Highlighted Year: Jimmy Barrett, 1903

Outfielder, Detroit Tigers

Age:  28

3^rd season with Tigers

Bats – Left, Throws – Right

Height: 5’7”    Weight: 170 

Prior to 1903:

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 Cincinnati 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. He went on to hit .316 with 11 doubles, 7 triples, 5 home runs, 42 RBIs, 114 runs scored, 44 stolen bases,and a .400 OBP while striking out a league-leading 63 times. 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, 110 runs scored, 26 stolen bases, 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.

1903 Season Summary

Appeared in 136 games

CF – 136

[Bracketed numbers indicate AL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 616 [3]

At Bats – 517 [19]

Runs – 95 [3, tied with Willie Keeler]

Hits – 163 [7, tied with Buck Freeman & Lave Cross]

Doubles – 13

Triples – 10 [19, tied with Lou Criger]

Home Runs – 2

RBI – 31

Bases on Balls – 74 [1]

Int. BB – N/A

Strikeouts – 67 [5]

Stolen Bases – 27 [10]

Caught Stealing – N/A

Average - .315 [4]

OBP - .407 [1]

Slugging Pct. - .391 [16]

Total Bases – 202 [15]

GDP – N/A

Hit by Pitches – 6 [10, tied with eight others]

Sac Hits – 18 [14, tied with Patsy Dougherty, Lefty Davis & Lee Tannehill]

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading bases on balls drawn were +4 ahead of runner-up Billy Lush

League-leading OBP was +.016 ahead of runner-up Topsy Hartsel

Midseason snapshot: 3B – 4, HR - 2, RBI – 15, SB – 11, AVG - .304, OBP – .378, SLG – .381

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) vs. Chi. White Sox 4/29

Longest hitting streak – 10 games

Most HR, game – 1 (in 5 AB) vs. Bos. Americans 5/15, (in 3 AB) vs. Phila. A’s 6/26

HR at home – 2

HR on road – 0

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 vs. Bos. Americans 8/13

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding

Chances – 337

Put Outs – 303

Assists – 19

Errors – 15

DP – 7

Pct. - .955 

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The Tigers went 65-71 to finish fifth in the AL, 25 games behind the pennant-winning Boston Americans while leading the league in OBP (.318), fewest doubles (162) and fewest home runs (12, tied with the St. Louis Browns). The Tigers broke out fast with a 5-1 start before fading in May and never rising above fourth place the rest of the way. As during the previous year, it was effective pitching that fueled any success the club had as, other than Barrett and outfield newcomers Billy Lush and Sam Crawford, the offensive production was lacking.

Aftermath of 1903:

With the Tigers in 1904 Barrett again led the league in walks drawn with 79 while he hit .268 with a .353 OBP. Plagued by a knee injury in 1905, he 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 Detroit he batted .292 with 383 runs scored, 660 hits, 59 doubles, 30 triples, 10 home runs, 174 RBIs, a .382 OBP, and 92 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.