Barton Stays on the Path to Success

Daric Barton was on the express route to stardom in April 2001 when a phone call temporarily derailed his prospects.

On the other end of the line was Steve Barrett, Barton’s baseball coach at Huntington Beach Ocean View High, and the news wasn’t good. The Seahawks were getting set to leave for a tournament in San Luis Obispo, but Barton’s presence wasn’t requested.

Oh, and one other thing. When the team returned, Barton would need to turn in his uniform.

The sophomore standout was dumbfounded. All he could figure was that he was being punished for not giving his best effort during summer ball, though Barrett had never mentioned anything.

“I was bumming,” Barton recalled earlier this week. “He said I was uncoachable.”

Barrett declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding Barton’s departure from Ocean View, but the coach and player said they have settled their differences since Barton transferred to Huntington Beach Marina before this school year.

Things may have turned out for the best. As a junior first baseman, Barton has spearheaded Marina’s transformation from Sunset League doormat to playoff quarterfinalist.

He is batting .473 with seven home runs and 22 runs batted in--all team bests--even though he has drawn 24 walks.

“He might be the best high school hitter in Orange County--a left-hander who has a real compact swing with great bat speed,” Barrett said. “He can really play.”

In the first round of the Southern Section Division II playoffs, Barton stepped to the plate in the fourth inning with Marina trailing La Verne Damien, 1-0, and crushed a home run that sparked a five-run inning in an eventual 9-2 victory.

“I don’t try for home runs; I try for line drives up the middle,” Barton said. “[Against Damien] I tried to put the ball in play and, luckily, it went over the fence.”

Barton impressed with his glove Tuesday in Marina’s second-round victory over fourth-seeded Santa Ana Foothill, turning a game-ending double play that allowed pitcher Wes Etheridge to escape a two-on, one-out jam. The host Vikings made four double plays in the 3-1 victory.

“That’s the way he’s played for us all season,” Marina Coach Paul Renfrow said of Barton.

Marina (20-10) will play Santa Barbara at home Friday in a quarterfinal game.

Success is nothing new for Barton, a 5-foot-11, 195-pounder. Growing up, he traveled the country with youth coach Mark Ward playing in numerous World Series. Ward, who is also Marina’s third-base coach, said he always made sure Barton was the team captain because “kids really respect him. He’s a good young man.”

Barton’s only perceptible weakness is his tendency to slack off during practice, which may have contributed to his situation at Ocean View. Barton conceded his work ethic is a concern he’s trying to address as he prepares for the next level.

“I don’t take it 120% during practice, but during the games I just try to turn it on,” he said.

No one can question Barton’s heart once the first pitch is thrown. He almost had to be physically dragged out of a game Marina desperately needed to win during the last week of the regular season after rolling his left ankle going back to first base on a pick-off play.

With his ankle still bothering him, Barton returned to the lineup the next day and drew a couple of key walks as Marina defeated Los Alamitos and Huntington Beach Edison in a two-game playoff for the league’s third-place entry.

The Vikings, who are making their first playoff appearance since 1997, needed to win their last four regular-season games just to have a chance at the postseason. Barton’s big bat was a primary reason Marina will be able to consider the season a success.

Said Renfrow: “He’s just a constant factor.”