Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American

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), ...

(MLB)

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subject ...

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 draw ...

. He pitched for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

and six other teams between 1960–74. Barber compiled 121 wins, 1,309 strikeouts, and had a 3.36 career

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. Barber spent his first eight years with the Orioles where he compiled an outstanding 95–75 record. Arm injuries hampered the rest of his career which saw him win only 26 and lose 31 for the rest of his 15-year career. While with the Orioles, Barber was an All-Star for two seasons. From 1961 to 1967 Barber bucked baseball superstition by wearing number 13. He also wore this number with the Seattle Pilots.

Early years

Barber was born in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...

, and graduated in 1956 from

Montgomery Blair High School Montgomery Blair High School (MBHS) is a public high school located in Four Corners, Maryland, United States, operated by Montgomery County Public Schools. The school's total enrollment of 3,600 makes it the largest public high school in Montgo ...

located in Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland.

Major League career

Barber signed with the Orioles in 1957. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

in , he had a record of 10–7 and an

of 3.22 (sixth best in 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 ...

), but also led the American League (AL) in both walks (113) and

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

es (ten). In , he tied for the AL lead in

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s with eight, and had a record of 18–12. In , he became the first modern Orioles' pitcher to win 20 games in a season when he compiled a 20–13 record, 180 strikeouts, and a 2.75 ERA, which led to him being selected as an

All-Star for the first time in his career. He was again named an AL All-Star one last time in . However,

tendinitis Tendinopathy, a type of tendon disorder that results in pain, swelling, and impaired function. The pain is typically worse with movement. It most commonly occurs around the shoulder (rotator cuff tendinitis, biceps tendinitis), elbow (tennis elbo ...

in his elbow prevented him from appearing in the game, and also kept him out of the

1966 World Series The 1966 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1966 season. The 63rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the American League (AL) champion Baltimore Orioles and National League ...

as the Orioles swept the defending champion

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in four games for the first title in franchise history. On April 30, 1967, Barber was removed from a game against the Detroit Tigers with two outs in the ninth inning after having given up two runs despite having not surrendered a

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

; Stu Miller got the final out to complete the no-hitter, although the Orioles lost 2–1. Barber spent the rest of his career plagued by elbow troubles. The Orioles traded him to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

on July 4, 1967, for players to be named later,

Ray Barker Major general (United States), Major General Ray Wehnes Barker (December 10, 1889 – June 28, 1974) was a United States Army officer of the Allies of World War II, Allied Forces, and served in the European Theater of Operations during World War ...

and cash. Later that year, on December 15, the Yankees sent minor-leaguers Chet Trail and Daniel Brady to the Orioles to complete the trade. Barber was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the

1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball created via the 1969 Major League Baseball expansion and which would begin play in the 1969 season. The expansio ...

when the Yankees left him unprotected. Plagued by a sore arm, he worked in 20 games for the Pilots. He was released just before the 1970 season, but played that year for the Chicago Cubs, and then for the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

, pitching almost exclusively in

relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

. He remained with the Braves until they released him in May 1972, then joined the California Angels, where he remained until the end of the 1973 season. Barber was involved in a nine-player transaction when he was sent along with

Clyde Wright Clyde Wright (born February 20, 1941), nicknamed "Skeeter", is an American former professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, he played all or part of ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the California Angels (1966–73), Milwauk ...

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series ''F Troop'', ''The Andy Griffith Show'', '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' and ''Mama's Family''. He also appe ...

Art Kusnyer Arthur William Kusnyer (born December 19, 1945) is an American former catcher in Major League Baseball who was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 37th round of the 1966 amateur draft. He played for the Chicago White Sox, White Sox (1970), L ...

and cash from the Angels to the Milwaukee Brewers for Ellie Rodríguez, Ollie Brown,

Joe Lahoud Joseph Michael Lahoud (born April 14, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of eleven seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder and designated hitter, for the Boston Red Sox (1968–71) ...

Skip Lockwood Claude Edward (Skip) Lockwood Jr. (born August 17, 1946) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched for the Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (1969–1973), California Angels (1974), New York Mets (1975–1979) and Boston Re ...

and Gary Ryerson on October 23, 1973. After being released by the Brewers during spring training, he later appeared in 13 games for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the middle of the 1974 season. In August, he signed with the

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 ...

, but never pitched for the team. In 466 MLB games pitched, including 272 as a starter, Barber posted a 121–106 won–lost mark and a 3.36 earned run average. He registered 59

complete games In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

and 21

shutouts In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. He also had 14 saves as a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

. He allowed 1,818 hits and 950 bases on balls in 1,999 innings pitched, with 1,309 strikeouts.

Later years and death

Barber and his wife moved to the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

area in 1978. He was employed as a driver for the

Clark County School District The Clark County School District (CCSD) is a school district that serves all of Clark County, Nevada, including the cities of Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and Boulder City; as well as the census-designated places of Laughlin, Blue ...

, providing transportation for children with disabilities from 1992 to 2006. Barber died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

in Henderson, Nevada.

References

External links

Steve Barber
at Baseballbiography.com
ESPN: Barber, O's first 20-game winner, dies at 67
* : {{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Steve 1938 births 2007 deaths Aberdeen Pheasants players Amarillo Gold Sox players American League All-Stars Atlanta Braves players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Maryland California Angels players Chicago Cubs players Deaths from pneumonia in Nevada Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Phoenix Giants players People from Takoma Park, Maryland Richmond Braves players San Francisco Giants players Seattle Pilots players Syracuse Chiefs players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players