John Delbert Barnes (born April 24, 1976) is an American former professional baseball

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

. Barnes is a graduate of Granite Hills High School and attended

Grossmont College Grossmont College is a public community college in El Cajon, California. Its name originated with the silent film actor and producer William J. Gross, who was enticed by Ed Fletcher to invest the purchase of land, part of which was called Grossmo ...

El Cajon, California El Cajon ( , ; Spanish: El Cajón, meaning "the box") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, east of downtown San Diego. The city takes its name from Rancho El Cajón, which was in turn named for the box-like shape of the va ...

Career

Barnes was selected in the fourth round of the 1996 Major League Baseball draft by 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 ...

. In , he was traded, along with Joe Thomas and

Matt Kinney Matthew John Kinney (born December 16, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He spent with the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball (MLB). Kinney is a graduate of Bangor High School. Kinney and his Little ...

, to the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for

Greg Swindell Forest Gregory Swindell (born January 2, 1965) is an American former professional baseball player. He had a 17-year career in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from to . He played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins and Bost ...

and

Orlando Merced Orlando Luis Merced Villanueva (born November 2, 1966) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played all or parts of 13 seasons in the majors for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990–1996), Toronto Blue Jays (1997), Minnesota ...

. He achieved his best minor league season in 2000 with the Twins' Triple-A affiliate in Salt Lake City, winning 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 ...

batting crown with a .365 average along with a 1.004 OPS, 56 extra base hits and 87 RBI. The performance earned him his first promotion to the major leagues, where he batted .351 with an .874 OPS in limited action for the Twins. His numbers in Triple-A tailed off in 2001, and after a meager .048 average in 23 plate appearances with the 2001 Twins, he was placed on waivers and claimed by the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. Barnes became a minor league nomad from there, spending the entire season with the Rockies' Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

, , with the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

. and in 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 ...

system with the

Gulf Coast Dodgers The Arizona Complex League Dodgers are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix, Arizona. The team is compo ...

and Las Vegas 51s. In , Barnes played with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

organization with the

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they are referred to locally, are a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson. The team is the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and plays in the Southern League. T ...

and the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

, his last season as a position player. In he returned to the Red Sox organization and was converted to a knuckleball pitcher. Between 2006 and , he worked his way up from Boston's

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the lo ...

team to their Triple-A team in Pawtucket, but was granted free agency at 2007's end and has not played professionally since.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, John 1976 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from San Diego Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Edmonton Trappers players Greenville Drive players Grossmont Griffins baseball players Gulf Coast Dodgers players Gulf Coast Red Sox players Lancaster JetHawks players Las Vegas 51s players Major League Baseball outfielders Michigan Battle Cats players Minnesota Twins players Mississippi Braves players Nashville Sounds players New Britain Rock Cats players Pawtucket Red Sox players Portland Sea Dogs players Richmond Braves players Salt Lake Buzz players Baseball players from El Cajon, California Trenton Thunder players Wilmington Blue Rocks players