Editing Len Barker (section)

===Early career===
Barker was a hard thrower, who early in his career struggled with his control. On April 16, 1978, at [[Fenway Park]], Barker (then with the [[1978 Texas Rangers season|Texas Rangers]]) threw a pitch that sailed upward onto the screen above and behind the backstop.  Partly due to this, he did not make the major leagues until 1979.<ref name=Neyer>{{cite book |last=Neyer |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Neyer |title=Rob Neyer's Big Book of Baseball Blunders |year=2006 |publisher=Fireside |location=New York City |isbn=0-7432-8491-7 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/robneyersbigbook0000neye }}</ref>

Barker was traded, along with [[Bobby Bonds]], from the Rangers to the Indians for [[Jim Kern]] and [[Larvell Blanks]] on October 3, 1978.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2706&dat=19781004&id=wQBKAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ph4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1268,1917237 "Bonds dealt again," ''The Associated Press'' (AP), Wednesday, October 4, 1978.] Retrieved June 7, 2020</ref> His best season statistically was {{mlby|1980}}, when he enjoyed career-highs in [[Win (baseball statistics)|wins]] (19) and [[strikeout]]s (181, best in the American League).