American baseball player (born 1989)
Baseball player
Austin Scott Barnes
(born December 28, 1989) is an American
professional baseball
catcher
for the
Los Angeles Dodgers
of
Major League Baseball
(MLB). He played
college baseball
for the
Arizona State Sun Devils
. Barnes was selected by the
Florida Marlins
in the eighth round of the
2011 Major League Baseball draft
. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2015 and helped the team win the
2020 World Series
. In addition to catching, Barnes has also played as an
infielder
. He has played for the
Mexico national baseball team
.
Early life
[
edit
]
Barnes was born on December 28, 1989, in
Riverside, California
, the oldest of four children born to Dennis and Stephanie Barnes. Although his mother is
Mexican-American
, he was raised speaking only English.
[1]
His maternal uncle,
Mike Gallego
, played in
Major League Baseball
(MLB) for the
Oakland Athletics
. He began playing baseball at a young age. As a
shortstop
in
Little League Baseball
, Barnes' nickname was "Hoover", given for his ability to field ground balls.
[2]
He attended
Riverside Polytechnic High School
, playing on the same baseball team as future
Houston Astros
outfielder
Jake Marisnick
.
[3]
He received four
varsity letters
from Riverside Poly, and served as
team captain
his senior year. As a junior in 2007, Barnes had a
batting average
of .450, which he improved to .478 as a senior. Outside of his high school team, Barnes played on travel teams and in a summer league, which he helped take to the
American Amateur Baseball Congress
(AABC) Don Mattingly Championship in 2017.
[2]
College career
[
edit
]
After graduating from Riverside Poly, Barnes attended
Arizona State University
to play
college baseball
. He largely did not play during his freshman season.
[4]
He appeared in 20 games as a catcher and second baseman, with one start as a
designated hitter
. In only 17
at bats
, Barnes totaled seven hits for a .412 average.
[5]
Things began to change for Barnes as a sophomore. After catchers Xorge Carrillo and Andrew Pollak both suffered injuries during Barnes' sophomore season, he was called behind the plate. Barnes adapted to the new position quickly, with 19 of the first 24 baserunners he faced
caught stealing
.
[6]
He also improved his batting, finishing the season with a .272 average.
[7]
He started in 48 games, 43 of which were behind the plate, and earned registered a .985
fielding percentage
in his first season as a full-time catcher.
[5]
Barnes was given an opportunity to return to the infield for his junior season, but he elected to remain the team's catcher.
[7]
His first home run of the season came on March 27, 2011, in the seventh inning of an 8-1 victory over
Arizona
.
[8]
As the team's starting catcher, Barnes played in 43 games in 2011, starting in 41, and boasted a .994 fielding percentage and .320 batting average, with 27 runs and 15
runs batted in
(RBIs). He was also named to the All-
Pac-10
First Team upon the conclusion of the season.
[5]
Professional career
[
edit
]
Minor league career
[
edit
]
The
Miami Marlins
drafted Barnes in the ninth round of the
2011 MLB Draft
.
[2]
He made his professional debut that season with the
Class A Short Season
Jamestown Jammers
of the
New York?Penn League
, establishing himself early on as both a passionate catcher and a strong batter.
[9]
From 2012 to 2014 he played for the
Greensboro Grasshoppers
,
Jupiter Hammerheads
and
Jacksonville Suns
.
[10]
He split time between catcher and second base.
[11]
Los Angeles Dodgers
[
edit
]
Barnes with the
Oklahoma City Dodgers
at the 2015
Triple-A All-Star Game
On December 10, 2014, Barnes was traded to the
Los Angeles Dodgers
, along with
Chris Hatcher
,
Andrew Heaney
, and
Enrique Hernandez
, in exchange for
Dan Haren
,
Dee Gordon
,
Miguel Rojas
and cash.
[12]
He was assigned to the AAA
Oklahoma City Dodgers
.
[13]
On May 23, 2015, he was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time when
Yasmani Grandal
went on the 7-day DL with a concussion.
[14]
Barnes made his MLB debut as the starting catcher for the Dodgers on May 24, 2015, originally wearing number 65.
[15]
He had one hit in three at-bats in his debut, with his first MLB hit being a single to center field off of
Dale Thayer
of the
San Diego Padres
.
