Brian Scott Barber (born March 4, 1973) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

. He was drafted by the Cardinals in the first round of the 1991 amateur draft, and was later signed to a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

contract. Barber threw and batted

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. Barber was named the amateur scouting director of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

, following the 2019 season.

Early life

Barber's hometown is

Ocoee, Florida Ocoee () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 US Census, the city had a population of 47,295. History Founding and ea ...

. He attended Dr. Phillips High School in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, where he won the Gatorade High School Baseball Player of the Year in 1991. Barber elected to play professional baseball, rather than attend college.

Major league baseball career

At the age of 22, Barber made his MLB debut on August 12, 1995, with the Cardinals, making him the youngest player on the team, at that time. On that day, he pitched four

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s, giving up three

earned runs In baseball, an earned run is any Run (baseball), run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the ...

. Barber had a record of 2–1 and 5.22

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 ...

(ERA). The following year, he pitched in only 3 innings, with an ERA of 15.00. Following the 1996 season, Barber found himself unhappy with the Cardinals, and on December 21, 1996, he was granted free agency. Two weeks later, Barber was signed by the

. He missed the entire 1997 MLB season in the minors. In 1998, Barber re-emerged, pitching in 42 innings, while posting a 6.00 ERA. He also recorded a record of 2–4. The following year, Barber pitched in only 18.2 innings, with an ERA of 9.64, and a record of 1–3. On October 4, 1999, Barber was granted free agency again. About two months later, he was picked up by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. However, Barber would not pitch in an Indians uniform. Instead, he pitched the 2000 season for the

Atlantic League The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are loc ...

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "par ...

, then retired. Barber's career big league numbers included a 5–8 record, with a 6.77 ERA, 45 walks, and 59

strikeouts In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

. He was 1 for 8 hitting, with a lifetime

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of .125. Barber's lifetime

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

was 1.000.

Post-playing career

Barber spent 18 seasons with the

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

, in several off-field positions, including various

scouting Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

positions. On October 22, 2019, Barber was named the Philadelphia Phillies’ amateur scouting director.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber, Brian 1973 births Living people Baseball players from Butler County, Ohio Major League Baseball pitchers St. Louis Cardinals players Kansas City Royals players Long Island Ducks players Arkansas Travelers players Johnson City Cardinals players Louisville Redbirds players Omaha Golden Spikes players Omaha Royals players Prince William Cannons players Springfield Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Dr. Phillips High School alumni