Friday, June 23, 2023

DEDICATED ROOKIE: 1977 LEN BARKER

Up on the blog this fine day, we have a 1977 "dedicated rookie" for pitcher Len barker, who'd have himself a decent eleven-year Major League career ahead of him with some truly bright moments:


Barker made his Big League debut in 1976, appearing in two games while going 1-0 for the Texas Rangers, pitching to a nice 2.40 earned run average over 15 innings, including a complete-game shutout.
He'd be back in 1977, appearing in 15 games, with three of those starts, going 4-1 with a 2.66 ERA in 47.1 innings, giving the Rangers hope that they found a home grown ace.
Sadly the 1978 season had Barker struggle, going 1-5 over 29 games, seeing his ERA blow up more than two full runs to 4.82, eventually leading to a trade to the Cleveland Indians along with Bobby Bonds for Larvell Blanks and Jim Kern.
In Cleveland, Barker found his groove, putting in solid seasons between 1980 and 1982, including 19 wins in 1980 and two straight strikeout titles in 1980 & 1981.
Of course, the high point of his career would be May 15th of 1981 in Cleveland, when Barker reached the ultimate pitching accomplishment, tossing a perfect game against the Toronto Blue Jays, at the time the ninth such gem in MLB history.
At this writing it is STILL the last no-hitter thrown by a Cleveland pitcher, and something Barker to this day loves to talk about, never tiring of that grand performance.
Sadly by 1983, still only 27 years of age and now a member of the Atlanta Braves, Barker starting having arm trouble, which quickly led to his retirement by 1983, on 31.
Over his 11 year career, Barker finished with a record of 74-76, with an ERA of 4.34 over 248 games and 1323.2 innings, with seven shutouts and five saves, with the aforementioned two K-titles and an All-Star game appearance in 1981, and of course that perfect game.