Darwin Barney Joins Oregon State Baseball Staff

Mitch Canham, the Pat Casey Head Baseball Coach, announced Friday that former Major League infielder and Oregon State shortstop Darwin Barney has joined the coaching staff as the program’s camp coordinator and volunteer assistant coach.

Barney’s hiring is contingent on the completion of all university hiring processes.

“Darwin Barney is a Beaver Family legend and we couldn’t be happier to welcome him back home,” Canham said. “He is a tremendous human being who holds a wealth of knowledge involving baseball, family and life, just to name a few things. We are excited that he will be working with our student-athletes and helping them become elite in all that they do in life.”

“My family and I are excited to be back in the Beaver Family,” Barney said. “Oregon State is a special place, and I’m humbled to be joining Coach Canham’s staff. I look forward to the grind as we continue to grow great baseball players, students and people in the journey to bring home another championship.”

Barney was scheduled to manage the Triple-A Nashville Sounds in 2020, but their season was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He is three years removed from a Major League career that saw him play in 814 games over eight seasons, seeing action for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays. He was a Gold Glove selection at second base in 2012, a year after tying for seventh place in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.

Barney ended his MLB career with a .246 batting average, 117 doubles, 15 triples, 31 runs batted in and 29 stolen bases. He played in the 2016 postseason with the Blue Jays, seeing action in seven games.

A native of Beaverton, Ore., he played in 191 games over three seasons for Oregon State, helping guide the Beavers to College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007 and a trip to Omaha in 2005. He was selected All-Pac-10 First-Team twice and was the conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2005.

Barney’s 238 hits and 765 career at bats both rank first in the program’s history. He scored 152 runs, which ranks second, posted 40 doubles (tied for eighth) and drove in 136 (10th). He batted .311 with six triples, seven home runs and 36 stolen bases while walking 99 times to just 73 strikeouts.

He was a fourth-round selection by the Cubs in the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft. He made his MLB debut on Aug. 12, 2010 at San Francisco.