Michael Barrett
Michael Barrett
Catcher who played for four MLB teams from 1998 to 2009; won a Silver Slugger Award while playing with the Chicago Cubs in 2005.
ProfessionBaseball Player
Date of Birth22 October 1976
CityAtlanta, GA
gave tremendous
He had a tremendous career. He gave a lot to this organization and the organization gave a lot to him.
great job settling
He did a great job of settling down.
coming great pitches role time tough trouble
He just had a tough time getting pitches where he wanted them and too many walks. It's really tough to spot-start. He's in a tough role right now and was coming off a great game. He's had trouble locating his stuff.
blessed divine family held high royal seed seen
He is the blessed seed of the Messiah. He wouldn't be seen as divine as Haile Selassie, but as being of his family tree. The royal family is held in high esteem.
ball easy winter work
He'll work out every day this offseason and if he goes, I think winter ball will be easy to do,
balls breaking early few good guys kept uses using
He may be one of those guys who we have to see a few times before we get used to him. A lot of guys, you don't see them using their breaking balls this early and he uses more breaking balls than anything else, and they're good breaking balls. It kept us off balance.
confused conviction faster figure giving good guys learn pitches process push versus
I really push having conviction in pitches that you throw, versus the selection. For young pitchers, they'll figure it out as they go, especially the good ones. Over years of learning, I can't keep giving them information. They have to learn to process it themselves. Some guys learn faster than others, and some guys don't learn at all. Things can get confused if I try to do too much.
chance dreamed games olympic opportunity turned usa
In 1994, I had an opportunity to play in the Olympic Games and I turned that down to play professional. I never dreamed I'd have a chance to put on a USA jersey, and now I get a chance to do that. I can't think of a better opportunity to play for your country. I think this is the real deal.
change focus heart hoping sees uniforms usa
I'm hoping for us, once we don the USA uniforms and everyone sees us on the big screens, they'll have a change of heart and focus on us.
guys league level major minor playing talking together watch whether
I like the way that they've come together as a team. You watch them, and it's like they're all playing on the same level ? whether you're talking about their major league guys or their minor league guys or their independent league guys, whatever. They look like a team.
ball base job maybe partly running second setup stop success
It was a frustrating day for me personally. I didn't get the ball to second base like I wanted to. It was partly my job to stop the running game, and I didn't have any success doing that. Maybe there's something I'm tipping off in my setup to keep him from running all over the place.
lean
He's someone I lean on and go to when I need help,
ball base flying job maybe partly running second stop
I couldn't get the ball to second base like I wanted to. It's partly my job to stop the running game. Maybe I'm tipping off something in my setup. I have to keep them from flying all over the place.
baseball believe change hard home increase
I don't think the baseball was ever changed. It's hard for me to believe they could change the baseball to increase home runs.