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Why Nashville Sounds great Skeeter Barnes will be at First Horizon Park Wednesday

Mike Organ
Nashville Tennessean

Skeeter Barnes, one of the most popular Nashville Sounds players of all-time, will be at First Horizon Park Wednesday night.

Barnes will attend the Sounds second game of the season against the Durham Bulls.

The Bulls are the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays and Barnes is in his second season on the staff of the Bowling Green (Kentucky) Hot Rods, the High-A affiliate of the Rays. Before that Barnes spent 12 yeas as minor-league outfield and base-running coordinator for the Rays.

Nashville Sounds first baseman Skeeter Barnes (00), right, lets the umpire know he thinks he was safe after steal a base against Columbus Clippers at Greer Stadium May 31, 1988. The Sounds went on to a 10-1 victory to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games.

Barnes, 64, ranks as one of the all-time fan favorites for the Sounds. He is Nashville's career leader in hits (517), doubles (94), at-bats (1,848), and games played (514).

He played two stints in Nashville — 1979 (AA-Reds) and 1988-90 (AAA-Reds) — and ranks among the top three players all-time in every offensive category in the franchise's history.

Barnes' jersey number 00 was retired by the Sounds in 1999. Barnes' and Don Mattingly's jerseys are the only two ever retired by the Sounds.

Nashville Sounds veteran infielder Skeeter Barnes (00) celebrates a big inning with teammates in the dugout during their 10-0 victory over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at Greer Stadium May 23, 1989.

"I know I did a lot of things (in Nashville)," Barnes told MiLB.com in 2014. "I never had my number retired in anything not even at my high school. I didn't wear that number in my first year in Nashville. I thought saying nothing to nothing means nothing so double 00's here we go. I was grateful that people appreciated the way I played in Nashville. That's the one thing I always prided myself. I've always played hard wherever I played."

Barnes helped lead the 1979 Sounds to their first Southern League championship. He played in 145 games that year, only his second as a pro.

In his second stint in Nashville in 1989 Barnes led the Triple-A American Association with 39 doubles and earned a spot on the league's post-season All-Star team.

Barnes led the circuit with 156 hits in 1990, a year in which he also ranked among the league leaders with 83 runs scored and 34 stolen bases, which led the Sounds to a berth in the American Association championship series.

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In his 16-year Major League career Barnes spent time in the Cincinnati, Montreal, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Detroit organizations after being selected by the Reds in the first round (16th overall selection) of the June 1978 draft.

He spent parts of nine major league seasons with the Reds, Expos, Cardinals, and Tigers and accumulated a .259 average over 353 Major League games.

First pitch for Wednesday's game is 6:35 p.m.

The Sounds opened the season Tuesday with a 5-4 win over Durham.

Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.