John Barnes hit a lot of baseballs this summer. You have to, of course, to win the PCL batting crown, as he just did with his minor-league-best average of .365.
But of the 161 hits the Buzz outfielder racked up during the 2000 season, one particular single will forever stick out for Buzz manager Phil Roof. It was Barnes' second hit of the year, and it was probably the only hit the humble 24-year-old has apologized for during his entire baseball career.
"We had a runner on second, and I wanted him to bunt the guy over. But he didn't see the bunt sign," Roof said, recalling the last inning of the mid-April game.
He apologized like crazy afterward, but missing that sign turned out to be a fateful faux-pas for Barnes. Instead of advancing Brian Richardson to third on a bunt, Barnes ripped a single and drove him in for the game-winning run against Edmonton.
"They wanted me to fine him, but I said 'No,' " Roof said with a laugh. "He redeemed himself."
Barnes, who was batting a mere .167 at the time, hasn't missed any signs — or many pitches for that matter — since.
"He's a success story," Roof said.
Barnes, a 6-2 right-hander from San Diego, earned a spot on Salt Lake's squad mostly because he is a versatile swing player in the outfield who can play all three positions equally well. But, fact is, Roof had no intentions of giving him more than 150 at-bats this season after he hit only .263 at Double-A New Britain in 1999.
Sure, he missed a sign, but he certainly didn't miss a golden opportunity.
Barnes ended up recording about 300 more at-bats than Roof had planned on, partially because the Buzz had a phenomenal amount of player movement (48 different guys have been on the roster) but mostly because he made Roof play him.
Barnes struck out in his only plate appearance in Monday's regular-season finale, but that rarely happened this year. Only 48 times, in fact. But whether batting lead-off or clean-up, Barnes was always an offensive threat. He had 87 RBIs with 13 home runs and 57 walks, while tallying a .440 on-base percentage.
"What he did is earn himself a spot in the lineup by his consistent play, his consistent hitting," Roof said. "He just made himself visible. And the harder he worked, the more success he had."
Barnes said he spent a lot of time practicing and praying this past offseason in hopes of making it one step closer to the bigs.
"I'm so happy to be here," Barnes said. "It's just been fun, an awesome season. I couldn't ask for anything better, I really couldn't. I just thank God so much for giving me my abilities."
But what makes a player hit 100 points higher from one year to the next, and in a tougher league at that?
"I think my mental approach is different," he said. "I try not to worry about stuff. I leave it in God's hands and come out every day and just play hard."
He also credits the Buzz's team success for helping to lift his play to a level no other player — not even Marty Cordova or Todd Walker had as high a batting average — has reached in the seven years in Salt Lake.
"It's been a fun season because we've won a lot of games," Barnes said. "I think it definitely helps when you're on a winning team and guys want to play and are ready to win every night. It makes a lot of difference."
E-MAIL: jody@desnews.com