Austin Scott Barnes (born December 28, 1989) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member o ...

. Barnes was selected by the Florida Marlins in the eighth round of the

2011 Major League Baseball draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. He made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 2015 and helped the team win the

2020 World Series The 2020 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2020 season. The 116th World Series was a best-of-seven-playoff between the American League (AL) champion Tampa Bay Rays and the National League (NL) champion Los Ang ...

. In addition to catching, Barnes has also played as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Early life

Barnes was born on December 28, 1989, in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States, in the Inland Empire metropolitan area. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. It is the most populous city in the Inland Empire an ...

, the oldest of four children born to Dennis and Stephanie Barnes. His maternal uncle, Mike Gallego, played in

(MLB) for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

. He began playing baseball at a young age. As a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

Little League Baseball Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization He attended

Riverside Polytechnic High School Riverside Polytechnic High School is a four-year public high school in Riverside, California, United States, and part of the Riverside Unified School District. The current facility, located on Victoria Avenue, was opened in September 1965; the t ...

, playing on the same baseball team as future

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

outfielder Jake Marisnick. He received four

varsity letter A varsity letter (or monogram) is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its recipient was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met. Description ...

s 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 The American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC) is an amateur baseball organization in the United States for players from sub-teens through adults.

(AABC) Don Mattingly Championship in 2017.

College career

After graduating from Riverside Poly, Barnes attended

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

to play

. He largely did not play during his freshman season. He appeared in 20 games as a catcher and second baseman, with one start as a

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

. In only 17

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

s, Barnes totaled seven hits for a .412 average. 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 In baseball, a runner is charged, and the fielders involved are credited, with a time caught stealing when the runner attempts to advance or lead off from one base to another without the ball being batted and then is tagged out by a fielder whil ...

. He also improved his batting, finishing the season with a .272 average. He started in 48 games, 43 of which were behind the plate, and earned registered a .985

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

in his first season as a full-time catcher. Barnes was given an opportunity to return to the infield for his junior season, but he elected to remain the team's catcher. His first home run of the season came on March 27, 2011, in the seventh inning of an 8-1 victory over

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. 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 A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the bat ...

(RBIs). He was also named to the All-

Pac-10 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

First Team upon the conclusion of the season.

Professional career

Minor league career

The

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

drafted Barnes in the ninth round of the

2011 MLB Draft The 2011 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2011, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Gerrit Cole out of the University of California, Los Angeles, with the first ...

. He made his professional debut that season with the Class A Short Season

Jamestown Jammers The Jamestown Jammers were a minor league baseball team based in Jamestown, New York from 1994 until 2014. The team was the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates and played in the New York–Penn League. The team playe ...

of the New York–Penn League, establishing himself early on as both a passionate catcher and a strong batter. From 2012 to 2014 he played for the Greensboro Grasshoppers,

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home game ...

and Jacksonville Suns. He split time between catcher and second base.

Los Angeles Dodgers

Austin Barnes, 2015 Triple-A All-Star Game

On December 10, 2014, Barnes was traded to the

, along with Chris Hatcher, Andrew Heaney, and Enrique Hernández, in exchange for Dan Haren,

Dee Gordon Devaris "Dee" Strange-Gordon (born April 22, 1988) is an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and center fielder who is currently a free agent. He has played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Mar ...

, Miguel Rojas and cash. He was assigned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers. On May 23, 2015, he was called up to the Major Leagues for the first time when

Yasmani Grandal Yasmani Grandal (born November 8, 1988) is a Cuban-born American professional baseball catcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Milwaukee Bre ...

went on the 7-day DL with a concussion. Barnes made his MLB debut as the starting catcher for the Dodgers on May 24, 2015, originally wearing number 65. 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. He returned to Oklahoma City after his short time on the Dodgers roster and was named as a starter on the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

team for the mid-season Triple-A All-Star game. He was also named to the post-season PCL all-star team and

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

's Triple-A All-Star team. He rejoined the Dodgers in September. He played in 20 games for the Dodgers with six hits in 29 at-bats (.207). In 81 games for the Oklahoma City team, he hit .315 with nine homers and 42 RBI. Barnes appeared in 21 games for the Dodgers in 2016, hitting .156, and 85 games for Oklahoma City, hitting .295. He changed his number from 65 to 28. He also appeared in two games in the

2016 National League Division Series The 2016 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams in the 2016 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1-3) and a fourth team—the winner of a one-ga ...

against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

, with one pinch hit appearance and one pinch run appearance. Austin Barnes on July 24, 2015

Barnes made the Opening Day roster as the backup catcher in 2017. 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. 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. During the regular season, he had a .289 batting average with eight home runs and 38 RBI in 102 games. In the

2017 NLDS The 2017 National League Division Series were two best-of-five-game series to determine the participating teams of the 2017 National League Championship Series. The three divisional winners (seeded 1–3) and a fourth team—the winner of a one ...

