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• 1972: Established a major league record by retiring 41 consecutive batters over a two-game period (August 23 and 29)

A 12-year standout in the major leagues, Jim Barr returns for his 13th season (2008) as the Hornets' pitching coach. He is the most experienced baseball pitcher to ever coach in the Hornet program.

In 2005, seniors Ethan Katz and Warren Rosebrock were selected in the MLB Amatuer draft. Katz was the Hornets' ace for the program in 2004 and 2005, recording three wins over ranked oppoents. In 2005, he pitched eight innings and gave up just two runs on three hits in a 4-3 upset of 10th-ranked Stanford on March 25. Later in the year, he pitched seven innings in a 7-4 victory over No. 2 Arizona on April 23. During the 2004 season, he pitched a complete game against Stanford, who was ranked No. 2 in the country at the time.

Rosebrock, who pitched for Sacramento State from 2002-05, was selected in the 41st round by the Texas Rangers. He finished his four-year career tied for second in program history with 78 career appearances and 213 innings pitched, leaving him eighth all-time.

In 2004, the pitching staff recorded 397 strikeouts, a mark that ranks fifth in program history. During the 2003 season, the Hornet pitching staff recorded its lowest team earned run average (5.28) since the 1995 squad posted an ERA of 4.54. Sacramento State also issued the fifth-lowest walks in program history (168).

Two of his pitchers, Chris Kinsey (4th round - MLB Draft) and Steve Correa (free agent) signed major league contracts at the end of the 2003 season.

A starter for more than half of his 454-game career (1971-83), Barr finished his career with the San Francisco Giants in 1983. He was drafted six separate times before ultimately signing with the Giants in 1970. After only five months in the minors, Barr made the move to the majors.

He spent the first seven years of his big-league career in the National League with the Giants, followed by two years in the American League with the California Angels, one year at AAA Edmonton, and a final comeback with the Giants in 1983.

Barr's accomplishments in the majors include a record 41 retired batters in a row over two games in 1972 and two seasons ranked in the top 10 in earned run average among National League pitchers.

His career statistics include a record of 101-112, a 3.56 ERA and only 469 walks in 2,064.2 innings pitched. He ranks high in the Giants' record book in many different categories. Barr is third in career shutouts with 20, fourth in complete games with 59 and wins with 90.

In 1999, Barr was named by The Sacramento Bee as the Giants' best right-handed pitcher of the 1970s. He was also on-hand with numerous former Giants to throw out the final pitch at Candlestick Park at the end of the 1999 season.

As a collegiate standout, Barr helped lead the University of Southern California to a pair of NCAA championships (1968, 1970). He graduated from USC in 1970 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Jim and his wife, Susie, have two children, Emmy (29) and Betsy (23). Both of his daughters have had successful athletic careers as well. Emmy played soccer collegiately at Santa Clara and played three seasons with the Washington Freedom of the WUSA. Betsy played soccer at the University of Portland and was a member of the WUSA after being drafted by the San Jose CyberRays in 2003.

BARR HOLDING ON TO BASEBALL HISTORY

8/14/2007

Barry Bonds may have a stranglehold on the national media in recent weeks in regards to Major League Baseball records. However, as one San Francisco Giant is placing his name atop the leaderboard, another is in jeopardy of being surpassed.

In 1972, Sacramento State assistant baseball coach Jim Barr retired an MLB record 41 consecutive batters. That mark has held for the past 35 years — two years longer than Hank Aaron’s career home run record — before the Chicago White Sox’s Bobby Jenks tied the record on Sunday.

The performances by both Barr and Jenks are amazing considering it is the equivalent of 13.2 perfect innings. Based upon the MLB average of a .299 on-base percentage, the odds a pitcher retiring 41 batters in a row is 1 in 2,224,000.

Barr’s streak spanned just two games while Jenks has needed nine to tie the record. In his first full season with the Giants, Barr sat down the final 21 Pittsburgh Pirates he faced on Aug. 23. Six days later, he took the mound in St. Louis and retired the first 20 Cardinals to come to the plate. Following the second game, Barr was informed by Cardinals announcer Jack Buck that he had broken Harvey Haddix’s record of 38 consecutive batters in 1958.

When Buck first told Barr he had broken a Major League record, he was not quite how to react.

"My first thought was: What did I do? Winning two games in a row, or two complete games in a row, that's a record?…I knew I got a fair number of guys out in this game. But I never put the two games together."

When asked if there was a difference between his accomplishment as a starter and Jenks’ as a reliever, he told the San Francisco Chronicle’s Gwen Knapp, “As a starter, you're maybe a little bit more in a rhythm,

“It's a good record, and I'm happy for Bobby in the sense that he's going out there and doing his job, especially as a closer."

As long as Jenks retires the next batter he faces, Barr’s name will disappear from the Major League record book. However, he will still hold the National League record. During his time on top, only two pitchers have made a serious push to knock him off. The Cincinnati Reds’ Tom Browning sat down 40 in a row in 1988 and Randy Johnson retired 39 consecutive batters while pitching for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004.

Jenks’ efforts has thrust Barr into the national spotlight over the past two days. Since he set his record in a time before SportsCenter, Baseball Tonight and the internet, many hard-core baseball were not even aware of the mark. However on Tuesday alone, Barr appeared on ESPNews, talk radio in Chicago, the Baseball Channel on XM satellite radio, KHTK 1140 in Sacramento and in the Chronicle.
 

1969

Front row from left, Rod Boone, Frank Alfano, Steve Dunning, John Andrews, Cal Meier, Craig Perkins, Jim Barr, Daryl Arensteing, Steve Patchin, Charles Janes.  Back from left, Assistant Field Manager Lyle Olsen, Doug Hunt, Milo Griffin, Russ Bennett, Dale Davis, Mike Ball, Mike Reinbach, Dave Kingman, Rich Troedson, Harley House, Brent Strom, Mark Sogge.

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