Barre, Barre good

Junior center fielder is having a breakout season—he leads team in seven offensive categories

By PETER ANTHONY RASMUSSEN
Staff Writer

Depending on who you ask, USC center fielder Brian Barre may or may not know how to cook, but everyone agrees that he has all-around talent on the baseball field.
Barre is having an MVP season with the No. 8 Trojans. He has career highs and leads the team in seven offensive categories: home runs (six), RBI (35) and stolen bases (15).
He has taken over the team lead in batting average with a .319 mark after Tuesday's game, he has the best slugging percentage at .507, a .424 on-base percentage to lead the team and has crossed the plate 32 times.
"Certainly he was a guy that we were looking to be a very good player for us this year," said USC coach Mike Gillespie. "We expected him to be a good player. In fact, we need him to be a good player."
But his gifts on the field don't necessarily translate into talent in the kitchen.
"He can't cook," USC shortstop and roommate Seth Davidson said. "He cooked spaghetti for all of us. The meatballs were the size of baseballs. We had to tell him to cut up the meatballs in order for them to cook."
Sarah Game, Barre's girlfriend and student at Cal State Fullerton, disagrees.
"I heard about the spaghetti story," Game said. "He was really excited about cooking for his roommates and he was afraid they were not going to like it. He made me chicken and pasta and it came out good. He can cook a little."
Barre, however, sides with his roommate.
"I'm a terrible cook," he said. "Seth and (fellow roommate) Mark (Prior) are the cooks. Seth makes all sorts of stuff. Mark is the lasagna man. I'm the macaroni and cheese guy."
The 5-foot-8, 170-pound Barre, a graduate of Pacifica High, was not one of the most highly recruited players when he entered USC in 1998. In his first year, he saw limited action as an outfielder
Last season, he started in 56 games, and hit .274 with five home runs and 18 RBI. Barre was named to the First-Round Regional All-Tournament after going 7-for-12.
Gillespie acknowledges that Barre is better at the plate this year because he is patient and takes more pitches.
Barre works tirelessly at his game, so it is not surprising that he is having a stellar season.
"He is dedicated to getting better at any cost," sophomore catcher Alberto Concepcion said, who played with Barre last summer for the Wareham Gateman in the Cape Cod league during the summer. "He wanted to improve his base stealing and he's done that. On Thursday nights, other guys like to go out and have a good time. Brian likes to stay home and get decent rest for a Friday game."
Many collegiate baseball players take advantage of the Cape League to improve their games and to keep active during the summer. The rigorous schedule consists of six games a week.
Barre followed suit and worked hard in the Cape , and it extended to his workouts for this season with intense preparation in the fall .
"We have no complaint with his effort and his willingness to work and his desire to get extra work," Gillespie said. "He seeks to improve and better himself."
Barre worked hard just to earn a spot on the team. After considering schools such as UC Santa Barbara, Kansas, Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton, the Garden Grove-native chose to walk-on to the Trojan team, in which he did not have a scholarship. His diligence paid off, as he is finally on a scholarship this season.
He has been the team's go-to guy in clutch situations.
Against Louisville on Feb. 3, Barre hit his first career grand slam. Against UC Santa Barbara on April 10, he scored the game-winning run off a sacrifice fly to fight by senior Josh Persell. He hit his team-leading sixth home run earlier in the same game.
"Anyone who plays sports sees themselves as a clutch player," Barre said. "When I'm in that situation, I want to be in that position. That's what separates the guys that make it (onto a college team). The guys that make it want to be in that situation. I want to be there. I like to be in that situation and be able to do something good for the team."
Perhaps his most dramatic and greatest shining moment of the seasonwas in a home game against San Diego on Feb. 27. In what is arguably one of Gillespie's biggest gambles of the season, Barre stole home in the bottom of the ninth to give the Trojans a 4-3 victory.
"I was pretty surprised," Barre said. "I've been on third a couple of times and Skip (Gillespie) wanted to do it. But this time, he did it. It was pretty fun. I've never done it before."
"He is aggressive and he likes to run," Gillespie said. "He is a guy that can give you a substantial amount of stolen bases."
Coming from a high school where his coach was conservative with runners on the bases, Barre loves being able to attempt stealing more bases. He feels that stealing bases is one of the most important aspects of his game.
"It is always good to get on base and steal second," Barre said. "It makes it easier for the team."
Baseball did not take center stage in life until his senior year of high school. Barre, who has been playing baseball since the age of seven, played both basketball and baseball. He excelled at basketball, where he was a point guard, but decided to concentrate solely on baseball in his senior year.
That season, Barre was named to the All-CIF Southern Section Division III first team and garnered back-to back All-Garden Grove league first team honors both his junior and senior year.
"I love seeing him out there," said his father, David, who attends all his games. "It's wonderful."
Barre is grateful for his parents devotion.
"They support me throughout whatever I do," he said. "When I do good or bad, they don't talk to me about baseball. If I go 0-for-5, they don't care. They are happy no matter what I do."
Personally, Barre considers himself as conservative but outgoing at the same time.
"He is really quiet sometimes but when you get to know him he is more relaxed," Game said.
"He's funny and relaxed," Barre's father said.
Davidson notes the dichotomy of Barre's character on and off the field.
"He is quiet on the field, (but) he's a funny guy outside the field," he said.
Character descriptions aside, Barre's motivation is what sets him apart and keeps him set on self-improvement.
"I'm determined," Barre said. "I try to work hard at baseball and what I do. Hard work is the key to success."

Copyright 2001 by the Daily Trojan. All rights reserved.
This article was published in Vol. 142, No. 62 (Thursday, April 19, 2001), beginning on page 24 and ending on page 19.