Michael Barrett is a catcher for the Chicago Cubs
Barrett started his career with the Montreal Expos, and had a good rookie season. However, his next four years ranged from mediocre to poor. After the 2003 season, Barrett was traded to the Oakland Athletics; just a few days later, Barrett switched teams again. This time he was traded to the Cubs for veteran catcher Damian Miller. In 2004, Barrett surprised many with a very solid year. Barrett was one of the better hitting backstops in the National League, while his defense was average. In 2004, Barrett hit .287, with 16 home runs, and 65 RBIs (runs batted in). Barrett also slugged .489; 80 points above his career average. Barrett faced a little controversy late in the 2004 season, after a confrontation with Houston pitcher Roy Oswalt. After giving up a three run homer to Aramis Ramirez, Oswalt hit Michael Barrett in the back with the next pitch; many people, including Barrett, considered the pitch to be an intentional bean ball. Five days later, when the Astros traveled to Chicago, Barrett began arguing with Oswalt, while Oswalt was at bat. Both teams benches cleared, but no punches were thrown. Some believe that Barret fired up the Astros, because after his argument with Oswalt, the Astros started winning. In the end, Houston came from behind to beat the Cubs out for the wild card spot by three games. Barrett is expected to have another solid season in 2005, and some think he may develop into one of the best catchers in the circuit. Barrett normally does not catch for Cub's pitcher Greg Maddux, and at the end of 2004, Paul Bako (who left the team in the offseason) caught for the Cub's Mark Prior; Prior fared noticeably better with Bako behind the plate.
