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Barry to try his luck with the Dodgers By Don Hunt At the age of 32, Jeff Barry sometimes can�t help but wonder why he�s still playing professional baseball. It�s one thing to be on a major league team and be earning six- and seven-figure salaries. To be flying first class from one big city to another doing what you love most. To be signing autographs for sheepish adults and wide-eyed youngsters. To hit a game-winning home run and know that all your friends and family back home will see it on ESPN later that day. That�s the life of Riley that League League boys dream about as they head to the ballfields each summer. But for every Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter, there are hundreds of players like Barry, who toil in the obscurity of the minor leagues. Barry nearly retired six years ago during his only season with the San Diego Padres organization. But his wife, Teresa, talked him out of it and Friday the former Medford High and South Medford High standout will head off to Vero Beach, Fla., the training camp site of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Barry, an outfielder who is set to embark on his 12th season of pro ball, signed with the Dodgers in November after spending last season in Japan. He�s been told he has a legitimate shot at making the big league club, where his salary would be $300,000 for the year. But he knows his destination is just as likely to be Albuquerque, N.M., site of the squad�s AAA team, where his pay would drop to about $12,000 per month. "I�m not going to get my hopes up too high," says Barry, who built a house in Medford last year and now resides here with his wife and two sons during the offseason. "I�m just going to play as hard as I can and let the chips fall where they may. "My goal is to go down there and make the big club coming out of spring training. I�d really like to see what it feels like to play a full year in the major leagues." Barry has had three stints in the big leagues, the first with the New York Mets in 1995 and the last two with the Colorado Rockies in �98 and �99. But for most of his career, Barry has been the quintessential minor leaguer. Lots of bus trips, fast food and motel rooms in places like Jamestown, N.Y., New Haven, Conn., and Colorado Springs, Colo. He has played for 10 minor league teams and the Dodgers represent his sixth organization. "I�ve got to admit there have been times when I�ve been down in the dumps," Barry says. "Those bus rides and motel rooms aren�t so bad when you�re 20 or 21,, but they get a little old when you�re 25 or 26. "But I consider myself lucky and blessed. I�m getting paid to do something I�ve loved to do since I was little." Barry had his best season in 1999 when he hit .350 over the first two months of the season with Colorado Springs, the Rockies AAA affiliate. He was promoted in June of that year and proceded to hit .270 with five homers and 30 RBIs as a part-time starter with the big league club in Denver. "At the age of 30 I finally proved to myself that I belonged on a major league team," says Barry, whose forte is his defensive ability that includes one of the stronger arms in baseball. Barry played with the Chibalotte Marines in Japan last season. He put up credible numbers: 14 homers, 44 RBIs and a .292 batting average. But to his surprise he was sent to the club�s farm team three different times. "We had five Americans on the team and none us got to play in the late innings if we had the lead because they think the Japanese play better defense," Barry says. "So a lot of games I only got a couple at-bats. It was hard to get in a groove." Another Japanese team � the Hanshin Tigers � showed interest in Barry but he jumped at the Dodgers� offer after his agent worked out a deal in November. He declined offers from the Cubs and Marlins. His first workout is next Tuesday and the Dodgers� first exhibition game is March 2. Barry, who has been working out daily at Superior Athletic Club, hopes to play baseball for another two or three years. After that, he may stay in the game as a scout or front office worker. "Managing a team would be fun except they start you out in the minor leagues," Barry says. "I think I�ve taken enough bus trips for one lifetime." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.