Page 108 - 1975 BoSox

STEVE BARR PITCHED PARTS OF 24 games in the major leagues. ough he was unable to carve out a longer career, he was
nonetheless able to achieve more at this game than most of the rest of us. Born in St. Louis on September 8, 1951, Barr, a left-handed pitcher, was signed fresh out of Carson High School in Carson, California, three months before he turned 18, by longtime Red Sox scout Joe Stephenson. He had been selected by the Red Sox in the seventh round of the 1969 amateur draft.
Barr worked his way up through the Red Sox farm system, slowly at rst, with a 0-4 record with Jamestown (New York/Penn League) in 1969, walking 30 batters in 28 innings pitched and posting an 8.36 ERA. e following year, 1970, he pitched for Greenville in the Western Carolinas League, posting a 3-4 record in 15 games and an ERA of 4.38. He was placed on the disabled list on June 26 with a season-ending injury. In 1971, after being suspended from the beginning of the season until July 9, he nished the season with Winter Haven (Florida State League) and appeared in 10 games (1-1, 6.00 ERA). Barr played in 19 games in 1972 with Winston-Salem (Carolina League), again with a losing record (8-9), with an improved 4.19 ERA. And he married Katherine Anne Krieger in December. e two had met in Winter Haven while Steve was in spring training with the Red Sox. e 1973 season was split between Bristol (Eastern League, 7-10 with a 3.20 ERA) and Pawtucket (International
League, 1-0 in three games, 5.79 ERA).
Barr played the 1974 season with Bristol again, putting up a very good 16-8 record with a 2.45 ERA, leading the Eastern League in wins, being named the league’s Pitcher of the Year, and earning himself a shot in the big leagues. e tall and large (6-feet-4, 200 pounds) left-hander was summoned for his rst start in the
next-to-last game of the season, game number 161, on October 1, Boston hosting the Cleveland Indians.
Barr hadn’t pitched for 36 days, so it wasn’t surprising that he was a little rusty — not to mention possibly a little nervous. “He lost his composure,” Johnson said after the game. Barr got through the rst inning OK but walked Johnny Ellis to lead o the second inning. Ellis took second on a wild pitch that went into the seats. After inducing a grounder to third, Barr allowed singles to Rusty Torres, Dave Duncan, and Luis Alvarado. Duncan’s was an in eld hit, and had Barr covered the bag, he might well have been out, though no error was assessed. He walked Buddy Bell to load the bases and walked Duane Kuiper, forcing in a run. “What impressed me most,” Johnson said, “is the fact that when we thought he was gone, he straightened himself out and came back.” Frank Robinson was up with the bases loaded, but he didn’t get much bat on the ball and Alvarado was forced out at the plate. Charlie Spikes then bounced back to Barr, who threw him out easily. ree runs on three hits and three walks, but he was out of the inning.
Barr settled down and threw a complete nine-inning game, giving up just three more hits and one more run, but Cleveland’s Steve Kline fared worse. Boston scored seven times and Barr earned his rst major- league win, 7-4. In all, he struck out three and walked six. “He has the good fastball, the curve, a superb straight change,” Johnson noted. “ e question has
been his composure and his ability to get the ball over the plate. I know this, he’ll be given every opportunity next spring.” Peter Gammons’ game account in the Boston Globe was headlined, “Sox rookie hums a few Barrs of 1975.”1 In 1974 Steve and Katherine had their one child, Christopher Tobin “Tobey” Barr. Tobey played baseball through junior high, but the sports he lettered in were soccer,
Steve Barr
By Bill Nowlin
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