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Now, it's his biggest problem.

Such is life for Barnes, a one-time Minnesota Twins outfielder who is currently attempting to return to the Major Leagues as a knuckleball pitcher. His baseball story, it should go without saying, is far from a typical one.

Barnes made his professional debut in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League in 1996, shortly after being selected by the Boston Red Sox in the fourth round of that year's First-Year Player Draft. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins organization in the middle of the 1998 season, as part of a deadline deal that sent Major League veterans Orlando Merced and Greg Swindell to the Red Sox.

In 2000, Barnes reached Triple-A for the first time (as a member of the Pacific Coast League's Salt Lake Buzz), and responded by hitting a league-leading .365. This resulted in a callup to the Twins, where he hit a scorching .351 over 11 games.

It was all downhill from there.

A knee injury marred Barnes' 2001 campaign, and in a return trip to the Twins that August he mustered just one hit in 21 at-bats. He spent each of the next four seasons with a different organization (Colorado, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles and Atlanta, respectively) but never again received that coveted callup to The Show.

"I had my gall bladder removed after the 2004 season," recalled Barnes. "So, in 2005, I wasn't feeling too great and [was] just trying to get my range of motion back. I went to big-league camp with the Braves but didn't really get many at-bats. I think I probably would have been better off in the Minor League camp, just because I could have gotten a lot more playing time."

"After that, the Braves sent me to [Triple-A] Richmond, where I had a tough season. Once it was all over, I decided that maybe I'd better be off throwing the knuckleball instead."

This unorthodox decision didn't come out of nowhere, as Barnes has been throwing a knuckleball for the past two decades.

"I started throwing it for fun when I was a kid, just 10 years old," said Barnes. "It was never anything I needed to do, just something that I messed around with. Still, I thought that with a little fine tuning it might get me back to the Major Leagues. So, I talked to my agent and he called a couple of teams. We were glad when the Red Sox showed interest. They have experience working with knuckleballers and would be likely to show more patience as I developed."

Indeed, the Red Sox have developed a reputation as the most knuckleball-friendly franchise in baseball. Not only has Tim Wakefield -- the pitch's preeminent contemporary practitioner -- anchored the big-league club's starting rotation since 1995, the organization also boasts 27-year-old Charlie Zink (currently with Triple-A Pawtucket) and employed Jared Fernandez (now in Japan) for a number of seasons, as well.

So, in 2006, Barnes cast aside his decade of professional experience as an outfielder and started fresh on the pitcher's mound with the organization that originally drafted him. He began the season as a member of the Class A Greenville Drive, commencing a whirlwind tour of Boston's farm system that has seen him compete with six teams at five different levels of play over the past two seasons (he is currently with Double-A Portland, though he was placed on the DL on Wednesday).

"The fact that I've moved around so much, some of that might be the organization challenging me, and some might be just because they needed me to fill in somewhere. Like, a spot starter as part of a doubleheader, or something like that," said Barnes. "I just go where they tell me to go."

Playing with four teams in 2006, Barnes combined to go 3-8 with a respectable 3.29 ERA over 21 appearances. He started the 2007 campaign with the Class A Advanced Lancaster JetHawks of the notoriously hitter-friendly California League, where he struggled to the tune of a 6.96 ERA in 12 starts.

"That was a tough place to pitch, for sure," he said. "The ball just flies out of there. I don't want to make any excuses, though. Whether I'm in California, Florida, indoors, outdoors, wherever, the knuckleball wants to move. It may move a little differently from place to place, but it's going to keep moving. It needs to. Otherwise, the knuckleball is just a fastball from a pitcher who doesn't throw very hard."

Whether influenced by geographical nuances or not, Barnes and his knuckler have fared much better since leaving the Golden State. Over five starts split between Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket, Barnes is 2-2 with a sparkling 1.44 ERA. However, he has walked 25 batters in 25 innings combined with the two clubs, resulting in an overabundance of baserunners. In talking with Barnes about what he needs to do in order to progress as a pitcher, it becomes clear that "eliminate the walks" has become something of a personal mantra.

"Once I reduce the walks, I really feel that I can make this work," he said. "But I look at it as a learning process. I mean, I'm only in my second year as a pitcher. I don't really have a foundation for doing this.

"It's a huge change [from being an outfielder], but yet, even as a hitter I came to understand aspects of what it was like being a pitcher. You might get a couple days off in a row, or see some reduction in your playing time. Hitter or pitcher, you just have to be prepared for every start, and do what you need to do in order to improve every single day."

So for the foreseeable future, Barnes' plan is simply to remain as committed as possible to mastering the knuckleball, generally regarded as the most volatile and unpredictable pitch known to man.

"The knuckleball is tough to pitch, tough to hit and tough to catch," said Barnes, who singled out backstops John Otness and Kevin Cash as being particularly adept in the latter category. "As a Christian, I believe that God gives opportunities, and we just have to make the most of them. That's all I'm trying to do."

If and when Barnes returns to the Majors, he is sure to get a lot of attention. As St. Louis pitcher-turned-slugger Rick Ankiel has recently proven, baseball fans are always ready to embrace those whose professional journeys have strayed far off the beaten path.

Yet, in talking to Barnes, one gets the sense that he'll have no regrets, regardless of what happens.

"I'm just going to keep playing hard, because the team wants to win and I want to win," he said. "It's just like being an outfielder, really. Sometimes you go 0-for-4 and sometimes you go 4-for-4. But the main thing is that you get to go out there and play."

"This is such a great game, you know? As long as I'm being given the chance to suit up every day and wear that jersey, then you better believe I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity."

Benjamin Hill is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.

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