Matt Barnes (baseball)

Matthew David Barnes[1] (born June 17, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Listed at 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 m) and 210 pounds (95 kg), he bats and throws right-handed. He made his MLB debut in 2014.

Matt Barnes
Barnes with the Boston Red Sox in 2015
Boston Red Sox – No. 32
Pitcher
Born: (1990-06-17) June 17, 1990
Danbury, Connecticut
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
September 9, 2014, for the Boston Red Sox
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record25–18
Earned run average4.07
Strikeouts407
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
World University Baseball Championship
2010 Tokyo Team

Barnes throws a high-90s four-seam fastball, a curveball, and a changeup.[2] Prior to being drafted by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, he played college baseball at University of Connecticut, where he was named a First Team All-American.

Early years

Barnes went to Bethel High School in Bethel, Connecticut. In high school, he was named to the All-State team.[3] He was also a member of the basketball team. Following his high school career, he was not chosen in the Major League Baseball (MLB) draft.[4] He then enrolled at the University of Connecticut, where he pursued a degree in political science.

Amateur career

Barnes played college baseball for the Connecticut Huskies baseball team in the Big East Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. As a freshman, he had a 5–3 win–loss record with a 5.43 earned run average (ERA) and 55 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched. As a sophomore, Barnes had an 8–3 record with a 3.92 ERA and 75 strikeouts.[5] In his junior season, Barnes had an 11–3 win-loss record and an 1.11 ERA with 97 strikeouts in fourteen games started during the regular season, as the Huskies won their first conference regular season title.[6]

Barnes was twice named to the All-Big East team.[6] Barnes was named Big East Pitcher of the Year in 2011.[7] He was also named to the 2011 College Baseball All-America Teams of the American Baseball Coaches Association and Collegiate Baseball.[8][9] He was added to the Golden Spikes Award preseason watch list in 2011.[10]

In 2009 and 2010, Barnes played collegiate summer baseball for the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[4] He also pitched for the United States national baseball team in the 2010 World University Baseball Championship, not allowing an earned run, as the United States won the silver medal.[6]

Professional career

Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox selected Barnes with the 19th overall selection in the 2011 MLB draft.[4] During the 2012 season, Barnes appeared in five games for the Class A Greenville Drive and 20 games for the Class A-Advanced Salem Red Sox—all starts—posting an overall record of 7–5 with a 2.86 ERA and 133 strikeouts in ​119 2⁄3 innings pitched. He was selected to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.[11]

Entering 2013, Barnes was ranked 38th in the MLB.com Top 100 Prospects list.[12] During the season he played for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox. In a total of 25 games (all starts) he had a 6–10 record with a 4.13 ERA and 142 strikeouts in ​113 1⁄3 innings pitched. Barnes spent most of the 2014 season with Triple-A Pawtucket, where he appeared in 23 games (22 starts) compiling an 8–9 record with a 3.95 ERA and 103 strikeouts in ​127 2⁄3 innings pitched.

The Red Sox promoted Barnes to the major leagues for the first time on September 8.[13] He made his MLB debut the next day, pitching three scoreless innings of relief in a 4–1 Boston loss to the Baltimore Orioles.[14] He finished the rest of the season with Boston, making a total of five MLB appearances (all in relief) while giving up four runs in nine innings pitched (4.00 ERA).

Barnes split time in 2015 between Pawtucket and Boston. In Triple-A, he compiled a 1–1 record with a 4.06 ERA in 17 games (five starts) with 41 strikeouts in ​37 2⁄3 innings pitched. He made a total of 32 MLB appearances (two starts), pitching 43 innings while recording 39 strikeouts with a 5.44 ERA and a 3–4 record. Barnes spent all of the 2016 season with Boston, appearing in 62 games (all in relief) with 4.05 ERA and 71 strikeouts in ​66 2⁄3 innings pitched. Along with a 4–3 record, he had his first save, which came on August 9 when he recorded the final out of a 5–3 win over the New York Yankees by striking out Mark Teixeira.[15]

During the 2016 ALDS, Barnes made his postseason debut, pitching ​1 2⁄3 innings in Game 2 against the Cleveland Indians; he gave up three hits and one unearned run.[16]

