Kimera Bartee

Bartee was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and is an alumnus of Omaha Central High School.^[1] The first graduate of Omaha Central to play major league baseball, he was inducted into the Omaha Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.^[1]

Bartee attended Creighton University, where he played college baseball for the Creighton Bluejays. He appeared with Creighton in the 1991 College World Series.^[2] In 1992, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Mets of the Cape Cod Baseball League.^[3]

The Baltimore Orioles selected Bartee in the 14th round of the 1993 MLB Draft.^[4] The Orioles traded Bartee to the Minnesota Twins on September 19, 1995, as the player to be named later in a trade for pitcher Scott Erickson.^[5] He returned to the Orioles when he was selected from the Twins in the Rule 5 draft on December 4, 1995.^[6] He was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Tigers from the Orioles during the subsequent spring training on March 13, 1996.^[7] He made his major league debut with the Tigers three weeks later on April 3, 1996.^[8] Over the following few seasons, he played for the Tigers as well as the Toledo Mud Hens at triple-A. In 1997, he was named by Baseball America the fastest baserunner and best defensive outfielder in the International League.^[9][10] He was traded in 1999 from Detroit to the Cincinnati Reds,^[8] where he spent most of 2000 with the triple-A Louisville RiverBats.^[11]

Bartee joined the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent the following season,^[8] when a bulging disk in his lower back landed him in Class-A Rancho Cucamonga for a rehabilitation assignment.^[12] On July 13, 2001, he was traded by the Angels to the Colorado Rockies for future All-Star Chone Figgins. Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd described the move as the worst transaction he made in his 12-year term in that position.^[13] Bartee went hitless in 15 at bats with the Rockies before his final Major League game on August 3, 2001.^[8]

In 2003 and 2004, Bartee played outfield for the Long Island Ducks of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, earning All-Star honors and later an Atlantic League championship with the Ducks in 2004.^[10]

After retiring as a player, Bartee returned to baseball as a coach, at least in part because the job provided health insurance.^[14] Bartee became a coach for the Delmarva Shorebirds^[15] and also served as roving instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates before landing the managerial job for the State College Spikes.^[9]

Bartee served as the first base coach and outfielder instructor for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2017 through 2019.^[16] In 2020, he served as the roving baserunning and bunting coordinator for the Philadelphia Phillies.^[17] Before the 2021 season, the Tigers hired Bartee as their roving outfield and baserunning coordinator. On July 16, 2021, Bartee was named first base coach for the Tigers.^[18] The Tigers retained him as their first base coach for the 2022 season.^[19]

Bartee had three children, Andrew, Amari and Taeja.^[20]

On December 20, 2021, Bartee died after collapsing while visiting his father in Omaha.^[21] In the ensuing autopsy, the medical examiner found a large tumor in his brain.^[1] He was 49 years old.^[1][21]

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• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet