#333 Steve Barber

Typical veteran story.....the once top starter hanging on in the majors with middle relief work occasionally getting to closing out games....Well traveled, seven teams in 15 years, most of them for only short stints...travels included the only year of the  Seattle Pilots existence...career plagued by inconsistency, sometimes top of line (1961 18 wins, 1963 20 wins), quickly followed by mediocre year....released five times then picked up by another club....took demotions to minors rather than retiring.....In the period of 1971-1973 he showed glimpses of past effectiveness and was not demoted at any time.....Came out of the Baltimore farm system....despite poor performance in the minor his prime time was his first eight years situated with the Orioles....the bulk of his wins and his personal best ERA took place there....One of his last acts as an Oriole however was to give up Mickey Mantle’s 500^th home run in 1967….oddly enough he was on the Yankee roster by the end of the year….…passed away in 2007