Kevin Barry (Photo courtesy of The Atlanta Braves National League Baseball Club)

Nearly every young boy playing baseball at one time or another dreams of growing up and playing in the major leagues. For the rare few, that dream comes true.

Kevin Barry ’01 became one of those few when he took the mound for the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning at Yankee Stadium on Monday, June 26, 2006. After 5 1/2 years in the Braves’ minor league system, Barry finally made his major league debut in front of 54,226 fans in one of baseball’s historic venues.

The 27-year-old right-hander’s first pitch to New York’s Johnny Damon bounced about 10 feet shy of home plate. The second pitch nearly went over the head of Atlanta catcher Todd Pratt and Barry wound up walking Damon on five pitches.

"I guess I had to work out the kinks," Barry told the Macon Telegraph after the game.

And, apparently, he did just that.

One out later, Barry faced Yankee superstar Derek Jeter and coaxed him into a harmless ground ball to shortstop for the second out of the inning.

Up next for New York was Jason Giambi, who had hit two home runs and driven in five runs off Atlanta starting pitcher Tim Hudson earlier in the game. But Barry retired the Yankee slugger by recording his first major league strikeout, getting Giambi to whiff at a 2-2 pitch.

Although the Braves lost that night’s game, 5-2, Barry wound up pitching three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out one.

“It was pretty much the textbook dream,” said Barry.

Of course, when you are a young player early in your major league career, those kinds of performances do not necessarily mean job security. A few days later, Barry was sent back down to Triple-A Richmond when the Braves activated relief pitcher Chris Reitsma from the disabled list.

But Reitsma appeared in one game before returning to the DL with a hand injury, allowing the Braves to bring Barry back to Atlanta.

Barry made his home debut for the Braves at Turner Field on July 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals and pitched two more scoreless innings while recording two more strikeouts. Three days later, Barry was even more impressive against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out five and walking one while allowing no hits in four innings of relief.

In his first three major league appearances, Barry had allowed no runs on two hits while walking two and striking out eight over nine innings of work.

But Barry struggled in two of his next three outings and—following the Braves’ acquisition of veteran relief pitcher Bob Wickman in a trade with the Cleveland Indians—was optioned back to Richmond to clear a roster spot.

Although he is back in the minor leagues now, Barry could return to the Braves when major league teams expand their rosters September 1.

Barry, who earned a degree in business administration from Rider, was drafted by Atlanta in the 14th round of baseball’s first-year player draft in 2001. Barry compiled a 20-12 career record and recorded a single-season record 91 strikeouts for the Broncs as a senior. He graduated with a school-record 262 strikeouts.

The previous year, Barry was named the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference South pitcher of the year for the second consecutive season and was drafted in the 15th round by Oakland. However, he became the first Bronc to return for his senior season after being selected in the draft.

Before he was called up to the Braves, Barry was 3-4 with a 3.26 earned run average (ERA) in 15 games, including 12 starts, for Richmond this season, striking out 63 and walking 27.

While Barry has had a taste of life in the major leagues, three other former Rider baseball players are currently chasing the dream of making it to “the show.”

Jim Hoey, who was drafted in the 13th round by the Baltimore Orioles in 2003 after his junior season at Rider, has been impressive as a relief pitcher at two levels this season. Pitching in what is known as the closer’s role, Hoey was dominant for low Class A Delmarva, going 2-1 with 18 saves and a 2.54 ERA while striking out 46 and walking 10 in 27 games. His performance earned him a spot on the 2006 South Atlantic League Northern Division All-Star Team and a promotion to high Class A Frederick.

In his first 12 games with the Keys, the 6-foot-6 right-hander had 10 saves and a scant 0.75 ERA while striking out 11 and walking five.

Hoey’s strong showing in 2006 comes after he was limited to just 21 2/3 innings over the previous two seasons because of arm injuries. Early in his second professional season, he was sidelined by an elbow injury that required ligament reconstruction—a procedure known in the baseball world as “Tommy John” surgery, named after the former major league pitcher.

As a junior, Hoey finished 6-4 with a 2.24 ERA while compiling 63 strikeouts and 44 walks in 88 innings pitched. In his three seasons at Rider, he won 12 games and saved 10.

Another Rider product, Carl Loadenthal ’03, is currently the Carolina League’s leading hitter.

Loadenthal was signed to a free-agent contract by the Atlanta Braves in the days following the 2003 baseball draft and has put together three solid minor league seasons, including All-Star nods with the Gulf Coast League in 2003 and with the Appalachian League in 2004.

However, the speedy outfielder struggled early in the 2006 campaign with the Double-A Mississippi Braves and was sent back down to high Class A Myrtle Beach, where he spent the second half of the 2005 season. But Loadenthal rebounded and is now batting a league-best .346 (based on a minimum of 2.7 plate appearances per team game) with five home runs, 31 runs batted in and 18 stolen bases in 25 attempts. He ranks fourth in the league with an .880 OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage).

Loadenthal was named to the 2003 ABCA/Rawlings All-East Region Second Team after batting .337 with six home runs, 59 hits in 48 games in his senior season at Rider. That season, he stole 35 bases in 37 attempts and scored 51 runs while hitting six home runs.

A first-team All-New Jersey and second team All-MAAC center fielder, Loadenthal finished fourth in the nation in stolen bases per game in 2003. During his college career, he compiled 194 hits and 15 home runs. He graduated from Rider with a degree in communication and as the career leader in runs scored (165) and stolen bases (80).

The most recent Rider product to join the professional baseball ranks is catcher Scott Knazek, who was picked by the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the 15th round of the June 2006 baseball draft. He is currently playing rookie ball with the Orem (Utah) Owlz of the Pioneer League and is batting .226 with 12 RBIs and a stolen base.

Knazek batted .275 with 55 hits and a team-best 47 runs scored in 54 games during his junior season at Rider in 2006. On the defensive side, he threw out 17 runners attempting to steal this past season.

During his Rider career, Knazek compiled 126 hits, including five home runs, and scored 91 runs in 125 games. He earned Second Team All-MAAC honors as sophomore, batting .316 that season.