Barfield's rebirth continues with Pawtucket

The path that led Jeremy Barfield to a spot with Triple-A Pawtucket was as long as it was winding. There was even a moment when the 29-year-old felt his time in baseball was over.
But instead of closing the chapter on his playing career, he persisted and finds himself as close as ever to making a Major League appearance after 10 years and more than 850 Minor League games.
And all it took was a simple eye procedure.

Barfield tied his Minor League high with four hits and homered for the fourth consecutive game as the PawSox defeated Rochester, 5-3, on Saturday night at Frontier Field. The outfielder went deep in each of his final three games with Double-A Portland before being promoted late Friday. 
And he did so for his new club without sleeping a wink.

"Muscle memory. That's what that was tonight," the Houston native said. "I didn't sleep last night at all. I closed my eyes on the plane this morning for a few minutes, but that was it. I was up there just relying on instincts and muscle memory. But it's September and most of us are doing that anyway at this point." 
After lifting a single to right in the first, Barfield led off the fourth with a base knock to center and scored on a double by Dan Butler. He was called out on strikes in the fifth before slugging a solo homer in the seventh that gave Pawtucket a 4-3 lead. The son of former Major Leaguer Jesse Barfield lined a single to left in the ninth to notch his second four-hit game of the season.
Gameday box score
Barfield's first Triple-A home run was his 28th of the season overall, extending his career high. He hit 17 with Class A Advanced Stockton in 2010 and 27 last year with Sugar Land of the independent Atlantic League.
"I haven't changed anything mechanically or with my strength regimen," Barfield said. "My swing has been the same for over a decade. The difference now is that I finally got LASIK surgery so I can see the ball. It's been a huge and noticeable difference. I only wish I had gotten it done sooner.
"But even with that, the big thing in this game is consistency. If you're great one day but terrible for a couple of days after that, it's not going to work for you. You need to be a player who everyone knows what to expect from every day. A lot of that comes with maturity and finding the right routine, plus experience. It's hard to succeed until you've had failure in this game. Some players rarely fail. I'm not one of those and I'm glad for that. I wouldn't change the way my career has gone for anything."
A 2008 eighth-round pick by Oakland, Barfield reached Triple-A with the Pacific Coast League for the first time in 2013 with Sacramento and again in 2015 with Albuquerque. In between, he even made a temporary move to the mound where he posted a 4-2 record with a 4.10 ERA in 27 appearances over three seasons, including three innings this year with the Sea Dogs.

But it's at the plate where Barfield has made his mark this season, batting .288/.359/.584 with 27 homers and 75 RBIs in 92 Eastern League games even though the Red Sox didn't sign him until May 25.
"It's been a real blessing to get back into [the Minors] and with a great organization like the Red Sox," the San Jacinto College product said. "It's my third professional organization and by far the best that I've been in. The way they treat the players and run their player development is phenomenal. It's worked out great for me.
"I've never played just to play. I almost hung it up last year when I didn't get picked up for the second straight year. You really need to love the game to go to indy ball, but it's never been big league or bust for me. I still love it and enjoy it. When I don't, that's when I'll walk away."
Butler had two RBIs for the PawSox, while Levi Michael hit a two-run double for Rochester.