Hollister hurler Daniel Barone moves to high-A with Marlins,
determined to hit Majors
Two years ago, he was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 11th
round. On Monday, Hollister’s Daniel Barone took another step
forward in his quest to pitch in the Big Leagues.
Hollister hurler Daniel Barone moves to high-A with Marlins, determined to hit Majors
Two years ago, he was drafted by the Florida Marlins in the 11th round. On Monday, Hollister’s Daniel Barone took another step forward in his quest to pitch in the Big Leagues.
“I moved up yesterday to Jupiter, Florida,” said Barone, who graduated from San Benito High in 2001. “I’m playing for the Jupiter Hammerheads now, which is considered high A ball.”
For Barone and countless other players in the Major League farm system, the road to the show is long and hard – even with outstanding numbers like the ones that the right-handed hurler from Hollister has put up so far.
“A lot of how fast you go up depends on your draft status,” said Barone, who made his first start with the Hammerheads on Wednesday night. “If they’ve got a lot of money into you, they’ll move you up quicker. That’s how it works. They aren’t moving me too quick. I wish they would just bring me up and say, ‘Let’s see what he’s got.’ Put me in and see what happens.”
Although Barone hasn’t moved up as fast as he would like too, he is moving in the right direction.
In the summer of 2004, he played his rookie ball in Jamestown, New York for the Jamestown Jammers. That year he posted a record of 3-3 and had an ERA of 4.24.
“That was a rough year for me. I was still trying to get used to everything, but it made me grow up quick,” said Barone, who recently turned 23.
It also made him more determined to get better.
In his second season, he started off playing for the Jammers again in what was considered an extended spring training period.
In the 29 innings that he pitched that spring, Barone didn’t allow a single run. His perfect 0.00 ERA allowed him to move up to the Marlin’s lower division A ball team, the Greensboro Grasshoppers, at the end of last season.
With the Majors lurking just a few more steps away, Barone made the most of the opportunity and put up all-star numbers with the Grasshoppers this season.
Before being called up to the Hammerheads at the beginning of the week, Barone had posted a 4-0 record and had an ERA of 2.30 in 50 innings of work. He also had 60 strikeouts to his credit.
“I liked Greensboro a lot. We’d get about 9,000 fans at a game a night,” said Barone. “On my first day (Monday) in Florida we had probably 25 people watching, I’m not kidding. There’s a lot more to do here. I guess that’s why. But even the Marlins don’t get a lot of spectators at their games. At the AA level that number will probably go back up to 9,000 a night.”
The thing that really drew interest and propelled Barone to the higher level A club was the near-perfect game he pitched a week ago for Greensboro against the Kannapolis Intimidators.
Barone didn’t allow a single base runner until the seventh inning of the 4-1 victory. The only thing that got Barone off the mound that night was his pitch count of 103, since the Marlins don’t allow any of their minor-league pitchers with five starts or more to throw more than 100 pitches a night.
“It’s really all about proving that you’re consistent and able stay healthy at this level. But it’s not easy to do when you live on fast food everyday,” Barone said.
And it not easy with the grueling schedule Barone must adhere too, either.
He gets up at 8 a.m. From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., he works out in the weight room before having a few hours of down time to kick back and get some lunch.
After that he’s out on the field at 2:30 p.m. working on everything from fundamentals and pitching techniques to fielding ground balls.
And since Florida plays in the National League, that workout is followed by batting practice at about 4:20 p.m.
From there he gets a quick meal with his teammates before he has to be back at the field again by 6:30 p.m. in order to get ready for the 7:05 games.
“It’s a long day and we don’t get paid anything either,” Barone chuckled.
Life in the minors is a far cry from the glitz and glamour of the Majors. At the Major League level, the minimum salary for any player is $350,000 a year, which includes fine dining, luxury hotels and plane flights to games.
“We stay in Motel 6 or Best Westerns, nothing big,” Barone said. “We bus to the games. For one game when I was in Greensboro (North Carolina) we rode for 14 hours. That was way too much. That’s what I like about being in the Florida league now, the longest road game is four hours away.”
In addition to living on the road, eating fast food and living out of a suitcase, the pay is minuscule at the Minor League level. In fact Barone and his teammates barely make enough to get by.
With the Grasshoppers he was earning $1,100 a month, which includes a modest apartment that he shares with four of his teammates.
“It’s all for the love of the game,” Barone said.
After moving up a notch this week, he is expecting his salary to increase to $1,500 a month. Again, not a lot of money – but its all worth it for a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream.
A dream that gets closer and closer the more often he can paint his fastball across the plate.
“I’ve been able to put my fastball anywhere I want this year. I’m doing well because I’m getting ahead of the batters,” Barone said. “I have a slider and changeup as well that are getting better. People have told me that the hitters don’t get much different as you move up.”
Barone is happy to know that by being in the Marlins’ organization he’ll have more opportunity for upward mobility. Currently, the Marlins are 14 games back and in last place in the National League East.
The Florida Marlins entire team payroll is $15 million. To put that in perspective the New York Yankees have a $120 million contract with Alex Rodriguez alone.
“Once I get to double A ball I’ll be pretty close then,” said Barone. “You’ve just got to make the right pitches, stay healthy and be consistent. You can’t ever be satisfied either. I always want to do better so that I can get there.”
If and when Barone does make it to the Major Leagues, he won’t be the first in his family to do so.
His grandfather Dick Barone played for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the early 1960s.
