| Brian Barden | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Barden with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp | |||||||||||||||
| Infielder | |||||||||||||||
| Born: April 2, 1981 Templeton, California, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||
| Professional debut | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: April 3, 2007, for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: August 2, 2011, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp | |||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | |||||||||||||||
| MLB: July 2, 2010, for the Florida Marlins | |||||||||||||||
| NPB: October 25, 2011, for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .211 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 4 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 14 | ||||||||||||||
| NPB statistics | |||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .281 | ||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
| |||||||||||||||
Brian David Barden (born April 2, 1981) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played for the Arizona Diamondbacks, St. Louis Cardinals, and Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB), and for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Barden went to St. Pius X Elementary School[citation needed] and attended St. Augustine High School in San Diego's North Park neighborhood and Oregon State University.[1] In 2001, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Brewster Whitecaps of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2][3]
Barden was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks 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 of the Washington Nationals 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.
He was selected off waivers by St. Louis Cardinals on August 13, 2007.[4][5]
Barden was batting .295 with nine home runs and 35 RBI for the Cardinals' Triple-A Pacific Coast League affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, when his season was ended as the result of being named to the 2008 USA Olympic Baseball Team.[6]
On May 5, 2009, he was named NL Rookie of the Month for April.[7]
On December 14, 2009, Barden signed a minor league contract with the Florida Marlins. He was added to the Major League roster on April 3, but designated for assignment on July 3, 2010.
For the 2011 season, he signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers and played for the AAA Round Rock Express before opting out on July 1.[8]
Brian signed a 1-year contract with the Hiroshima Toyo Carp of Nippon Professional Baseball on July 18, 2011.[9] He played in 64 games and hit .281.
He signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on January 5, 2013, and was assigned to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. He played in 123 games and hit .277, while playing primarily third base.
On April 1, 2014, Barden signed with the Piratas de Campeche of the Mexican Baseball League. He was released on April 14, 2014.
On March 31, 2014, Barden signed with the Leones de Yucatan of the Mexican Baseball League. He was released on May 29, 2014.
On June 10, 2014, Barden signed with the Somerset Patriots of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He became a free agent after the 2014 season.
