Highlighted Year: Jimmy Barrett, 1900

Outfielder, Cincinnati Reds

Age:  25

2^nd season with Reds

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’7”    Weight: 170 

Prior to 1900:

A Massachusetts native who was orphaned at age six, Barrett was raised by uncles and began playing baseball professionally in nearby Brattleboro, Vermont when he was 21. In 1898 he joined the Oswego Grays of the New York State League and played shortstop until committing six errors in two games, which caused him to be shifted to third base. Moving on to Taunton in July, Barrett was moved to right field and impressed with his hitting and speed. He batted .330 with 20 outfield assists in 53 games. He started 1899 with Detroit of the Western League, scored 117 runs and hit .331 until his contract was sold to the Reds at the end of August. An immediate success as a leadoff-hitting right fielder for the Reds, he batted .370 in 26 games with a .477 on-base percentage and 30 runs scored. His speed and aggressiveness made him a fan favorite. Barrett moved to center field 30 games into the 1900 season.

 

1900 Season Summary

Appeared in 137 games

CF – 115, RF – 22

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 632 [7, tied with Ginger Beaumont]

At Bats – 545 [10, tied with Elmer Flick]

Runs – 114 [3, tied with George Van Haltren]

Hits – 172 [11]

Doubles – 11

Triples – 7

Home Runs – 5 [13, tied with six others]

RBI – 42

Bases on Balls – 72 [5, tied with Kip Selbach]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 63 [1]

Stolen Bases – 44 [3]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .316 [13, tied with Patsy Donovan & Roy Thomas]

OBP - .400 [11]

Slugging Pct. - .389

Total Bases – 212 [15]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 5

Sac Hits – 10

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading batting strikeouts were +2 ahead of runner-up Bill Bradley

Fielding

Chances – 336

Put Outs – 287

Assists – 25

Errors – 24

DP – 6

Pct. - .929

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The Reds went 62-77 to finish seventh in the NL, 21.5 games behind the pennant-winning Brooklyn Superbas, while leading the league in batting strikeouts (408). Following a 6-3 start, the Reds slumped and were 12-20 by the end of May. The rebuilding club was never able to rise into contention the rest of the way.

Aftermath of 1900:

Barrett jumped to the Detroit Tigers of the new American League in 1901, signing a contract for $3000. He batted .293 with 16 doubles, 9 triples, 4 home runs, and a .385 OBP, and as in Cincinnati, he became popular with Detroit fans for his style of play. Following an offseason of barnstorming, he returned to the Tigers in 1902 despite the threat of legal action by the Reds, seeking to regain his services. He hit .303 with a .397 OBP. Barrett also signed a two-year contract extension to stay with Detroit. In 1903 he led the AL in walks drawn (74) and OBP (.407) while batting .315 with 13 doubles, 10 triples, and 2 home runs. Defensively he topped the league with 19 outfield assists. He ran afoul of manager Ed Barrow for being “too cocky” and was nearly traded. With the Tigers in 1904 he again led the league in walks drawn with 79 while he hit .268 with a .353 OBP. Plagued by a knee injury in 1905, Barrett was limited to 20 games, and he was still bothered by the injury in 1906 when the Reds purchased his contract on a conditional basis. After failing to produce a hit in 12 at bats, he acted as a player/manager for Dayton of the Central League for a month, when he was released. Moving on to Rochester of the Eastern League a few weeks later, Barrett managed to play in 74 games and batted .277, although his range in the outfield was significantly reduced. Returning to the American League with the Boston Americans in 1907, he hit .244 in 106 games. Released by Boston early in the 1908 season, he played three years with Milwaukee of the American Association and retired in 1913. For his major league career, Barrett batted .291 with 962 hits that included 83 doubles, 47 triples, and 16 home runs. He scored 580 runs and compiled 255 RBIs, a .379 OBP, and 143 stolen bases. With Cincinnati he batted .317 with 145 runs scored, 206 hits, 13 doubles, 11 triples, 5 home runs, 52 RBIs, a .407 OBP, and 48 stolen bases. He went into a business career following baseball and died from a stroke at age 46 in 1921. A good and popular player at his best, his failure to fully recover from a severe knee injury brought his career to an end (if only he had the benefits of modern sports medicine at that time).

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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league in one of the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10), runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20); or pitchers who led a major league in wins, strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10). Also included are participants in annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since 1933. This category also includes Misc. players who received award votes, were contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in non-award years.