Though his stint with the Cardinals was fleeting, Skeeter Barnes made a lasting impression.
In his first Cardinals at-bat, Barnes, 30, a journeyman utility player, hit a three-run home run, helping St. Louis win a goofy game against the Padres.
The shot, which occurred 30 years ago on May 7, 1987, was Barnes’ only hit as a Cardinal. He got three more at-bats before he was returned to the minor leagues.
Though his stay with the Cardinals lasted less than a month, Barnes had the satisfaction of contributing to a team that would become National League champions.
Traveling man
William Henry Barnes was born in Cincinnati. He told Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he didn’t know how he got to be called Skeeter.
“If somebody called me William, I wouldn’t turn around,” Barnes said. “It’s been pretty much Skeeter all my life.”
Barnes played baseball at the University of Cincinnati and broke into the major leagues with the 1983 Reds. He also played briefly for the Reds in 1984 and for the Expos in 1985.
After spending the 1986 season in the minor leagues, Barnes became a free agent and went to Puerto Rico to play for Ponce in a winter league. St. Louis coach Nick Leyva, managing Mayaguez that winter, was impressed by Barnes, who could play all of the infield and outfield positions, and suggested the Cardinals sign him.
In January 1987, the Cardinals gave Barnes a minor-league contract and invited him to attend their big-league training camp at St. Petersburg, Fla.
“If I can just get my foot in the door, show them what I can do, things will be all right,” Barnes said. “I do know how to play the game.”
Ready or not
Though Tom Lawless won the competition that spring for a utility job, the Cardinals liked what they saw from Barnes and assigned him to their Class AAA club at Louisville.
On May 2, when Cardinals outfielder Tito Landrum went on the disabled list because of a broken left foot, Barnes, batting .294 for Louisville, was promoted to St. Louis.
The Louisville team was in Oklahoma City when Barnes learned he was being called up to the Cardinals.
“They called Skeeter at 1:15 and wanted to know if he could get on a 2:30 flight” to St. Louis, Louisville coach Joe Pettini told the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Said Barnes: “I hope I can come in here and make an impact.”
Five days later, Barnes got to make his Cardinals debut.
Opportunity knocks
Playing on a Thursday afternoon at San Diego, the Cardinals had a 14-0 lead over the Padres in the seventh inning when manager Whitey Herzog began to substitute several of his starters. Barnes was sent in to replace third baseman Terry Pendleton.
The Padres cut the lead to 14-5 in the bottom half of the seventh when starter Bob Forsch yielded a two-run home run to Stan Jefferson and a three-run home run to Bruce Bochy.
In the eighth, St. Louis had runners on first and third, two outs, when Barnes came to bat for the first time as a Cardinal. He drilled a Greg Booker pitch for a three-run home run, extending the St. Louis lead to 17-5.
Barnes’ blast made the Cardinals’ mood a little less irritable in the ninth when the Padres scored five times for a 17-10 final.
“What’s the record for having the biggest lead in the ninth inning and blowing it?” asked Herzog. “I just wondered. That had all the earmarks.”
Said Barnes: “Nobody wants to play in games like that, but I want to get into any game I can.” Boxscore
On the road again
Barnes never got a start for the Cardinals. Herzog used him three times as a pinch-hitter.
On May 20, when pitcher Ken Dayley came off the disabled list, the Cardinals opened a roster spot for him by sending Barnes to Louisville.
Though Barnes played well for the Class AAA club, batting .282, he wasn’t in the Cardinals’ plans.
On July 16, Barnes hit a two-run triple in his final Louisville game, a 5-4 victory at Nashville. After the game, the Cardinals sold his contract for $100 to the Brewers, who assigned him to their minor-league affiliate at Denver.
Barnes returned to the big leagues with the Reds in 1989 and had his best success as a Tigers utility player from 1991-94.
Previously: Tom Lawless and his role in Cardinals World Series lore
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