S.J. baseball hall to honor Barr and others

John Barr was a fleet-footed first baseman as a senior on Audubon's 1975 Group 2 state championship baseball team. He stole 22 bases that year and recently quipped, "The only base I couldn't steal was first."

Barr, now the special assistant to the general manager of the San Francisco Giants, batted over .300 that season, went on to play at Rider, and since then has distinguished himself with his work in professional baseball over the last quarter of a century.

For his success as a high school and college player and a professional talent evaluator, Barr will be inducted Saturday into the Hot Stovers Baseball Club of South Jersey Hall of Fame. The 2 p.m. induction ceremony will take place at Masso's Columbus Manor in Williamstown.

Also being inducted are players Larry Price and Steve Young from Cherry Hill East, and Mike Patrizi of Pennsauken. Other inductees are Chuck Roney, who coached at four high schools and at Rowan University; and contributors Ernie Delp, Boyd Sands, and Gene Sasse.

Barr began his professional baseball career in 1984, as an administrative assistant to the minor leagues and scouting for the New York Mets.

He became the Minnesota Twins' East Coast scouting director in 1988, and was the Baltimore Orioles' scouting director in 1989 and 1990.

He spent the next three years as the assistant general manager of the San Diego Padres.

Barr was the Mets' scouting director from 1994 to '97 and then worked the next 10 years with the Los Angeles Dodgers as East Coast scouting supervisor. He was hired in October 2007 for his current job, in which Barr is in charge of all domestic and international scouting for the Giants. Now living in Haddonfield, Barr estimates he is on the road 200 nights a year.

Through his work for major-league teams, Barr has brought favorable attention to South Jersey baseball. Now he's earning the attention and is humbled by it.

"I'm just so honored and thrilled," he said.

Barr already has been inducted into the Mid-Atlantic Scouts Hall of Fame and the Professional Scouting Hall of Fame. Those were great honors, he says, but this recent Hall of Fame recognition is truly special.

"This means an awful lot to me, because this is where I grew up," he said.

It's also where he learned so much about the game, at Audubon and also with the Brooklawn American Legion, where he played for legendary manager Joe Barth Sr.

He remembers taking a two-thirds pay cut going from working for Merrill Lynch to the Mets, exchanging Mets tickets for free meals at a local pizza parlor in those early days.

Barr's passion for the game and his ability to evaluate talent has enabled him to prosper in his profession. He's ecstatic that a number of family members will be there for his big day, including his wife, Marianne, and their four children: Kate, a sophomore at the University of West Virginia; Eileen, a junior at Haddonfield; Mary, a freshman at Haddonfield; and Blake, a seventh grader.

Receiving a World Series ring with the 1986 Mets is just one of many lifelong memories for Barr. Most of all, he has never forgotten where he came from, always willing to tell anybody within earshot the virtues of South Jersey baseball.

And those in South Jersey baseball are showing him their appreciation.

Contact staff writer Marc Narducci at 856-779-3225 or mnarducci@phillynews.com.