Bret Barberie

Bret Barberie
Second baseman
Born: (1967-08-16) August 16, 1967 (age 57) Long Beach, California, U.S.
Batted: Switch Threw: Right
MLB debut
June 16, 1991, for the Montreal Expos
Last MLB appearance
June 22, 1996, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average	.271
Home runs	16
Runs batted in	133
Stats at Baseball Reference
Teams
Montreal Expos (1991–1992) Florida Marlins (1993–1994) Baltimore Orioles (1995) Chicago Cubs (1996)
Medals Baseball Representing the  United States Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Team Baseball World Cup 1988 Rome Team

Bret Edward Barberie (born August 16, 1967) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. Before his professional career, Barberie attended the University of Southern California (USC) and played college baseball for the USC Trojans, and played for the United States national baseball team in the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Baseball World Cup.

Amateur career

Barberie attended Gahr High School in Cerritos, California, and played for the school's baseball team.^[1] He enrolled at the Cerritos College and transferred to the University of Southern California (USC) and played college baseball for the USC Trojans baseball team in the Pacific-10 Conference.^[2] In 1988, Barberie was named to the All-Pacific-10 Conference's first team.^[3] In the summer, Barberie was a member of the United States national baseball team, playing in the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal, and the 1988 Baseball World Cup, winning the silver medal.

Professional career

The Montreal Expos selected Barberie in the seventh round of the 1988 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. Barberie made his major league debut with the Expos on June 16, 1991. He had a .353 batting average in 136 at-bats for the Expos in the 1991 season. With Delino DeShields serving as the Expos' starting second baseman, the Expos played Barberie as their third baseman in 1992, as the Expos moved Tim Wallach to first base.^[4] He struggled in the 1992 season, was demoted to the minor leagues during the season, and finished with a .232 batting average for the Expos.^[5]

The Florida Marlins, an expansion team, selected Barberie from the Expos in the 1992 MLB expansion draft; he was the third player chosen by the Marlins.^[6] He was a member of the inaugural Marlins team that began play in Major League Baseball in 1993. He recorded the first hit in Marlins franchise history, a single off of Orel Hersheiser, on Opening Day.^[7][8] Barberie had a .277 batting average in the 1993 season.^[9] In May 1994, Barberie got chili pepper juice in his eye when putting in his contact lenses, was temporarily blinded, and missed that day's game as a result.^[10] Barberie led the National League in errors committed by a second baseman in 1994.^[11] Though he also had a .301 batting average, the Marlins acquired Quilvio Veras to replace Barberie as their second baseman after the 1994 season, and traded Barberie to the Baltimore Orioles for Jay Powell.^[12] He started at second base for the Orioles through June 4, but he struggled and was replaced as their starting second baseman with Manny Alexander.^[13]

Barberie became a free agent after the 1995 season and signed with the Chicago Cubs for the 1996 season. The Cubs invited Barberie to spring training as a non-roster player.^[14] He began the 1996 season with the Iowa Cubs of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL), and was promoted to the Cubs in May.^[15] In 1997, Barberie played for the Mission Viejo Vigilantes of the independent Western Baseball League.^[16] The next season, Barberie played for the Oklahoma City RedHawks of the PCL, an affiliate of the Texas Rangers.^[17]

Personal life

Barberie's father, Edward, played professional baseball in the minor leagues.^[3] Bret is the former husband of Jillian Barberie, a Canadian television hostess, sportscaster, radio personality and actress. The couple married in 1996 and divorced in 2002.^[18]

Barberie enjoys surfing.^[7] He began surfing at the age of 12 on a family vacation to San Diego.^[5] Barberie owns and operates a baseball facility in Santa Clarita, California.^[19]

References

1. "Prep baseball playoffs : Southern Section 3-A : Abbott Keeps Gahr at an Arm's Length in 6-5 Upset". Los Angeles Times. May 25, 1985. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
2. "CHP Station Selects Its Officer of the Year". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1988. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
3. "BRET BARBERIECareer recordInfielder is a career .283..." tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
4. "Lakeland Ledger - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
5. "It's Barberie's Coast Surfer-infielder Feels Right At Home As A Marlin". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
6. "The News - Google News Archive Search". google.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
7. "Orioles Get Barberie, Sharks Don't". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Archived from the original on May 15, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
8. "Break Up The Marlins! Hough Helps Florida Defeat La In Opener". philly-archives. Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
9. Zimniuch, Fran (June 2013). Baseball's New Frontier. U of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803246829. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
10. "Marlins Fever: Hot As A Chile Pepper". tribunedigital-sunsentinel. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
11. "1994 National League Fielding Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
12. "Time right to pitch Powell deal". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
13. "With Alexander thriving, Barberie ponders future". tribunedigital-baltimoresun. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
14. "Magadan Likely To Miss 6 Weeks". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
15. "Infielder Barberie Is In". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
16. "Vigilantes Win on Barberie's Homer". Los Angeles Times. August 20, 1997. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
17. "Bret Force Propels Hawks Barberie Powers Oklahoma Past Colorado Springs". NewsOK.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
18. "Jillian Barberie Reynolds and Husband Grant Reynolds Getting a Divorce". E! Online. March 15, 2013. Retrieved March 22, 2015.
19. "Looking At Youth Baseball From The Inside". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved March 22, 2015.

External links

• Career statistics from Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)