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Skeeter Barnes
In the 37 years that the Sounds have been playing baseball in Nashville, there have been two jersey numbers retired. One was Don Mattingly (1981) and Skeeter Barnes (1979, 88-90). Mattingly wore No. 18 while Barnes donned No. 00 in his second stint with the Sounds.
Barnes was born in Cincinnati, Ohio with the name William Henry Barnes graduating from Woodward High in 1975 and attended the University of Cincinnati. As for the name "Skeeter" said Barnes, "that is something my mom gave me at birth. It doesn't really mean anything. They just started calling me Skeeter as a newborn and it just kind of stuck."
Schmittou was an owner and president of the Sounds for 19 years (1978-96). A few years ago in an interview, Schmittou was asked, "who is your favorite Nashville Sounds' player of all-time?" "Skeeter Barnes," Schmittou said without hesitation. "The reason Skeeter is my favorite is he's the one no matter whatever had happened to him, he still worked the hardest. He had that cheerful face on him. Skeeter first came to us in 1979. He was always the first person out who was cheerful and inspiring other people. He would play any position you asked him. His attitude is what made him one of my favorites. Skeeter wasn't the best player, but he worked harder than anybody I saw coming through there."
Some baseball players are said to be "in between" players. That is a player that is solid in Triple-A, but struggles at the major league level.
"I was a Four-A player," said Barnes. "You are always hoping for that chance in the right situation on a big league team. That's what happened with Sparky [Anderson-Detroit manager]. I get there in 1991 and fit right in playing the same way for the last five years. And they'd say where have you been the last five years. I'd say I've been in Nashville. I've been here. I've been there. Its just the matter of finding the right fit." - mlb.com
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