Early in the 2017 season, Barnes was ejected for the first time in his MLB career, on April 23 by umpire Andy Fletcher, for apparently trying to hit Baltimore's Manny Machado with a pitch in response to a hard slide by Machado on Dustin Pedroia in a game two days prior.[17] The next day, Barnes received a 4-game suspension for "intentionally throwing a pitch in the area of the head of Manny Machado."[18][19]

For the 2017 season, Barnes made 70 relief appearances with Boston, compiling a 7–3 record, plus one save, with a 3.88 ERA and 83 strikeouts in ​69 2⁄3 innings pitched. Barnes started the 2018 season in his usual role as a member of Boston's bullpen. During the regular season, he appeared in 62 games, compiling a 6–4 record with a 3.65 ERA and 96 strikeouts in ​61 2⁄3 innings. In the postseason, he made 10 appearances while allowing one earned run in ​8 2⁄3 innings as the Red Sox went on to win the World Series over the Los Angeles Dodgers.[20]

Barnes was included on Boston's Opening Day roster to start the 2019 season.[21] He appeared in 70 games, recording a 5–4 record with four saves, a 3.78 ERA, and 110 strikeouts in ​64 1⁄3 innings.

Personal life

Barnes began holding an annual baseball clinic at the Newtown, Connecticut, Youth Academy for elementary school students in December 2013.[22] Barnes was married in January 2019 to Chelsea Barnes.[23]

References
  1. "Boston Red Sox Media Guide" (PDF). 2019. p. 66. Retrieved April 29, 2019 – via pressbox.athletics.com.
  2. Anderson, Mark (May 14, 2012). "Scouting Report: Matt Barnes (RHP)". Baseball Prospect Nation. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved October 1, 2012.
  3. "Bethel's Barnes leads UConn baseball team into Big East tournament". NewsTimes. May 21, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  4. "Red Sox select Barnes". Boston.com. June 7, 2011. Archived from the original on November 3, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  5. "Barnes has MLB potential but one goal — UConn championships". GreenwichTime. May 25, 2011. Retrieved March 23, 2012.
  6. "Red Sox tab UConn's Barnes; Springer to Astros". NewsTimes. June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  7. Associated Press. "Boston Red Sox draft UConn pitcher Matt Barnes in 1st round". masslive.com. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  8. "2011 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division I All-American Teams | ABCA.org" (PDF). Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  9. "2011 Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger All-Americans". College Baseball 360. June 2, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  10. "Bethel's Barnes on Golden Spikes watch list". GreenwichTime. February 17, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2012.
  11. "2012 All-Star Futures Game". Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  12. "MLB.com Top 100 Prospects list". Major League Baseball. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  13. "Red Sox promote pitcher Matt Barnes to big-league bullpen". Providence Journal. September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  14. "Baltimore Orioles 4, Boston Red Sox 1". Retrosheet. September 9, 2014. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  15. "Boston Red Sox 5, New York Yankees 3". Retrosheet. August 9, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  16. "Cleveland Indians 6, Boston Red Sox 0". Retrosheet. October 7, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2018.
  17. "BOS@BAL: Barnes ejected after throwing at Machado". MLB.com. April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2018 – via YouTube.
  18. Browne, Ian. "Matt Barnes suspended 4 games". MLB. Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  19. Smith, Christopher. "Matt Barnes, Boston Red Sox RHP, suspended four games for throwing in area of Manny Machado's head". MassLive. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
  20. "Boston Red Sox win 2018 World Series". MLB. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  21. Cole, Mike (March 28, 2019). "Red Sox Opening Day Roster: Boston's 25-Player Group Officially Set". NESN. Retrieved March 28, 2019.
  22. Healey, Tim (December 1, 2014). "Barnes' baseball clinic benefits Newtown youth: Red Sox prospect started the event following Sandy Hook tragedy". MLB.com. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  23. @GreenvilleDrive (January 12, 2019). "Congrats to #DriveAlum and @RedSox #WorldSeries Champion, @mattbarnesRHP, on his wedding today!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 13, 2019 – via Twitter.
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