Brian David Barden (born April 2, 1981) is an American former

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 leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

infielder. He played for the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, and

Florida 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 fran ...

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), and for the

Hiroshima Toyo Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB).

Early life

Barden went to St. Pius X Elementary School and attended

St. Augustine High School The name St. Augustine High School could refer to: In the United States: * St. Augustine Academy (Lakewood, Ohio) * St. Augustine High School (Laredo, Texas) * St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Louisiana * St. Augustine High School (San Di ...

in San Diego's North Park neighborhood and

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

. In 2001, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Brewster Whitecaps The Brewster Whitecaps are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Brewster, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Whitecaps play their home games at Stony Bro ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Barden was drafted by the

in the sixth round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks on April 3, 2007, against the Colorado Rockies, grounding out as a pinch hitter. His first hit was a single to center field off

Shawn Hill Shawn Richard Hill (born April 28, 1981) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays. He was part of Team Can ...

of 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 ...

on April 8. That was his only hit in 6 at-bats for the Diamondbacks in the 8 games he played for them in 2007, with the rest of his time being spent with the AAA

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

St. Louis Cardinals

He was selected off waivers by

on August 13, 2007. Barden was

batting Batting may refer to: * Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs * Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ...

.295 with nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 35 RBI for the Cardinals' Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate, the

Memphis Redbirds The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbir ...

, when his season was ended as the result of being named to the USA Olympic Baseball Team. On May 5, 2009, he was named NL Rookie of the Month for April.

Florida Marlins

On December 14, 2009, Barden signed a minor league contract with the

. He was added to the Major League roster on April 3, but designated for assignment on July 3, 2010.

Texas Rangers

For the 2011 season, he signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers and played for the AAA

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

before opting out on July 1.

Hiroshima Toyo Carp

Brian signed a 1-year contract with the

on July 18, 2011. He played in 64 games and hit .281.

Los Angeles Dodgers

He signed a minor league contract with 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 ...

on January 5, 2013, and was assigned to the AAA

Albuquerque Isotopes The Albuquerque Isotopes are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. They play home games at Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at an e ...

. He played in 123 games and hit .277, while playing primarily

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

Piratas de Campeche

On April 1, 2014, Barden signed with the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Venu ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five t ...

. He was released on April 14, 2014.

Leones de Yucatan

On March 31, 2014, Barden signed with the Leones de Yucatan of the

. He was released on May 29, 2014.

Somerset Patriots

On June 10, 2014, Barden signed with the

Somerset Patriots The Somerset Patriots are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey, that is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They compete in the Eastern League, known as the Double-A Northeast in 2021, and w ...

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barden, Brian 1981 births Albuquerque Isotopes players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Baseball players from California Brewster Whitecaps players El Paso Diablos players Hiroshima Toyo Carp players Lancaster JetHawks players Leones de Yucatán players Living people Major League Baseball infielders Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Memphis Redbirds players Mexican League baseball third basemen New Orleans Zephyrs players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball third basemen Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in baseball Oregon State Beavers baseball players Piratas de Campeche players Round Rock Express players Somerset Patriots players Sportspeople from Chula Vista, California St. Louis Cardinals players Tucson Sidewinders players Yakima Bears players