Joshua LaRoy Barfield (born December 17, 1982) is an American professional baseball executive and former second baseman. He is the son of former major league outfielder Jesse Barfield. Barfield was born in Venezuela during his mother's two-week winterball visit with his father.[1] He attended Klein High School in Harris County, Texas[2] and holds the District 5 single season home run record.
| Josh Barfield | |
|---|---|
 Barfield with the San Diego Padres | |
| Second baseman | |
| Born: December 17, 1982 Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 3, 2006, for the San Diego Padres | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 25, 2009, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .264 |
| Home runs | 16 |
| Runs batted in | 112 |
| Teams | |
His younger brother Jeremy Barfield was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 8th round of 2008 Major League Baseball draft.
Professional career edit
San Diego Padres edit
Barfield was drafted in the fourth round of the 2001 Major League Baseball draft by the San Diego Padres.[3] In 2004[4] and 2005,[5] Baseball America listed him as the Padres' number one prospect. In 2006, he fell to third in the organization behind pitcher Cesar Carrillo and catcher George Kottaras.
Barfield made his major league debut April 3, 2006, and collected his first career hit. His first major league home run came April 17, 2006, at Coors Field against the Colorado Rockies, a 431-foot solo shot to left-center field, off Jeff Francis.
On September 4, 2006, against the Rockies in Petco Park, Barfield hit a walk-off home run, a three-run home run off Brian Fuentes that gave the Padres a 7–5 victory. He claimed that he had not hit a walk-off home run at any level of baseball prior to that.
Cleveland Indians edit
On November 8, 2006, Barfield was traded to the Cleveland Indians for third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff and pitcher Andrew Brown.
Barfield began the 2007 season as the Indians everyday second baseman, but in August, after poor hitting, lost the job to Asdrúbal Cabrera. He finished 2007 with a .243 batting average, 3 home runs, and 53 RBI. Barfield entered spring training in 2008 as a utility player hopeful, but was ultimately optioned to Triple-A Buffalo.
Barfield was called up by Cleveland on June 9, 2008, to replace Cabrera, who was hitting a team low .184. At the time of his call-up, Barfield had an average of .255 with 5 homers and 21 RBI, respectively, for Buffalo. In his second game after being called up, he sprained a finger and was placed on the disabled list on June 12, 2008.
On August 11, 2009, Barfield was outrighted to Triple-A Columbus by the Indians and removed from their 40-man roster.
Second stint with Padres edit
On February 19, 2010, Barfield signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres with an invite to spring training.
Baltimore Orioles edit
On March 21, 2012, he signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles.
Post-playing career edit
As of 2016, Barfield was listed as a professional scout, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, for the Arizona Diamondbacks. For four years, Barfield was the director of player development for the Diamondbacks. In September 2023, he was hired as assistant general manager for the Chicago White Sox.[6]
See also edit
References edit
- ^ "Born to The Show". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2008-03-12.
- ^ "Player Profile: Josh Barfield". MLB.com. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ^ "Josh Barfield Statistics". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ^ Callis, Jim. "Top Ten Prospects: San Diego Padres". Baseball America. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ^ Goldstein, Kevin. "Top Ten Prospects: San Diego Padres". Baseball America. Retrieved 2007-11-03.
- ^ Merkin, Scott (September 27, 2023). "Barfield shifts focus to White Sox after 9 years with D-backs". MLB.com. Retrieved 2023-09-29.
External links edit
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet