Barnett Signs as Free Agent with the Phillies
06/05/2003 | 12:00:00 | Baseball
June 5, 2003
Carbondale, Ill. - Just moments after the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft ended, Southern Illinois University catcher Toby Barnett received a phone call from the Philadelphia Phillies informing him that a scout would be coming to Carbondale late Wednesday night to sign him as a free agent.
For Barnett, the draft had been an emotional rollercoaster, and the news couldn't have come at a better time.
"It's been a rough couple days and I was thinking pretty negatively for awhile," said Barnett after having not been picked in either of the draft's 50 rounds. "I'm thinking I'm not going to get picked and it's time to go home with some good memories, and then the phone rings. The call put a topper on the best day."
The MLB First-Year Player Draft can indeed work in mysterious ways and it did just that for Barnett, who watched five other MVC catchers get drafted even though he was the Valley's first-team all-conference backstop the last two years.
"My two objectives were to get a degree and play pro baseball," said Barnett. "It just worked out. I didn't want to call home and tell my parents I wasn't drafted. I would have felt embarassed with all the expectations that had been put up."
A native of Kallaroo, W. Australia, Barnett was a first-team all-MVC pick the last two years. Also a two-time Most Valuable Player for the Dawgs, he led his team in batting average (.332), hits (64), home runs (10), RBI (43) and slugging percentage (.565) this past season. In addition, he garnered first-team all-MVC Scholar-Athlete honors and was named the league's Newcomer of the Year in 2002.
Along with Barnett, close teammate Sal Frisella will also begin a professional baseball career. Frisella was drafted in the 37th round by the St. Louis Cardinals. However, prior to being selected, he was a bit nervous himself.
"Toby and I were doing some work for my father in St. Louis on Tuesday trying to keep our minds off the draft," said Frisella. "Twenty rounds went by and neither of our names had been called. On Wednesday, we silently watched the first three rounds and then just decided to pack up the car and head back to Carbondale. It's a two-hour drive and we talked for about 30 minutes or so. The rest of the way was dead silence. We had been working 18 years for this dream, and when somebody doesn't pick you, it's the end of the dream."
Now both Barnett and Frisella will have a lot to talk about, as each plan on flying down to Florida together on Monday. The Cardinals are sending Frisella to Jupiter and the Phillies will send Barnett to Clearwater. After working out for a few days, the parent organizations will then assign them to one of their two rookie league teams.
