The other day my brothers and I were hanging around the house when I started digging through boxes of our old baseball cards (I say "old" but I'm only 23 so they date back to like 1988 at the oldest haha).
Anyways, at one point I come across some ProCards, a bunch of minor leaguers. But one of the cards isn't a player. It's a trainer, and his name is Ted Barney Nugent.
Now I had no idea trainers had cards. I knew coaches did, I knew I had a Bart Giamatti Memorial card once, but I didn't realize that trainers could have cards too. Apparently Nugent has had several, so I figured he must've been a pretty cool/well traveled dude. Turns out that was in fact the case.
He made the 2003 All Star Game as a Trainer, so he must've been alright at his job in the 27 years he had it. He signed an autograph for this guy as a kid, so he must've been a nice guy. He was a "good guy" in the Giants clubhouse according to the Mitchell Report. He even eulogized at Rod Beck's funeral, having gotten very close to the reliever during Beck's time with the Giants. "That mullet blowing in the Candlestick breeze all the time. ... It was, 'Me against you, and I'll tell you, I'm going to win. There's no way that I'm gonna lose.' That was Shooter, and everybody could respond to it" said Nugent, a touching tribute to a troubled guy.
Nugent had troubles of his own, however, and at the end of 2003 they forced him to retire. Myasthenia Gravis was his battle, a disease that saps the strength and vitality of those who carry it, leading to throat and eye issues, as well as paralysis of the respiratory system in extreme cases. Nugent battled through this for several years before finally realizing that he would not be able to continue working with the disease. So sadly Nugent left the sport he loved.
Where did he go? I'm really curious to find out. In one article writted by a friend of Nugent's, there is an update of a letter sent by Nugent in late 2003 concerning his future. He talks about moving to a quiet, clean lake in the short term, as well as maybe Hawaii. Whether or not he and his wife actually made it to those places is unknown to me. Seeing that Barney seemed to be a pretty good guy who loved his job, I'm personally hoping he made it, and that he's still sitting by the sea sippin' a beer. Hawaii + A few professional baseball cards = Great Life.
Barney Nugent - A Pretty Awesome Dude
