The morning talk to students was all Jesse Barfield, as he connected with a whole new generation of fans, but the Thursday evening presentation at the Dante Club featured both Marla Barfield and Jesse Barfield - the couple from Houston whose husband, just happened to be a former baseball player.
The talk by Marla and Jesse Barfield at the Dante Club sponsored by Grace Bible Chapel was the 36th annual in Athletes in Action speakers’ series.
It was an opportunity for the Barfields to share their lives with an older audience.
Marla and Jesse shared generously of their own private experiences some so intimate that they moved Jesse to tears on retelling
Jesse and his siblings were raised by their mother after their birth father left. According to Jesse the step father was violent and mean. Their mother worked hard to raise them right and properly.
“Life is about making the best decision,” Barfield said.
One of the toughest decision he had to make was telling his girlfriend back in 1981 that he had met Marla.
Jesse had to make a decision and he had to choose between the old girlfriend and Marla who felt more compatible with.
“It is always best to tell the truth,” Barfield said. “She was going to find out anyways.”
Another major decision Barfield made was to embrace Christianity after watching the way Roy Lee Jackson, Jays reliever lived his beliefs and how it steadied his life.
The trade from Jesse’s beloved Blue Jays to the New York Yankees created a sense of dislocation in their lives Marla told the banquet crowd.
Recalling the day, the Blue Jays traded Jesse Barfield to the New York Yankees Marla said both she and Jesse were sad leaving Toronto and going to the dreaded Yankees.
“Everyone was upset except for our son Josh who in front of Pat said, “Yes, I love the Yankees, I hate the Blue Jays,” Marla Barfield recalled.
“And then Josh (a former major leaguer with San Diego and Cleveland and now a scout) wonders why the Blues never drafted him,” quipped Jesse.
The Barfield’s neither of who drinks had a visit from Pat Gillick then the Blue Jay GM to discuss Jesse’s future with the Jays and he brought a couple of bottles of wine with him.
Gillick poured himself a glass of wine and then a second glass.
Josh Barfield never having seen alcohol served in his parents’ home shouted out to Gillick “Oh my god, are you and alcoholic?”
“There went my pay increase,” sighed Jesse Barfield in mock exasperation
Making the right decision and acting in the right way is important to the Barfields
“When you do the right thing you might not be the most popular person in the world,” Marla Barfield said. “But you feel right doing what you know should be done,”
Marla raised the story of Suzanne Waldman one of the first female reporters in the 1980s.
George Bell, the Jays leftfielder and a notorious media hater, berated Suzanne Waldman. Barfield noticed she was on the verge of tears.
“Hey Suzie, I went 2 for 5 you can interview me,” Barfield called out to her.
She went on to become the first female play by play announcer for the Yankees and she also intervened to end the feud between Yogi Berra and George Steinbrenner. Waldman also helped Darryl Strawberry recover from serious drug addiction issues.
In addition to making good choice the Barfields stressed their reliance on their faith to see them through difficult times.
“Our second son Jeremey had a serious condition that required him to be brought to a hospital where the surgical staff would operate on him.
A medical helicopter was summoned to fly Jeremy across town to the hospital.
At the same time a serious car accident occurred involving members of musical band and their young children. The children needed to be taken to hospital right away otherwise they would die.
Jesse and Marla talked it over and agreed to release the helicopter so the injured children could be take to the hospital
Years later while attending a function Barfield noticed a son kissing his father. The father said he was so glad to have the child alive thanks to somebody freeing up an air ambulance after a car crash.
The two men checked the dates of the event and realized that was the helicopter the Barfields had freed up.
Jesse choked up and tears welled up in his eyes.
The evening ended with a fun trivia game where those who correctly answered questions about Jesse Barfield and the Blue Jays won an autograph baseball.
