Michael Barrett

Full Name: Michael Patrick Barrett	Primary Position: C,3B
Height/Weight: 6' 3"/185	First Game: September 19, 1998
Birthdate: October 22, 1976	MLB Experience: 9 years
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia
Bat/Throw: Right/Right

Rate this Player

3.06

(33 votes)

1 Biography
2 Scouting Report
3 Statistics
- 3.1 Batting Stats
- 3.2 Fielding Stats
4 Transactions
5 Trivia
6 Video Gallery
7 Picture Gallery
8 See Also
- 8.1 Recent Michael Barrett ArmchairGM Stories
9 Categories

[edit] Biography

Michael Barrett was born on October 22, 1976 in Atlanta, Georgia. He began playing baseball at a young age, and was a standout performer both in the infield and outfield.

Barrett was drafted in the first round of the amateur draft in 1995 by the Montreal Expos and was sent to the minor leagues to develop his skills as a shortstop. He made the move to third base, and eventually to catcher in the minors.

1999 was his first full season in the major leagues, and he split his time between third base and catcher, playing 66 games at the hot corner, and 59 behind the plate. He hit .293 that season, with 52 RBI and 32 doubles. He became the full time catcher in Montreal in 2001, and hasn't played third base since.

He struggled with injuries and inconsistency for the rest of his career in Montreal. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics after the 2003 season, but before he could unpack his suitcase, was traded again to the Chicago Cubs for catcher Damian Miller.

Barrett maintained his health throughout the 2004 and 2005 season, and had two good seasons. He hit 16 home runs in each season, which is his career high. He provided good offense and solid defense at catcher for the Cubs.

The 2006 season proved interesting for Barrett. His best offensive season was interrupted by scandal and injury. He only played in 107 games, but still set or tied career highs in many categories.

In May, he was part of a brawl between the Cubs and crosstown rivals Chicago White Sox that resulted in a ten game suspension. White Sox catcher A.J. Pierzynski was tagging up from third base attempting to score on a flyout. Pierzynski ran through Barrett before slapping home plate in celebration. Barrett retaliated by punching Pierzynski in the face with his right fist. A brawl ensued, and four players were ejected.

Barrett claimed after the game that Pierzynski incited the action by hitting Barrett before he had the ball. Pierzynski claims it was a legal play, and Major League Baseball agreed, and upheld Barrett's suspension after an appeal hearing.

Barrett continued his solid hitting after returning from suspension, but his season ended on September 2nd after suffering a groin injury. He was hit by a foul ball, and needed surgery to correct the damaged area. Barrett still set career highs in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging (.307/.368/.517) and tied his career best in home runs with 16.

He is heading into the offensive prime of his career, and should he stay healthy, could produce a .300/20/80 season for the 2007 Chicago Cubs.

[edit] Scouting Report

Barrett is known as an offensive catcher, but his defense has improved since taking over catching duties full time in 2001. He struggles against left-handed pitchers, an oddity for a right-handed hitter. He has a career .257 mark against lefties, as opposed to .272 against righties.

Barrett has improved his on-base percentage considerably over the last three seasons, and was wildly successful in the period during which he hit #3 in the batting order for the 2006 Cubs. He batted .366 in 34 games in the three hole, and hit eight of his 16 home runs during that time.

He's been most successful playing road games in Cincinnati, where he holds a career .390 average with three home runs and 16 RBI in 82 AB. Also, in 658 career AB at Wrigley Field, he has hit 28 HR and has 93 RBI.

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Batting Stats

Year	Team		G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	AVG	OBP	SLG	2B	3B	BB	SO	HBP	SH	SB	IBB	GDP
1998	MON	N	8	23	3	7	1	2	.304	.407	.522	2	0	3	6	1	0	0	0	0
1999	MON	N	126	433	53	127	8	52	.293	.345	.436	32	3	32	39	3	0	0	4	18
2000	MON	N	89	271	28	58	1	22	.214	.277	.288	15	1	23	35	1	1	0	5	7
2001	MON	N	132	472	42	118	6	38	.250	.289	.367	33	2	25	54	2	4	2	2	14
2002	MON	N	117	376	41	99	12	49	.263	.332	.418	20	1	40	65	1	6	6	7	14
2003	MON	N	70	226	33	47	10	30	.208	.280	.398	9	2	21	37	2	2	0	7	6
2004	CHI	N	134	456	55	131	16	65	.287	.337	.489	32	6	33	64	5	4	1	4	13
2005	CHI	N	133	424	48	117	16	61	.276	.345	.479	32	3	40	61	7	2	0	3	7
2006	CHI	N	107	375	54	115	16	53	.307	.368	.517	25	3	33	41	5	2	0	2	12
2007	CHI	N	57	211	23	54	9	29	.256	.307	.427	9	0	17	36	0	0	2	3	5
2007	SD	N	44	133	6	30	0	12	.226	.235	.286	8	0	2	21	0	0	0	0	5
2007	TOT	N	101	344	29	84	9	41	.244	.281	.372	17	0	19	57	0	0	2	3	10
Total			1017	3400	386	903	95	413	.266	.322	.426	217	21	269	459	27	21	11	37	101

[edit] Fielding Stats

Year	Team		POS	G	GS	INN	PO	A	ERR	DP	PB	SB	CS	PkO	AVG
1998	MON	N	C	3	3	23	22	4	1	1	0	4	2	0	.963
1998	MON	N	3B	3	3	25	0	5	2	0	0	0	0	0	.714
1999	MON	N	SS	2	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
1999	MON	N	3B	66	62	505	45	104	9	4	0	0	0	0	.943
1999	MON	N	C	59	51	443.1	329	25	5	2	7	54	16	3	.986
2000	MON	N	C	28	24	211.2	163	12	2	1	5	15	4	0	.989
2000	MON	N	3B	55	49	421.2	23	83	13	10	0	0	0	0	.891
2001	MON	N	C	131	129	1126	881	50	7	6	8	95	23	1	.993
2002	MON	N	1B	6	2	21.2	27	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	1.000
2002	MON	N	C	110	105	931.1	752	54	9	9	9	59	24	1	.989
2003	MON	N	C	68	63	562.2	391	21	1	5	7	16	10	1	.998
2004	CHI	N	C	130	119	1081.1	1035	47	6	9	8	72	24	2	.994
2005	CHI	N	C	122	114	1017.2	868	51	6	8	4	70	21	1	.994
2005	CHI	N	DH	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2006	CHI	N	DH	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
2006	CHI	N	C	102	96	852	726	42	5	7	10	89	21	0	.994
2007	CHI	N	C	55	52	475.1	389	18	5	2	8	32	7	0	.988
2007	SD	N	C	40	31	292.2	224	16	1	0	4	40	7	0	.996
2007	TOT	N	C	95	83	768	613	34	6	2	12	72	14	0	.991
Total			C	848	787	7017	5780	340	48	50	70	546	159	9	.992
Total			1B	6	2	21.2	27	1	0	4	0	0	0	0	1.000
Total			DH	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000
Total			3B	124	114	951.2	68	192	24	14	0	0	0	0	.915
Total			SS	2	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1.000

[edit] Transactions

Selected by Montreal Expos in the 1st round (28th pick overall) of the free-agent draft (June 1, 1995 - signed June 9, 1995).
Traded by Montreal Expos to Oakland Athletics in exchange for a player to be named later (December 15, 2003); Montreal Expos received Bret Price (December 19, 2003).
Traded by Oakland Athletics to Chicago Cubs in exchange for Damian Miller and cash (December 15, 2003).
Granted free agency (December 21, 2003).
Signed by Chicago Cubs (December 21, 2003).