Blurbex

I was sitting in the back row of the press box at Tropicana Field Friday night when an imposing figure sat down beside me. Dude was about 6-feet-2, thick, wearing a black brimmed hat. This is no garden-variety baseball beat writer, I thought.

I introduced myself.

“Jesse Barfield,” he responded and offered a warm handshake and a smile. The name sounded familiar, and I soon discovered that Barfield had enjoyed a successful 12-year career as a major leaguer for the Blue Jays and Yankees. He was in town to do color commentary on Saturday and Sunday for the Rays/Blue Jays games for the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

I could’ve just left the guy alone, but figured, “Why not pump him for insight and information about the game? Worst he can do it blow me off.”

He didn’t. We chatted throughout a good portion of the game. He was more than willing to share observations and war stories. At one point we swapped pain tales — his knee replacement, my rotator cuff surgery — and had some good laughs about being crybabies.

I noticed a big, chunky ring on Barfield’s right hand, figured it might have been a World Series ring. He never won a championship, but in 1986 he led Major League Baseball with 40 home runs. For that feat, he was awarded the chunk of diamond-encrusted jewelry, emblazoned with “Homerun Champion.” He took it off and let a few guys on press row examine it. Nice heft.

Barfield did not have a Hall of Fame-caliber career, but in ’86 he finished fifth in American League MVP voting, and was renowned has having one of the best throwing arms of any outfielder in the history of the game.

He spent some time as a hitting instructor before going into broadcasting. I pointed out that Rays centerfielder B.J. Upton was having a down year at the plate, missing a lot of pitches and not hitting nearly as many homeruns.

Upton swung at a pitch. “Watch,” Barfield said. “He moves his hands out away from his body just a bit before bringing them back into hitting position. It throws him out of rhythm, makes him late on pitches.”

It took me two more Upton swings before I could see what Jesse saw in a flash. I wondered if anyone had pointed that out to B.J. I wondered if B.J. would listen if Jesse Barfield told him about it.

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