Mike Barnett (baseball)

Michael Lee Barnett (b. February 1, 1959 in Columbus, Ohio) is a Major League Baseball hitting coach for the Houston Astros.

Playing career

Barnett played catcher at Ohio University, but had his baseball career end following a shoulder injury.

Coaching career

Barnett had a 6-year stint as an assistant administrator of baseball operations for the New York Yankees from 1982-1987.

After leaving the Yankees, he spent two seasons on the coaching staff at the University of Tennessee from 1988-1989.

Following that, Barnett served as hitting coach at all levels of the Chicago White Sox organization from 1990–1997.

Barnett spent 4 seasons from 1998-2001 as hitting coach for Tucson (AAA) in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization.

Barnett served as hitting coach of the Toronto Blue Jays from 2002–2005, where he played a key role in the development of such hitters as Vernon Wells and Orlando Hudson. He helped lead the 2003 Blue Jays to a 86-76 record as the team ranked in the top 5 in the American League in numerous offensive categories including batting average (2nd), runs (2nd), hits (2nd) and home runs (5th).

After taking over as Royals hitting coach May 1, 2006,^[1] Barnett led the Royals to a .275 (1,339-4,867) average the remainder of the season. The Royals hit a franchise-record 335 doubles in 2006, the 4th-highest total in the Majors.

Personal

Barnett resides in Knoxville, Tenn., with his 2 children. He graduated from Ohio University with a degree in sports administration.

References

1. ^ "Royals replace hitting coach". MLB.com. 2 May 2006. http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060502&content_id=1428749&vkey=pr_kc&fext=.jsp&c_id=kc. Retrieved 20 October 2010. 

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Name	Barnett, Mike
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Date of birth	February 1, 1959
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