BY SCOTT MORGANROTH
When the time comes and I get around to write my baseball book, Andy Barkett is going to get in.
Since I started working with New Media, I’ve depended on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter to get guests. Some of these individuals I’ve known for a long time and had to find out where they lived while others, I messaged and asked if they wanted to come on a show.
The list of Baseball Lifers that I’ve come in contact is way too long but that’s the reason why I have enough stories to create a book.
Barkett is a great story.
He’s been with five MLB organizations at the age of 50. Four of them have been playing baseball for over 100 years.
On Wednesday, January 31, I was looking for a good baseball guest and didn’t care if the NFL was stealing all of the storylines.
I contacted Barkett on LinkedIn and set him up for 9 ET.
While I’d say at least 90% of the broadcasters would go for a gridiron guest, my philosophy of being different is was led me in this direction.
Before I get into the show, let’s talk about Barkett, the latest Baseball Lifer that I’ve interviewed.
He began is career with the Detroit Tigers from 2006 and stayed until October 2010. He was a minor league manager for the Tigers Florida State League team in Lakeland and also managed the Oneonta Tigers in the short-season New York Penn League.
Barkett moved on to the Miami Marlins where he was the AA Manager from October 2010-October 2014 for the Jacksonville Suns. He was also the assistant hitting coach and spent five years and one month with the fish.
His journey took him to the Pittsburgh Pirates organization where he was the AAA Manager from November 2016-October 2017. Once again, he also served as the assistant hitting coordinator.
Barkett moved on to the Boston Red Sox from October 2017-October 2019 and he was the assistant hitting coordinator. This time his work was done in MLB and as a result, Andy won a World Series Championship with the Bosox.
One player that stands out for me who went from the Red Sox to the White Sox was catcher Carlton Fisk. Fisk had his number retired in both places playing in Boston and Chicago.
Barkett has taken the same route as he was the Chicago White Sox hitting coordinator from September 2021-October 2023.
Barkett was also an assistant coach for the University of Central Florida for 1.3 years and spent a couple of months managing in the Dominican Republic.
He’s well respected in baseball as a top-notch hitting coach and has his own hitting academy.
During his appearance on the Sports Exchange, which is included in this story, myself along with my crew asked him what it was like to be away from his family, the places he stayed in, the championship season in Boston, the art of hitting and a lot of other things.
I guarantee you won’t regret watching this interview.
It’s that time of the year when guys like Barkett are waiting for the phone to ring to see where he’ll be spending this season.
In the meantime, I was impressed with his social media following on Twitter/X as he follows 2,800 while his followers are 12,800.
This guy is learning New Media and since he lives in the Orlando Area, I look forward to the day that we’ll meet in person.
Meanwhile, I’m just looking forward to having him on future shows and he takes the same path that former NFL Assistant Coach John Bonamego took and that’s join us frequently to keep his name out there and then he gets hired.
I’m extremely gratified that Bonamego lasted an entire season on Inside The Pigskin.
I’m not holding my breath that Barkett will spend an entire summer on 108 Stitches, Baseball Talk because I expect him to be employed elsewhere, but I’ll be thankful for what we get.
I’m a student of the game of baseball. I’ve learned so much from all the baseball guests through the years.
Barkett coaches a craft that’s one of the most difficult things to do: hitting a baseball.
If you don’t believe me, then look up the numbers for the greatest NBA Player of All-Time Michael Jordan and Florida Gators standout QB Tim Tebow. They’ll tell you they made the right decision to stay with their respective sports.
At the age of 50, there is a lot of baseball left in Andy Barkett. The only question is where will he land next?
Scott Morganroth can be reached at southfloridatribune@gmail.com and you can follow him on Twitter/X @TribuneSouth.
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Finally, Scott released a new book called, “Lessons From The Microphone” which you can purchase on Amazon and Kindle.
