Barry Short

By ALEX ABATE | Sports Writer

Three Rivers assistant baseball coach Barry Short still remembers the moment he suited up for the first time after four years out of baseball.

Short, who pitched in the minor leagues with the Mets from 1994-2001 and was an assistant at Southwest Baptist before getting his degree from Drury University in 2004, started as an assistant to Stacey Burkey in 2006. In the fall preseason, the Raiders had some scrimmages in Arkansas, and Short was the team's first-base coach.

"I told coach Burkey that the first day I put on that uniform, I mean, it gave me goosebumps," Short said. "To feel that polyester again, it was awesome."

Short, who pitched at Three Rivers in 1993-94, is now beside his former leader.

"I think the biggest thing, coming back here, is that I knew what to expect because I played for him," Short said. "I knew what he expected out of his players and how he wanted them to act on and off the field and I knew that he did it the right way."

Even though Short was a pitcher in the minor leagues, through teaching position players such things as fielding, defense and hitting, he is realizing he knows more about the game than he originally thought.

"When you play in the minor leagues, 99.9 percent of your coaches played in the big leagues, and they played for a while" Short said. "Guys that you played with in the minor leagues that were great hitters, you sit there and you listen to stuff and you pick up on stuff."

Short likes to help his players in any way possible and a big key is getting the players to trust him about the advice he gives them.

"All you have to do is make them believe in something," Short said. "If you believe in something and you get them believing in something, they are going to get better."

Not only does Short give advice to his players, but he wants feedback on his recommendations.

"I tell them this, 'if you don't agree with me, I want to know, I want to know what you are thinking,'" Short said. "And they will, sometimes."

In his many years in the Mets organization, Short went through countless situations. He uses his experiences he has been through to develop his own tactics and in-game strategies.

"I have done it so much and been a part of so many games and so many situations that it just automatically clicks in that this is what I believe and this is what I think we need to do," Short said.

Some coaches have different demeanors with their players than others. Short said it is important to get to know your players while still maintaining a solid player-coach relationship.

"I think you need to know what trips their triggers and what gets them going," Short said. "I think a lot of times, when a player thinks you care about them, they are going to be more apt to do things for the system, the big picture."

Burkey and Short have open communication about all issues with the players and the team as a whole.

"I am always going to tell him what I think," Short said. "Even though he may not agree with it, and we may not do what I want to do, he wants to know what I think."

Short and Burkey were both pitchers in their playing days. It is good for the players to learn from both guys equally.

"If we have got a pitcher that is really struggling with something I am trying to teach him, I will just get away from him and say 'coach, go work with him.' You'd be surprised, he will just say something different that the guy will pick up on," Short said.

Short likes to talk while Burkey is more soft spoken. However, they are not as different as one might think, Short said.

"When it comes time to say something, (Burkey) is going to say it," Short said. "We are different because I talk all the time and he only talks when he needs to talk. When he needs to talk, he does it."

Through his time in the minor league system, Short became what he calls an "organizational" player. These are players that have been in the system for some amount of time and probably won't make it to the major leagues but can compete at any level, from A to AAA. Short wasn't OK with that role at the time but as he looks back, he enjoyed his time he spent at all the different levels.

"Looking back now, I am kind of proud of it," Short said. "It makes me proud to think that they thought enough of me to let me do that. Looking back now, I wasn't good enough to pitch in the big leagues. I loved to be out there on the mound."

In his time in the minors, Short has played with and against some big names. He played with current Cardinal pitcher Jason Isringhausen and Chicago Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano. He frequently struggled against slugger Vladimir Guerrero, now with the Angels. Short was also with the Mets organization when they signed now starting shortstop Jose Reyes.

"We go over there and watch him play and he had like a bomb and a triple," Short said. "He could fly. When you saw him play the first time, you were like 'yeah, he is going to play in the big leagues.'"

Short graduated from Mansfield in 1992 before coming to Three Rivers. Even before his high school days, he knew he wanted to play in the big leagues.

"Honestly, from the time I was 5 years old, I said 'I want to pitch in the big leagues,'" Short said. "There was never honestly a doubt in my mind that I wasn't going to do that."

Short hopes his experiences in the minor leagues can benefit other baseball players, whatever level they want to play at.

"You go and you listen to everything," Short said. "It is amazing what you can learn when you can keep your mouth shut."