Win–loss record 121–106 Role Baseball player Name Steve Barber | Strikeouts 1,309 Earned run average 3.36 | |
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Died February 4, 2007, Henderson, Nevada, United States | ||
Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams in 1960–74. Barber compiled 121 wins, 1,309 strikeouts, and had a 3.36 career earned run average. Barber spent his first 8 years with the Orioles where he complied an outstanding 95-75 record. Arm injuries hampered the rest of his career which saw him win only 26 and lose 31 for the rest of his 15 year career. While with the Orioles, Barber was an ALL-Star for two seasons. From 1961 to 1967 Barber bucked baseball superstition by wearing number 13. He also wore this number with the Seattle Pilots
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Early years
Barber was born in Takoma Park, Maryland and graduated in 1956 from Montgomery Blair High School located in Silver Spring in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Major League career
Barber signed with the Orioles in 1957. As a rookie in 1960, he had a record of 10-7 and an earned run average of 3.22 (sixth best in the American League), but also led the American League (AL) in both walks (113) and wild pitches (10). In 1961, he tied for the AL lead in shutouts with 8, and had a record of 18-12. In 1963, he became the first pitcher of the modern Orioles to win 20 games in a season when he compiled a 20-13 record, 180 strikeouts, and a 2.75 ERA, which led to him being selected as All-Star for the first time in his career. He was again named an AL All-Star one last time in 1966, but tendinitis in his elbow prevented him from appearing in the game, and also kept him out of the World Series as the Orioles swept the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers in four games for the first title in franchise history. On April 30, 1967, Barber was removed from a game against the Detroit Tigers with two outs in the ninth inning after having given up two runs despite having not surrendered a hit; Stu Miller got the final out to complete the no-hitter, although the Orioles lost 2-1.
Barber spent the rest of his career plagued by elbow troubles. The Orioles traded him to the New York Yankees on July 4, 1967 for players to be named later, Ray Barker and cash. The New York Yankees sent Chester Trail (minors) (December 15, 1967) and Daniel Brady (minors) (December 15, 1967) to the Baltimore Orioles to complete the trade.
Barber was selected by the expansion Seattle Pilots in an expansion draft after the 1968 season when the Yankees left him unprotected. Barber was released just before the 1970 season, but played that year for the Chicago Cubs, and then for the Atlanta Braves, pitching almost exclusively in relief. He remained with the Braves until they released him in May 1972, then joined the California Angels where he remained until the end of the 1973 season. He was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers but was released in 1974 during spring training. Barber later appeared in 13 games for the San Francisco Giants in the middle of the 1974 season. In August, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals, but never pitched for the team.
Later years and death
Barber and his wife moved to the Las Vegas area in 1978. He was employed as a driver for the Clark County School District, providing transportation for children with disabilities from 1992 to 2006. Barber died of pneumonia in Henderson, Nevada.
