Barrett sought to improve his numbers in the 2006 season, but ran into several obstacles. During the team's annual series against the Chicago White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field, Barrett was involved in a major altercation with A. J. Pierzynski, which eventually led to a bench-clearing brawl. He received a ten-game suspension, which he served near the middle of June. Barrett rebounded after the incident, and batted over .300 in the final four months of the season. He suffered an intrascrotal hematoma in early September, and was forced to miss the rest of the season. The injury and suspension caused Barrett to miss a significant portion of the season. In his shortened season, Barrett hit sixteen home runs, which matched his previous career high, and nearly surpassed his hit total from 2005.