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. In the

2017 NLCS The 2017 National League Championship Series was a Playoff format#Best-of-seven playoff, best-of-seven playoff pitting the Los Angeles Dodgers against the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs for the National League pennant and the right ...

against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, he had two hits in 15 at-bats, and in the

2017 World Series The 2017 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2017 season. The 113th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the National League (NL) champion Los Angeles Dodgers and the ...

against the

, he had four hits in 23 at-bats. In 2018, Barnes started

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

battling elbow discomfort. He ended up being the backup to

, 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. Barnes hit .205/.329/.290 in 100 games with 4 home runs, 41 hits, and 14 RBI. An elite framer, he excelled defensively. He ranked third in the MLB for framing and defensive statistics, had a .993 fielding percentage, and allowed only one passed ball. In the

2018 NLCS The 2018 National League Championship Series was a best-of-seven playoff pitting the Milwaukee Brewers against the Los Angeles Dodgers, for the National League (NL) pennant and the right to play in the 2018 World Series against the AL Champions ...

against the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, Barnes had two hits in 18 at-bats. In the

2018 World Series The 2018 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's 2018 season. The 114th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the National Lea ...

against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, he was hitless in eleven at-bats. 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 Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

to take over the everyday catching duties. Barnes was batting .196 prior to being sent down. He appeared in only 75 games in the majors in 2019, hitting .203/.293/.340 with five home runs and 25 RBIs, while he hit .264 in 23 games in the minor leagues. Barnes signed a one-year, $1.1 million, contract with the Dodgers after the season, avoiding arbitration. During the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Barnes appeared in 29 games for the Dodgers, hitting .244/.353/.314 with one homer and nine RBIs. 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. He had two hits in three at-bats in the

Wild Card Series The Wild Card Series (formerly known as Wild Card Game from 2012 to 2019 and in 2021) are games that serve as the opening round of the Major League Baseball (MLB) Major League Baseball postseason, postseason. A single wild card game was first ...

, two hits in two at-bats in the

NLDS In Major League Baseball, the National League Division Series (NLDS) determines which two teams from the National League will advance to the National League Championship Series. The Division Series consists of two best-of-five series, featuring e ...

and two hits in seven at-bats in the

NLCS The National League Championship Series (NLCS) is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series comprising the penultimate round of Major League Baseball's (MLB) postseason. It is contested by the winners of the two National ...

. In the

against the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. Since its inception ...

, he had two hits in 13 at-bats. 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

Héctor López Héctor Headley López Swainson (July 8, 1929 – September 29, 2022) was a Panamanian professional baseball left fielder and third baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Athletics and New York Yankees from 1955 to 196 ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

. The Dodgers won the World Series in six games with Barnes catching the final out with

Julio Urias Julio is the Spanish equivalent of the month July and may refer to: *Julio (given name) *Julio (surname) *Júlio de Castilhos, a municipality of the western part of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil * ''Julio'' (album), a 1983 compilation albu ...

closing the game. On February 15, 2021, Barnes signed a new two-year, $4.3 million, contract with the Dodgers, to avoid salary arbitration. He again was the back-up catcher behind Will Smith, appearing in 77 games and hitting .215 with six homers and 23 RBI. He had three appearances, all as a pinch hitter, in the playoffs, striking out in two of the three at-bats. On July 3, 2022, Barnes and the Dodgers signed a two-year contract extension worth $7 million. In 62 games in 2022, he hit .212 with eight homers and 26 RBIs.

Personal life

Barnes is the nephew of former MLB infielder Mike Gallego. His younger brother, Griffin, played catcher for Grand Canyon University and signed with the Los Angeles Angels. Barnes married Nicole Breanna Rappaport on January 20, 2018. The couple now live in

Glendale, California Glendale is a city in the San Fernando Valley and Verdugo Mountains regions of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 U.S. Census the population was 196,543, up from ...

, a suburb of Los Angeles close to Dodger Stadium. They have one son, born in February 2021. Although Barnes' childhood nickname was "Hoover," it is now "Barnsey." He also picked up the nickname "Sam" from Chase Utley. Barnes enjoys playing

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

in his free time. His favorite actor is Will Ferrell, his favorite movie is Old School (film), and his favorite TV show is

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

References

External links

Arizona State Sun Devils bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Austin 1989 births Living people Major League Baseball catchers Los Angeles Dodgers players Jamestown Jammers players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Jacksonville Suns players Oklahoma City Dodgers players Rancho Cucamonga Quakes players Arizona State Sun Devils baseball players Baseball players from Riverside, California Anchorage Bucs players St. Cloud River Bats players Riverside Polytechnic High School alumni