BY TIM HAYES
Bristol Herald Courier
Kevin Barker is finally getting another shot at the big leagues.
The Virginia High graduate was promoted to the Cincinnati Reds from Class AAA Louisville on Friday afternoon and joined the team before Friday’s home game against the Washington Nationals.
Barker will serve primarily as a left-handed pinch-hitter, Cincinnati Reds manager Dusty Baker told The Associated Press.
“I was very surprised,” Barker said in a published report after learning that the Reds had purchased his contract.
“I’ll play wherever they want me to play. It’s just an honor and a privilege to be here.”
The 34-year-old Barker last played in the majors in 2006, when he appeared in 12 games for the Toronto Blue Jays as a September call-up.
He’s hit .245 with six home runs and 33 RBIs in 97 career major-league games with Milwaukee, San Diego and Toronto.
Barker made his big-league debut in 1999 with Milwaukee and at one time was the Brewers’ starting first baseman. However, a slump sent him to the minors and set in motion a life of a professional baseball vagabond.
He has played in 1,537 career minor-league games for six different organizations.
Barker’s latest rise to the major leagues is a testament to his perseverance.
Though he’s been one of the top power hitters at Class AAA the past three seasons and ranks third all-time among active players in minor-league career home runs with 248, he continually has been passed over for promotions to the big leagues. Still, he continued to play and produce in the minors.
A strong work ethic and determination have helped Barker continue to pursue his dream of playing in the big leagues.
“I come to put the uniform on to get to the big leagues,” Barker told the Bristol Herald Courier in a 2006 interview. “It’s not to come here [to AAA] and play every day … These people are going to have to run me out of the game, before I quit. That’s the attitude you have to have to get to the big leagues.”
He couldn’t be overlooked any longer this summer.
Barker was hitting .284 and led Louisville in homers (22) and RBIs (68) this season. That’s more impressive considering he played through a shoulder injury during the early stages of the 2009 season.
Now, he’s a big leaguer once again.
Barker’s father, Bill, said he receive a quick call from his son Friday morning confirming the promotion. The conversation wasn’t a long one, the father said, because his son had to clean out his locker and go straight to Cincinnati.
“He deserves it,” Bill Barker said of his son’s promotion. “I don’t know low long he’ll be there, but whatever time he does get, he deserves it.”
thayes@bristolnews.com|(276) 645-2570
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