[16]
He returned to Oklahoma City after his short time on the Dodgers roster and was named as a starter on the
Pacific Coast League
team for the mid-season Triple-A All-Star game.
[17]
He was also named to the post-season PCL all-star team
[18]
and
Baseball America
's Triple-A All-Star team.
[19]
He rejoined the Dodgers in September.
[20]
He played in 20 games for the Dodgers with six hits in 29 at-bats (.207).
[21]
In 81 games for the Oklahoma City team, he hit .315 with nine homers and 42 RBI.
[10]
Barnes appeared in 21 games for the Dodgers in 2016, hitting .156,
[21]
and 85 games for Oklahoma City, hitting .295. He changed his number from 65 to 28.
[10]
He also appeared in two games in the
2016 National League Division Series
against the
Washington Nationals
, with one pinch hit appearance and one pinch run appearance.
[22]
Barnes with the
Los Angeles Dodgers in 2015
Barnes made the Opening Day roster as the backup catcher in 2017.
[23]
On June 30, 2017, he recorded his first multi-homer game of his career (his first career grand slam and a three-run home run) and recorded a career-high seven RBIs against the
San Diego Padres
.
[24]
He gradually saw more playing time, moving into a platoon role with Grandal for most of the season before taking over as the starter in the playoffs.
[25]
During the regular season, he had a .289 batting average with eight home runs and 38 RBI in 102 games.
[21]
In the
2017 NLDS
Barnes had four hits in eight at-bats with a home run and a double in the Dodgers' three-game sweep of the
Arizona Diamondbacks
.
[21]
In the
2017 NLCS
against the
Chicago Cubs
, he had two hits in 15 at-bats, and in the
2017 World Series
against the
Houston Astros
, he had four hits in 23 at-bats.
[21]
In 2018, Barnes started
spring training
battling elbow discomfort.
[26]
He ended up being the backup to
Yasmani Grandal
, taking over the catching role more in the postseason when Grandal allowed two passed balls and made two errors in game 1 of the NLCS and another passed ball in game 3, resulting in Dodgers fans booing him and begging for Barnes to catch.
[21]
Barnes hit .205/.329/.290 in 100 games with 4 home runs, 41 hits, and 14 RBI.
[27]
An elite framer, he excelled defensively.
[21]
He ranked third in the MLB for framing and defensive statistics, had a .993 fielding percentage, and allowed only one passed ball.
[28]
In the
2018 NLCS
against the
Milwaukee Brewers
, Barnes had two hits in 18 at-bats.
[21]
In the
2018 World Series
against the
Boston Red Sox
, he was hitless in eleven at-bats.
[29]
In 2019, Barnes was named the Opening Day starting catcher after Grandal signed with the Milwaukee Brewers. However, he got off to a slow start and on July 26 he was sent down to Oklahoma City to make room for rookie catcher
Will Smith
to take over the everyday catching duties. Barnes was batting .196 prior to being sent down.
[30]
He appeared in only 75 games in the majors in 2019, hitting .203/.293/.340 with five home runs and 25 RBIs,
[21]
while he hit .264 in 23 games in the minor leagues.
[10]
Barnes signed a one-year, $1.1 million, contract with the Dodgers after the season, avoiding arbitration.
[31]
During the
pandemic-shortened
2020 season, Barnes appeared in 29 games for the Dodgers, hitting .244/.353/.314 with one homer and nine RBIs.
[21]
In the postseason, Barnes was the starting catcher for each of
Clayton Kershaw
's starts and in the World Series caught
Walker Buehler
as well.
[
citation needed
]
He had two hits in three at-bats in the
Wild Card Series
, two hits in two at-bats in the
NLDS
and two hits in seven at-bats in the
NLCS
.
[21]
In the
2020 World Series
against the
Tampa Bay Rays
, he had two hits in 13 at-bats.
[21]
In Game 3, he drove in a run with a
safety squeeze
and also hit a home run, becoming only the second player to do both of those things in the same World Series game, joining
Hector Lopez
in
1961
.
[32]
The Dodgers won the World Series in six games with Barnes catching the final out with
Julio Urias
closing the game.
On February 15, 2021, Barnes signed a new two-year, $4.3 million, contract with the Dodgers, to avoid salary arbitration.
[33]
He again was the back-up catcher behind Will Smith, appearing in 77 games and hitting .215 with six homers and 23 RBI.
