A Mississippi native who starred at Delta State University, Barry Lyons was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 25th round of the 1981 amateur draft, then by the New York Mets in the 15th round of the 1982 amateur draft. He signed with the Mets and began his professional career in Single A where he batted .301 with good plate discipline and decent power.<\/p>\n
He advanced to Double A in 1985 and continued to impress, hitting .307 with 11 homers and 108 runs batted in in 126 games. He debuted with the Mets on April 19, 1986 and went 0 for 3 with an RBI, but spent most of the year in Triple A. He played sparingly for the Mets from 1987-1990, establishing a career high in plate appearances with 252 in 1989, before being released late in the 1990 season.<\/p>\n
From 1990-1995 Lyons spent time with seven different organizations, playing sporadically for the Dodgers, Angels and White Sox at the major league level, and the Mets, Angels, Astros, Cardinals, Reds and White Sox at the minor league level.<\/p>\n
In seven big league seasons, Lyons batted .239 with 15 homers and 89 RBIs in 253 games, and threw out 23% of would-be base thieves.<\/p>\n