Kevin Stewart Barker (born July 26, 1975) is an American baseball analyst and 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 ...

player. In his career, he played in

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) as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for the Milwaukee Brewers,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, and Cincinnati Reds. He currently co-hosts the

sports talk show Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...

''Baseball Central'' alongside Jeff Blair on Sportsnet 590 the FAN, out of Toronto. He began co-hosting Blue Jays Central after Sportsnet parted ways with Gregg Zaun.

Career

Barker is from the small community of Mendota in

Washington County, Virginia Washington County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 53,935. Its county seat is Abingdon. Washington County is part of the Kingsport–Bristol–Bristol, TN-VA Metropolitan Statis ...

. He played for three years at John S. Battle High School, before transferring to Virginia High School in Bristol, Virginia as a senior in 1993. Barker attended

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

, where 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 p ...

for the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 v ...

. The Milwaukee Brewers selected Barker in the third round of the 1996 MLB draft. He made his major league debut on August 19, 1999, with the Brewers. He went 2 for 5 in his debut, with his first hit a single to right field off Chris Holt of the

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 ...

. He hit his first Home Run on September 5, 1999 off of

Larry Luebbers Larry Christopher Luebbers (born October 11, 1969) is a former Major League Baseball player who played with the Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals. He made his major league debut on July 3, 1993 against the Pittsburgh Pirates and gave up ...

of the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

. Though the Brewers hoped that Barker would be their long-term

, he was soon surpassed by

Richie Sexson Richmond Lockwood Sexson (born December 29, 1974), nicknamed "Big Sexy", is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for five teams from 1997 to 2008. He is also the field manager for the Windy City ThunderBolts in the ...

. He played in a total of 78 games with the Brewers in 1999 and 2000 and hit .253. After spending the 2001 season in the minors, the Brewers traded him to the

on March 24, 2002, in exchange for Dusty Wathan. He appeared in only 7 games for the Padres and spent most of the season in AAA with the

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

. He spent 2003–2006 in the minor league systems of the

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 ...

, Philadelphia Phillies and

and was named the International League player of the week in 2006 while playing with the Syracuse SkyChiefs. He received a September call-up with the Blue Jays and on September 3, 2006, Barker recorded his first

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

as a Blue Jay, a home run off

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 eigh ...

starting pitcher

Josh Beckett Joshua Patrick Beckett (born May 15, 1980) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). A three-time MLB All-Star, he played for the Florida Marlins, the Boston Red Sox, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. After ...

. After the 2007 season, Barker signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds and played for the Triple-A Louisville Bats the entire year. In 2009, he appeared in 29 games for the Reds, batting .281. He spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons in the

Mexican 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 te ...

. Barker currently co-hosts the

''Baseball Central'' alongside Jeff Blair on

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

radio station Sportsnet 590 the FAN.

Personal life

Barker is married to

Hazel Mae Hazel Mae Barker (born April 7, 1970), known professionally as Hazel Mae, is a Filipino-Canadian sportscaster. She was the former lead anchor for the New England Sports Network's SportsDesk news program and most recently the anchor on MLB Networ ...

of Sportsnet.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Kevin 1975 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Albuquerque Isotopes players Algodoneros de Guasave players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Virginia Canadian radio sportscasters Cincinnati Reds players El Paso Diablos players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Huntsville Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Bats players Louisville Redbirds players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball first basemen Milwaukee Brewers players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Ogden Raptors players People from Bristol, Virginia Portland Beavers players Reading Phillies players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Stockton Ports players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toronto Blue Jays announcers Toronto Blue Jays players Toros del Este players Virginia Tech alumni Virginia Tech Hokies baseball players Yaquis de Obregón players