BaLLooN NoT 
Believing at its Best...
Wright, Reyes AND Beltran!
USA
Posts: 22303
(6/10/06 1:10 pm)
Reply
|
 Barfield Thankful for 'Once in a Lifetime Experience'
Barfield Thankful for 'Once in a Lifetime Experience'
by: Joe DeMayo
June 8, 2006 -- Jeremy Barfield, the Mets' ninth round pick and an outfielder/first baseman from Klein High School in Spring, Texas, is not the first in his family to go through the ordeal of MLB Draft Day. His brother, Josh, was drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 draft while his father, Jesse, was drafted in the ninth round of the 1977 draft. Josh is currently the starting second baseman for the San Diego Padres while Jesse played for the Blue Jays and Yankees from 1981-1992.
The 6'5" 240 pound seventeen year old Barfield is built more like his father, scouts say, than his brother.
Barfield and his family spent Tuesday afternoon hovering around a laptop computer as they watched the draft unfold over the Internet.
"I was following every pick, waiting... and waiting," Jeremy says with a laugh. "But I was happy for a lot of my friends who got picked.
"We were in a hotel room in Milwaukee with bad wireless," he says with more laughter. "So it was kinda sketchy, but you know what, it was a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget."
Barfield said that the Mets called him in the eighth round to gauge his interest.
"They called during the eighth (round)," he said. "And asked if I was signable still. I said, 'absolutely!'"
Unlike many batters on draft day, Jeremy isn't concerned about the transition from aluminum to wooden bats.
"Man, no adjustment," the right-handed hitter states emphatically. "I used wood during batting practice and only used that metal stuff during the games. I hit with wood daily."
However, he said he does have some work set out before him, both offensively and defensively.
"I'm going to hit the gym every day until I break for minicamp. Offensively, (I need to) just keep driving the ball like I have been," he says. "Defensively, gosh, I hope I play first base. If so, I will have to improve my footwork, that's for sure, but it can be done. I will work diligently at it."
Barfield says that he models his game after Ken Griffey, Jr., who he said is a close family friend. Even so, Barfield quickly got a reputation among Mets fans as being arrogant after being drafted, due to an image of him flipping his bat nearly twenty feet into the air after a clutch hit.
"We were down by two, first base was open, and the guy on deck was 0-3 at the time," Barfield says, remembering the moment. His teammates hitting before him had hit back-to-back balls off the center field wall, and there were runners on second and third with two outs in the inning. "The third baseman yelled to walk me, but (the pitcher) ignored it, and I made them pay.
"I didn't know I tossed it, it just happened."
Although he expected to be drafted in an earlier round, and by another team, Barfield doesn't seem to mind.
"(I expected) the Rangers, Dodgers, Phillies or Brewers, but it never works out like you expect. I didn't know that the Mets were that interested," he says.
He also expected to be drafted in the, "third to fifth (rounds), but that's just a guessing game," he says, "So no big deal."
Barfield said that he plans to sign with the Mets rather than go to college.
Read the transcript of Joe DeMayo's conversation with Jeremy Barfield.
Joe DeMayo is the Editor-In-Chief of SheaBaseball.com.
O&A always WIN in the end!
HIGH VOLTAGE! || Spread the Virus, XM Radio!
|
Email This To a Friend
Topic Commands
Click to receive email notification of replies
Click to stop receiving email notification of replies