Michael Patrick Barrett is an American former professional baseball player and current catching coordinator for the Washington Nationals. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher and started his professional career with the Montreal Expos at age 18. Barrett spent three years playing in Minor League Baseball as a shortstop and catcher. He played with the Honolulu Sharks, West Palm Beach Expos, and Delmarva Shorebirds, and was elected to two Minor League All-Star games. Barrett made his Major League debut in 1998 as a third baseman, but was shortly outrighted to the minor leagues to play with the Harrisburg Senators for a season.Upon Barrett's return to the Major Leagues in 1999, he ranked among the top offensive rookies in various statistical categories. Barrett failed to stay healthy during the 2003 season, which prompted the Expos to trade him to the Oakland Athletics, who in turn, traded him to the Chicago Cubs. During his tenure with the Cubs, Barrett won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005, and recorded near career-high statistics in 2004 season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the San Diego Padres in June of 2007. Barrett sustained two major injuries, which caused him to miss 115 games with the Padres, and was subsequently released after the 2008 season. Barrett attempted to make a comeback with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2009, but continued to struggle with injury issues, which led to his release in the subsequent offseason. He spent the second half of the 2010 season in the New York Mets minor league system. Barrett was also a volunteer assistant coach for the baseball team at the University of North Georgia. Wikipedia
Barrett bids farewell to his Cubs' fans. The Message was originally posted on his homepage. <br class="br"> Cubs deal Barrett to Padres June 20, 2007 http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070620&content_id=2038291&vkey=news_chc&fext=.jsp&c_id=chc
