Bret Barberie
From BR Bullpen
Bret Edward Barberie
- Bats Both, Throws Right
- Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.
- School Cerritos College, University of Southern California
- Debut June 16, 1991
- Final Game June 22, 1996
- Born August 16, 1967 in Long Beach, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Bret Barberie played second base in college for the University of Southern California before he was selected in the 7th round of the 1988 amateur draft by the Montreal Expos; he had been drafted three times previously but failed to sign, prefering to finish college. He did not sign immediately this time either, opting instead to keep his amateur status and play for the US Team which won the unofficial gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. He also played for Team USA in the 1988 Baseball World Cup, going 2 for 4 with a double, RBI and 4 runs as a backup infielder. He began his professional career the next year at West Palm Beach in the Class A Florida State League, where he was an all-star shortstop. Moved back to second base, he had an excellent season for the AA Jacksonville Expos in 1990: as the team's lead-off hitter, he obtained 112 hits and drew 86 bases on balls in 133 games.
Barberie was first called up to the Major Leagues in June 1991, but was used sparingly, only coming to bat 20 times in his first month with the Expos, before being sent back down to the AAA Indianapolis Indians. He was called back for good on August 2, and went on a torrid hitting streak until the end of the season: from that point on, he hit for .371. In his first game back on August 2 [1], he hit a home run batting left-handed against Danny Cox of the Phillies in the 3rd inning, and added another batting right-handed against Wally Ritchie in the 7th; only Tim Raines had performed this feat for the Expos before him. On September 8 [2], he started a triple play at third base in the 9th inning to clinch a win against the Reds. In a year where everything that could go wrong for the Expos did, Barberie was one of the few bright spots.
If 1991 was a dream season for Barberie, 1992 was a nightmare. New manager Tom Runnells decided to hand him the regular third base job in spring training, which meant that team captain and three-time Gold Glove winner Tim Wallach would need to move to first base. This was one of many moves that caused a player revolt against Runnells, leading to his firing on May 22. Barberie did not help matters by having a difficult season both at the plate and in the field, not surprisingly in the latter case since he had never played third base on a regular basis at any level. He ended up hitting .232 with a pathetic .281 slugging average, quickly losing his job back to Wallach. In September, the Expos traded for young third baseman Sean Berry from the Kansas City Royals, a sure sign that Barberie was no longer part of their plans. Indeed, he was left unprotected for the 1992 Expansion draft and was the seventh player chosen overall, by the Florida Marlins.
Bret Barberie was the Marlins' regular second baseman during their first two seasons in the National League, hitting .277 in 1993 and .301 in 1994. Indeed, he was the Marlins' second baseman and second hitter in their inaugural game played on April 5, 1993 in Miami [3]; he collected two hits and scored a run in the Marlins' 6-3 victory over the Dodgers that day. In spite of decent batting averages in his two years in Florida, he hit for little power and did not score or drive in many runs, so the Marlins decided to go with flashy young Quilvio Veras as their second baseman and sent Barberie to the Baltimore Orioles for relief pitcher Jay Powell in December 1994, while the 1994 strike was still unresolved. Barberie was the Orioles' regular second baseman early in 1995, but lost the job in mid-season due to his poor hitting (a .241 average with little power). He became a free agent after the season and signed with the Chicago Cubs as a back-up infielder. He played only 15 games for his new team before being sent to the minor leagues after obtaining one hit - a home run - in 34 at bats for the 1996 Cubs.
He was married to television personality Jillian Barberie from 1996 to 2002.
[edit] Chris Berman Nickname
- Bret "Put another Shrimp on the" Barberie
