenth century English composer. There are no results for the baseball player on the first page of results for John Barnes; most refer to an English soccer star.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Jon Barnes.

Player Profile: Brian Barnes

I have 24 cards of Brian Barnes. This one is from 1992 Donruss.

Playing career: Brian Barnes pitched five seasons in the Expos, Indians and Dodgers organizations, going 14-22 with a 3.94 ERA. His best year was 1992, when he went 6-6 with a 2.97 ERA for Montreal.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Brian Barnes is now?

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Brian Barn, ahead of Brian Barnett, a doctor in Dallas. There are no results for the ballplayer on the first page of results for Brian Barnes; most reference a Minnesota politician.

Coming up next: The next profile will be John Barnes.

Player Profile: Clint Barmes

I have eight cards of Clint Barmes. This one is from 2006 Ultra.

Playing career: Infielder Clint Barmes had an excellent rookie season for the Rockies in 2005, hitting .289 with 10 HR and 46 RBI. He has struggled since, only once hitting above .245. He played for the Astros in 2011 and joined the Pirates in 2012.

Where he is now: He is the regular shortstop for the Pirates, hitting .204 with 2 HR and 10 RBI.

My memories: I remember him coming up with a lot of hype after a terrific start in 2005 (hit over .400 in April). Then, he injured himself carrying deer meat later that season and was never the same. It is unlikely he would have sustained his pre-injury performance for long anyway.

Google Autocomplete results: He is fourth when you type Clint B, between Clint Bowyer, a NASCAR driver, and Clint Brown, a gospel singer. There do not appear to be any other prominent Clint Barmeses.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Brian Barnes.

Player Profile: Ricky Barlow

I have one card of Ricky Barlow, from 1987 TCMA.

Playing career: The Tigers first round draft pick in 1981, Ricky Barlow pitched in their organization through 1987. In 1984, he went 1-17 with a 6.79 ERA for Class-A Lakeland, walking 101 and striking out 65. In 1985, he started the season at Lakeland. Because he “improved” to 1-7 with a 5.54 ERA and a 27/35 BB/K ratio, he was promoted to AA Birmingham, where he went 1-5 with an 8.38 ERA, walking 55 and striking out 39. Overall, in seven seasons, he went 23-58 with a 5.56 ERA, walking 434 and striking out 386.

Interesting facts: In his book Going the Other Way, Barlow’s teammate Billy Bean said “Ricky was known as ‘Watercan’ because of his ability to suck down beer like water.”

My memories: Only know him from his card.

Where he is now: Anyone know where Ricky Barlow is now?

Google Autocomplete results: He is first when you type Ricky Barl, ahead of Ricki Barlow City Council, a Las Vegas politician. Another prominent Ricky Barlow is a financial advisor in Florida.

Coming up next: The next profile will be Clint Barmes.