Joliet native and former MLB star Jesse Barfield may get renewed recognition in hometown

Jesse Barfield, a Joliet native who went on to have a standout career in Major League Baseball, has had a statue in his honor outside the Joliet Slammers’ stadium since 2003.

Only there is nothing on or near the statue to tell people who it represents.

“Nobody knows who he is,” Chris Knight told the Joliet City Council earlier this month. “He’s just a man catching a ball.”

It has now been 22 years since the statue was unveiled and 33 years since Barfield’s last year in the major leagues.

Knight urged the city to create a plaque that could be placed at the statue to tell the story of Barfield.

There’s plenty to tell to fill a plaque and more.

A statue of Jesse Barfield has been outside the front gates of the Slammers' stadium in Joliet since 2003. (Eric Ginnard)

Barfield was considered one of the best right fielders of his era, playing with the Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees from 1981 to 1992.

He led the American League with 40 home runs in 1986, a year in which he also led the league with 20 outfield assists. The statistic represents the number of times an outfielder throws out runners on the base paths.

He is in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame from his playing days in Toronto.

According to his biography on the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame website, Barfield’s “throwing arm is widely recognized as one of the greatest in major league history.”

Barfield led American League outfielders in assists during four of his years in the majors, and he has two Gold Glove Awards.

Back home in Joliet, Barfield was a product of Belmont Little League and graduated from Joliet Central High School.

A statue depicting former Major League Baseball outfielder Jesse Barfield, a Joliet native, outside Slammers Stadium in Joliet does not include any information identifying Barfield as the man in the statue. Aug. 9, 2025 — A statue depicting former Major League Baseball outfielder Jesse Barfield, a Joliet native, outside the Slammers' stadium in Joliet does not include any information identifying Barfield as the man depicted. (Bob Okon)

The complete Jesse Barfield story can’t be told in a plaque.

But a plaque would at least give Slammers fans and others who walk past the statue outside the stadium’s front gates some idea of who they are looking at, Knight said.

He apparently persuaded city officials.

“Both the city manager and mayor agree that a plaque identifying the Joliet native Jesse Barfield statue including information on the significance of his contributions to Major League Baseball should be added near the statue,” according to a statement issued by the city manager’s office this week.

Knight said that after getting positive feedback from Mayor Terry D’Arcy, he and others are working on a Barfield bio for the plaque to inform the public of his accomplishments.

“People who don’t know need to know,” Knight said. “We’re going to get it done.”