Top 100 San Diego Padres: #88 Bob Barton

ROBERT WILBUR BARTON | C| 1970-1972, 1974 | CAREER
STATS



What can be said of Bob Barton that has not already been said?

I could call him a poor man’s Fred Kendall. Additionally, I might comment on the fact that Barton was the only member of our Top 100 club of whom I had no recollection. And of course it bears mentioning that our rankings place him as the seventh greatest catcher in Padre history. Oh, and he was born on a Wednesday.

In December 1969, after parts of five seasons of offensive impotence as a San Francisco Giant, Barton was shipped to the Friars with Bobby Etheridge and Ron Herbel. The Giants received Frank Reberger in the deal.

That Bob Barton was arguably the best player involved in this package speaks volumes of the insignificance of the deal. But a team has to play somebody at catcher, and Bob Barton became that somebody here in San Diego.

Barton struggled mightily in his first Padre campaign, posting a .592 OPS in limited duty. His second year with the club would be the best of his career. Playing in 121 games, he compiled an OPS of .663, just .021 beneath the league average. His modest success would be short-lived, however, as his playing time was limited to just 29 games the following season, which would see his OPS plummet to .413 (Yes, four-thirteen.).

Swapped to the Reds in mid-1972, Barton would appear in only two games as a Red before returning to San Diego to close out his career with a lackluster 1974. Released by the Padres on October of that year, Robert Wilbur Barton surprisingly has resurfaced as number 88 in our Padre countdown.