Red Barrett

{{Infobox baseball biography

|name=Red Barrett

|position=Pitcher

|image=Red Barrett 1949 Bowman.jpg

|caption=Barrett's 1949 Bowman Gum baseball card

|bats=Right

|throws=Right

|birth_date={{birth date|1915|2|14}}

|birth_place=Santa Barbara, California, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1990|7|28|1915|2|14}}

|death_place=Wilson, North Carolina, U.S.

|debutleague = MLB

|debutdate=September 15

|debutyear=1937

|debutteam=Cincinnati Reds

|finalleague = MLB

|finaldate=September 29

|finalyear=1949

|finalteam=Boston Braves

|statleague = MLB

|stat1label=Win–loss record

|stat1value=69–69

|stat2label=Earned run average

|stat2value=3.53

|stat3label=Strikeouts

|stat3value=333

|teams=

Cincinnati Reds ({{baseball year|1937}}–{{baseball year|1940}})
Boston Braves ({{baseball year|1943}}–{{baseball year|1945}})
St. Louis Cardinals ({{baseball year|1945}}–{{baseball year|1946}})
Boston Braves ({{baseball year|1947}}–{{baseball year|1949}})

|highlights=

All-Star (1945)
NL wins leader (1945)

}}

Charles Henry "Red" Barrett (February 14, 1915 – July 28, 1990) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher who played 11 total career seasons in the National League. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Boston Braves and St. Louis Cardinals. He once pitched the shortest complete game by fewest pitches (58) in history.{{cite web|title=Fewest Pitches (By a Single Pitcher) in a Complete Game|url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/boxscore/08101944.shtml|work=Baseball-Almanac.com|access-date=September 1, 2012}}

Barrett died at the age of 75 in Wilson, North Carolina.{{cite news |last=Barrett |first=Charles |title=Charles (Red) Barrett, Pitcher, 75 |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE1DA1E3EF931A3575BC0A966958260 |publisher=NY Times |date=August 2, 1990 |access-date=February 8, 2008}}

Career

Barrett was right-handed. He stood 5'11". Playing for three teams over 11 years, Barrett was a .500 pitcher, winning and losing 69 games. Career totals for 253 games include 149 games started, 67 complete games, 11 shutouts, 62 games finished, and 7 saves. His lifetime ERA was 3.53.

On August 10, 1944, throwing for the Boston Braves against his former team the Cincinnati Reds, Barrett pitched a 2–0 shutout at Crosley Field. He faced 29 batters (two more than the minimum, having surrendered two hits, walked no one and struck out no one, with no defensive errors behind him), setting a complete game (and a nine-inning game) record by throwing only 58 pitches, an average of exactly two pitches per batter. It was also the shortest night game in history, and the shortest road-team win in history, lasting just 1 hour and 15 minutes. The game was umpired behind home plate by the noted umpire Jocko Conlan.

File:Red Barrett 1946.jpg

In 1945, he led the Cardinals to second place in the National League, posting a team best 21 wins and 9 losses.{{cite web |url=http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/teams/1945cardinals.stm |title=1945 St. Louis Cardinals |publisher=Baseball Library |access-date=February 7, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724013017/http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/teams/1945cardinals.stm |archive-date=July 24, 2008 }} For the year, his combined 23–12 record for the Braves and Cardinals with a 3.00 earned run average led the league in wins. He was named to the AP National League All-Star team and finished third in NL Most Valuable Player voting.

As a member of the St. Louis Cardinals, Barrett appeared on the cover of Life Magazine on April 1, 1946.{{cite web |url=http://www.2neatmagazines.com/life/Life-Magazine-Baseball-Features.html |title=Life Magazine in Baseball |publisher=Life Magazine |access-date=February 7, 2008}}

In 1948, Barrett was a relief pitcher for the Braves in two games of the World Series, allowing no runs in {{frac|3|2|3}} innings.