[GaryPassamonte]

Barnes career actually spanned from 1866 to 1881. He had 15 seasons of pre-professional and professional baseball under his belt. When he retired at the age of 31 he was actually one of the older players in professional baseball. Careers generally tended to start at an earlier age and also end at an earlier age in 19th century baseball. Without question Barnes was the first star of professional baseball and was the greatest hitter/player of the National Association from 1871-1875. He also dominated the National League's first season in 1876. Unfortunately, Barnes developed an illness in 1877 and was never the same player afterwards. Also, a rule change eliminating the "fair-foul" hit impacted his production. Barnes was the undisputed master of the fair-foul hit. Prior to the rule change for the 1877 season, for a batted ground ball to be fair, it need only make its first contact in fair territory. The hit was considered a fair ball wherever it went thereafter.
Barnes should be in the Hall of Fame. Many, if not most, 19th century baseball historians are in agreement on this. Barnes problem is the requirement that a player play 10 major league seasons to be considered for induction. Barnes played 9 or 4 seasons, if his 5 National Association years are not counted. This requirement is ludicrous for players who played all or part of their careers in the pre-professional era, but that is the Hall of Fame for you.