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Darwin Barney
Darwin Barney Blue Jays.jpg
Barney with the Toronto Blue Jays
Free agent
Second baseman
Born: (1985-11-08) November 8, 1985 (age 30)
Portland, Oregon
Bats: Right Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 12, 2010, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
(through 2015 season)
Batting average .246
Hits 472
Home runs 21
Runs batted in 157
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Medal record
Men’s baseball
Competitor for  United States
World University Championship
Gold medal – first place 2006 Havana Team

Darwin James Kunane Barney (born November 8, 1985) is an American professional baseball second baseman who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays. In 2012, he won both the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and the Fielding Bible Award in recognition of his defensive skills.

High school[edit]

Barney graduated from Southridge High School in Beaverton, Oregon, where he led the school to its first baseball state championship in 2002.[1]

College[edit]

Barney attended Oregon State University and played for the Beavers for its back-to-back NCAA Division I Baseball Championships in 2006 and 2007,[2] and was named to the all-tournament team in 2007.[3]

He was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2005, and earned Freshman All-American honors.[2] In 2006, Barney was selected to Team USA by USA Baseball, where his team won the gold medal at the World University Baseball Championship.[2]

Professional career[edit]

Chicago Cubs[edit]

Barney playing for the Peoria Chiefs, Single-A affiliates of the Chicago Cubs, in 2007.

Barney was drafted by the Chicago Cubs with the 127th overall pick in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.[4]

Minor Leagues[edit]

Barney spent 2007-2009 in the Cubs minor-league system. In 2009 he split time with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies and the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. Throughout the 2009 season Barney posted a .293 batting average in 137 games. In January 2010, Barney was invited to the Cubs' training camp.[5] Barney opened the 2010 season with the Triple A Iowa Cubs.

Majors[edit]

Barney with the Chicago Cubs

On August 11, 2010 Barney was called up from Triple-A to play with the Cubs after they traded Mike Fontenot to the San Francisco Giants.[6] Barney split time at second base and played alongside fellow rookie Starlin Castro who was the team's starting shortstop. He went on to hit .241 in 30 games.

After a strong spring training, Barney eventually earned a spot on the Cubs opening day roster as the starting second baseman in 2011, beating out Jeff Baker and Blake DeWitt for the job.[7] After hitting .326 with 14 RBIs in his first month, he was named the National League Rookie of the Month for April.[8]

In 2012, Barney won a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding second baseman in MLB.[9] Barney was also awarded the 2012 Gold Glove award for his play at second base, the first by a Cub second baseman since Ryne Sandberg's nine-year run from 1983-1991.[10] During the season, he recorded only 2 errors at second base, and tied the MLB record for consecutive errorless games at second base with 141 games.[11]

Barney started 2013 on the disabled list, and Brent Lillibridge was the Opening Day second baseman. After a rehab assignment in Iowa, he returned to Chicago on April 16, replacing Lillibridge, and became the starting second baseman. In 141 games in 2013, he hit .208 with 7 HR, 41 RBI, 49 runs and a .993 fielding percentage (4 errors). He was beaten out for the Gold Glove by Brandon Phillips.

Barney was designated for assignment on July 22, 2014 after he hit .230 in 72 games for the Cubs.[12]

Los Angeles Dodgers[edit]

Barney with the Los Angeles Dodgers

On July 28, 2014, he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a player to be named later,[13][14] minor league pitcher Jonathan Martinez.[15] Barney was optioned by the Dodgers to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes and later recalled to the Dodgers on August 10. He made his first appearance as a pinch hitter on August 11 and started his first game at second base the following day. In 22 games with the Dodgers, he hit .303. He began 2015 with the Dodgers and appeared in two games, with four at-bat and no hits, before being optioned to the Dodgers new AAA affiliate, the Oklahoma City Dodgers. On June 12, 2015, he was designated for assignment and removed from the 40-man roster.[16]

Toronto Blue Jays[edit]

On September 13, 2015, Barney was acquired by the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Jack Murphy. The Blue Jays put him on the active roster after designating Scott Copeland for assignment.[17][18] Barney appeared in 15 games for the Blue Jays in 2015, and batted .304 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI.[19] As he was acquired after September 1, he was ineligible to go into the postseason with Toronto. He was designated for assignment on October 19, and elected free agency on October 22.[20]

Personal life[edit]

Barney grew up speaking English with his Japanese grandfather and Korean grandmother.[21] He is of one-quarter Korean, one-quarter Japanese, and half Hawaiian descent.[22] Barney and his wife Lindsay have a three-year-old daughter named Hayden.[23]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Eggers, Kerry (May 18, 2004). "‘Little twerp’ grows into Southridge star". Portland Tribune. Retrieved July 16, 2007. 
  2. ^ a b c "Darwin Barney". OSUBeavers.com. Retrieved June 21, 2006. [dead link]
  3. ^ "OSU in first and last Division I games of season". OregonLive.com. June 25, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007. 
  4. ^ 2007 "MLB.com Draft Tracker" Check |url= scheme (help). MLB.com. Retrieved June 21, 2007. 
  5. ^ "Non Roster Invitees". 
  6. ^ "Barney the latest rookie to join the Cubs". 
  7. ^ Sullivan, Paul (March 24, 2011). "Barney relegates DeWitt to Cubs' bench". Chicago Tribune. 
  8. ^ "Darwin Barney National League Rookie of the Month". Chicago Tribune. May 3, 2011. 
  9. ^ "The 2012 Awards". ACTA Sports. October 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. 
  10. ^ Muskat, Carrie (October 29, 2012). "Barney's pristine 'D' brings first Gold Glove Award". MLB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2014. 
  11. ^ "Dodgers acquire 2B Barney in trade with Cubs". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014. 
  12. ^ Rogers, Jesse (July 22, 2014). "Cubs 2B Darwin Barney designated". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 22, 2014. 
  13. ^ Axisa, Mike (July 28, 2014). "Dodgers acquire infielder Darwin Barney from Cubs". CBSsports.com. Retrieved July 28, 2014. 
  14. ^ Gurnick, Ken (July 28, 2014). "Dodgers fortify infield with trade for Barney". MLB.com. Retrieved July 29, 2014. 
  15. ^ "Dodgers complete trade with Cubs". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014. 
  16. ^ Hoornstra, J.P. (June 12, 2015). "Dodgers acquire minor-league infielder Ronald Torreyes, designate Darwin Barney". LA Daily News. Retrieved June 12, 2015. 
  17. ^ Stephen, Eric (September 13, 2015). "Dodgers trade Darwin Barney to Blue Jays for PTBNL or cash". SB Nation. Retrieved September 13, 2015. 
  18. ^ Links, Zach (September 13, 2015). "Blue Jays Acquire Darwin Barney". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved September 13, 2015. 
  19. ^ "Darwin Barney Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved October 5, 2015. 
  20. ^ "International League Transactions". milb.com. p. October 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015. 
  21. ^ "MLB/Cubs infielder Barney proud of his Asian roots". 
  22. ^ Jeff Moeller / MLBPLAYERS.com. "Major League Baseball Players Association: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved December 18, 2013. 
  23. ^ "Cubs call up former OSU shortstop Darwin Barney". The Oregonian. August 11, 2010. 

External links[edit]

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