[21]
He had three appearances, all as a pinch hitter, in the playoffs, striking out in two of the three at-bats.
[21]
On July 3, 2022, Barnes and the Dodgers signed a two-year contract extension worth $7 million.
[34]
[35]
In 62 games in 2022, he hit .212 with eight homers and 26 RBIs.
[21]
In 2023, he played in 59 games, with a .180 batting average.
[21]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Barnes is the nephew of former MLB infielder
Mike Gallego
.
[36]
His younger brother, Griffin, played catcher for
Grand Canyon University
and signed with the
Los Angeles Angels
.
[37]
Barnes married Nicole Breanna Rappaport on January 20, 2018.
[38]
The couple lives in
Glendale, California
,
[39]
a suburb of Los Angeles close to Dodger Stadium. They have one son, born in February 2021.
[40]
Although Barnes' childhood nickname was "Hoover", it is now "Barnsey". He also picked up the nickname "Sam" from
Chase Utley
.
[41]
Barnes enjoys playing
golf
in his free time.
[42]
His favorite actor is
Will Ferrell
, his favorite movie is
Old School
, and his favorite TV show is
Seinfeld
.
[43]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Castillo, Jorge (February 23, 2023).
"
'You don't assume he's Mexican.' Why Austin Barnes and Julio Urias will be teammates at the WBC"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
February 24,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
c
Newell, Shane (October 23, 2017).
"Dodgers' catcher Austin Barnes' Riverside roots run deep"
.
The Press-Enterprise
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
Moura, Pedro (October 24, 2017).
"Former Riverside Poly High teammates Barnes and Marisnick reunite at World Series"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
Whicker, Mark (July 4, 2017).
"Austin Barnes and the tools of persistence"
.
The Orange County Register
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
a
b
c
"Austin Barnes - Baseball"
.
Arizona State University Athletics
. Arizona State University
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
Metcalfe, Jeff (April 29, 2010).
"Arizona State Sun Devils baseball's Austin Barnes making transition from infield to catcher"
.
The Arizona Republic
. Retrieved
May 25,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
Metcalfe, Jeff (March 24, 2011).
"ASU's Austin Barnes is locked in behind and at the plate"
.
The Arizona Republic
. Retrieved
May 25,
2015
.
- ^
"#4 Baseball Takes Series With #15 Arizona With 8-1 Win"
.
Arizona State University Athletics
. Arizona State University. March 27, 2011
. Retrieved
June 3,
2021
.
- ^
Eddy, Scott (July 23, 2011).
"Barnes Finds Fit Behind The Plate"
.
StarNewsDaily
. Archived from
the original
on October 16, 2014
. Retrieved
May 25,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"Austin Barnes minor league statistics & history"
.
Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
May 25,
2015
.
- ^
Lassen, David (July 5, 2012).
"MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL: Barnes succeeding at second, catcher"
.
The Press Enterprise
. Retrieved
May 25,
2015
.
- ^
Gurnick, Ken (December 11, 2014).
"Dodgers adding Kendrick, Rollins in trades"
.
MLB.com
. Archived from
the original
on August 24, 2017
. Retrieved
December 11,
2014
.
- ^
Hoornstra, J.P. (April 7, 2015).
"Revealed: Opening Day roster for Triple-A Oklahoma City"
.
LA Daily News
. Retrieved
April 7,
2015
.
- ^
Gurnick, Ken (May 23, 2015).
"Grandal placed on 7-day concussion list"
.
mlb.com
. Archived from
the original
on September 6, 2015
. Retrieved
May 23,
2015
.
- ^
Stephen, Eric (May 24, 2015).
"Dodgers notes: Austin Barnes debuts, Juan Uribe's diminished role, Yasmani Grandal on the mend"
.
SB Nation
. Retrieved
May 24,
2015
.
- ^
"Padres 11, Dodgers 3 play-by-play"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
May 24,
2015
.
- ^
"Four OKC Dodgers Named to Triple-A All-Star Game"
.
milb.com
. July 1, 2015
. Retrieved
July 1,
2015
.
- ^
Oklahoma City Dodgers (August 31, 2015).
"OKC DODGERS CATCHER BARNES NAMED TO ALL-PCL TEAM"
.
milb.com
. Retrieved
August 31,
2015
.
- ^
"2015 Minor League Classification All-Star Teams"
.
