by Barker reveals that his dream was playing in the major leagues, “My aspirations of playing big league baseball started when I was ten years old. By the time I got to high school, I knew I had a chance to play. It didn’t matter to me who I got drafted by, because I just wanted to play professional baseball.”
He played baseball at Neshaminy High School near Philadelphia where he excelled and was eventually drafted by the Texas Rangers. Len describes how he found out that he was drafted by Texas, “I got a call from a scout in their farm system letting me know I had been drafted. A short while later they started coming over and we got working on a signing bonus.”
He made his Major League debut in 1976. Len looks back at his 3 years as a Texas Ranger, “It felt great because it was a dream come true when I was picked first in the third round. All my life as a little kid I wanted to be a pro athlete and this was my opportunity to get the ball rolling and show them what I could do. I have nothing bad to say about the Rangers because they treated me good and it was a great learning process. I learned a lot in the minor league system. I had a great time in the minor leagues, I didn’t make much money but I still had a great time.”
Going from Philadelphia was a culture shock for the young player, “It was the first time I ever had to step on an airplane when I flew to Sarasota, Florida, where the rookie league was located for the Texas Rangers. It was a kind of shock just getting into an airplane for the first time. I was the type of guy who was large in size and because my parents were divorced at a young age, I had to become a man pretty quick. I knew I had a lot of confidence in my ability when I got there so it worked out good.”
He showed signs of brilliance at times, but also struggled with command before being traded to Cleveland in 1979. Len reveals how friendly and welcoming the Indians were to him. He even received the knick name of “Big Donkey” from Cy Bunyak, the Indians clubhouse manager. “We had great times; we would have parties all the time with our families. We had a lot of team unity back then. On the road, we would have a group of eight to ten guys go out to dinner together. I got traded to Cleveland after the 1978 season, I was traded with Bobby Bonds. The first time you get traded you’re kind of shocked in the beginning and feel like the other team didn’t want you.
Then I started thinking about it and realized that the team trading for you really wanted you. I also realized that I had more of an opportunity to become a starting pitcher in Cleveland because in Texas they had four All Stars in their starting rotation. They had Fergie Jenkins, Gaylord Perry, Bert Byleven and John Matlock. It would have been very hard to break the rotation.” I was happy to be here because it was someone who wanted me. I was happy to play in the major leagues and I didn’t care where. Cleveland gave me the opportunity to start and that’s why I still live here today, I love this city.”
The Indians were happy to have Barker as he won 19 games in 1980. In 1980, Len had a breakout season after only winning six games in the 1979 season. Len explains what was different or special about the 1980 season, “I played winter ball in Puerto Rico after the 1979 season and concentrated on my pitching and getting command of all my pitches. We had a pretty decent team in 1980 and everything started working for me. I was able to throw a lot more strikes as I threw over 240 innings. I had over 180 strikeouts with only 80 walks. It was a great ratio for a power pitcher. I believe that was it, the concentration level and everything finally clicking. I was becoming a major league pitcher instead of a major league thrower. I started getting better and better at my control and that with my work ethic turned everything around.” He was off to a good start in 1981 and was proving the Indians faith in him to be correct.
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