Baseball America
. September 11, 2015
. Retrieved
September 11,
2015
.
- ^
Plunkett, Bill (August 31, 2015).
"Dodgers' September call-ups begin arriving, including Austin Barnes for injured Kike Hernandez"
.
Orange County Register
. Retrieved
October 5,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
m
n
o
p
"Austin Barnes Statistics & History"
.
Baseball Reference
.
- ^
"2016 NL Division Series (3-2): Los Angeles Dodgers (91-71) over Washington Nationals (95-67)"
.
Baseball Reference
. Retrieved
October 16,
2016
.
- ^
Stephen, Eric (April 2, 2017).
"Dodgers announce opening day roster, place 5 on disabled list"
.
SB Nation
. Retrieved
November 27,
2017
.
- ^
Stephen, Eric (June 30, 2017).
"Austin Barnes powers Dodgers over Padres"
.
SB Nation
. Retrieved
November 27,
2017
.
- ^
McCullough, Andy (October 17, 2017).
"Dave Roberts talks about Austin Barnes starting over Yasmani Grandal"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
November 27,
2017
.
- ^
McCullough, Andy (February 22, 2018).
"Dodgers Catcher Austin Barnes dealing with elbow discomfort"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
February 6,
2019
.
- ^
Minami, Craig (December 24, 2018).
"2018 Dodgers Review:Austin Barnes"
.
SB Nation
. Retrieved
February 6,
2019
.
- ^
Carruth, Matthew (2018).
"StatCorner Catcher Report"
.
StatCorner
. Retrieved
February 6,
2019
.
- ^
"Austin Barnes"
.
Baseball Reference
.
- ^
Castillo, Jorge (July 26, 2019).
"Rookie Will Smith to be Dodgers' 'primary' catcher, Dave Roberts says"
.
LA Times
. Retrieved
October 2,
2019
.
- ^
Gurnick, Ken (December 2, 2019).
"Dodgers avoid arb with Barnes, non-tender Yimi"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
December 3,
2019
.
- ^
Shaikin, Bill (October 23, 2020).
"Dodgers' Austin Barnes matches World Series bunt, homer feat not done since 1961"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
October 23,
2020
.
- ^
"Los Angeles Dodgers, Austin Barnes avoid salary arbitration with 2-year deal"
.
ESPN.com
. February 15, 2021
. Retrieved
February 20,
2021
.
- ^
Wexler, Sarah (July 3, 2022).
"Barnes, Dodgers reach deal on two-year extension"
.
mlb.com
. Retrieved
July 4,
2022
.
- ^
"Austin Barnes sticking with Los Angeles Dodgers through at least 2024 season"
.
ESPN.com
. Retrieved
July 5,
2022
.
- ^
Whicker, Mark (July 4, 2017).
"Austin Barnes and the tools of persistence"
.
Orange County Register
. Retrieved
November 27,
2017
.
- ^
Hauser, Josh (June 11, 2018).
"Barnes signs with the Angels"
.
Grand Canyon University
. Retrieved
February 7,
2019
.
- ^
"Nicole Barnes 5 facts About Austin Barnes' Wife"
.
PlayerWivesWiki
. October 8, 2020
. Retrieved
August 27,
2021
.
- ^
Newell, Shane (October 23, 2017).
"Dodgers' catcher Austin Barnes' Riverside roots run deep"
.
The Press-Enterprise
. Retrieved
August 27,
2021
.
- ^
"austin.barnes5 on Instagram"
. February 12, 2021. Archived from
the original
on December 24, 2021
. Retrieved
August 27,
2021
.
- ^
Newell, Shane (October 23, 2017).
"Dodgers' catcher Austin Barnes' Riverside roots run deep"
.
The Press-Enterprise
. Retrieved
August 27,
2021
.
- ^
"Player Profile: Austin Barnes - Arizona State University Official Athletic Site"
.
Arizona State University
. April 17, 2013
. Retrieved
February 7,
2019
.
- ^
Newell, Shane (October 23, 2017).
"Dodgers' catcher Austin Barnes' Riverside roots run deep"
.
The Press-Enterprise
. Retrieved
August 27,
2021
.
External links
[
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]
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Active roster
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Inactive roster
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7, 10 or 15 day Injured list
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60 day Injured list
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Restricted list
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Coaching staff
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