Josh Bard
| Josh Bard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Bard with the Washington Nationals | |||
| Los Angeles Dodgers – No. 54 | |||
| Catcher / Coach | |||
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Born: March 30, 1978 Ithaca, New York | |||
| |||
| MLB debut | |||
| August 23, 2002, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 17, 2011, for the Seattle Mariners | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .254 | ||
| Home runs | 39 | ||
| Runs batted in | 220 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s baseball | ||
Competitor for  United States
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| Baseball World Cup | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2001 Taipei | National team |
Joshua David Bard (born March 30, 1978) is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently is a coach with the Los Angeles Dodgers. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, San Diego Padres, Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners from 2002-2011. Bard was a switch-hitter who threw right-handed during his playing career.
Early life and personal
Bard was born in Elizabeth, Colorado, and attended Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He then attended Texas Tech University, where he was a three-time All-American while playing for Texas Tech Red Raiders.
Career
Cleveland Indians
On August 23, 2002, Bard made his MLB debut against the Seattle Mariners and hit a walk-off home run, becoming the second player to accomplish this feat in a debut since Billy Parker.[1] In 2003, Bard posted a .244 average with 8 home runs and 36 RBI in 91 games played.
In 2004, Bard spent the first half of the season on the disabled list due to an abdominal injury, and then spent nearly the rest of the season in the minors. In 2005, Bard returned to the Indians roster, backing up Víctor Martínez.
Boston Red Sox
In January 2006, Bard was acquired by the Boston Red Sox, along with outfielder Coco Crisp and reliever David Riske, for reliever Guillermo Mota, third base prospect Andy Marte, and catcher Kelly Shoppach. He became the Red Sox's backup catcher during spring training 2006 following the retirement of John Flaherty.
As a member of the Boston Red Sox in April 2006, his primary duties were catching knuckleball pitcher Tim Wakefield. In the beginning of the season, this proved to be a challenging task, as Bard gave up 3 passed balls in his first appearance for the Red Sox on April 5, 2006. In an April 26, 2006, game against the Cleveland Indians, Bard gave up 4 passed balls, giving him a total of 10 passed balls in his first 5 games.
San Diego Padres
A few days later, Bard was traded along with Cla Meredith to the San Diego Padres for Doug Mirabelli.[2] Mirabelli, who had been traded by the Red Sox to the Padres for Mark Loretta during the offseason, was experienced at catching Tim Wakefield.[2]
A lifetime .240 hitter before joining the Padres, Bard hit .338 in 231 at-bats the rest of the season as the backup to Mike Piazza.
Bard was behind the plate on August 4, 2007, for a home game against the San Francisco Giants. He was catching for pitcher Clay Hensley when Hensley gave up Barry Bonds' 755th home run, which tied Bonds with Hank Aaron for most career home runs.
Bard's hot hitting did not continue into the 2008 season. He began the season as the Padres' starting catcher, with Rob Bowen as his backup. In June, Bowen was traded to the Chicago Cubs for catcher Michael Barrett.[3] In October 2008, Bard left the Padres and became a free agent.[4]
Boston Red Sox
On January 2, 2009, Bard returned to the Red Sox with a one-year, $1.6 million contract, which included a $3 million club option for 2010.[5] However, on March 18, he was released.[6][7]
Washington Nationals
On March 21, 2009 Bard signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals and was invited to Spring Training.[8] He played in 90 games for the Nationals, hitting .230.
Seattle Mariners
On December 28, 2009, Bard signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners.
Bard has his contract purchased by Seattle on June 29, 2011.[9] He played in 26 games with the Mariners, hitting .210. He elected free agency on October 30. On August 13, 2011, he was involved in a controversial play against the Boston Red Sox. Dustin Pedroia hit a fly ball to Ichiro Suzuki, who caught the ball as Jacoby Ellsbury tagged up from third and tried to score. Ichiro, who was known for throwing runners out at home, threw a strike to Bard, who collided with Ellsbury. He held onto the ball and got hurt on the play. Shortly after, he dropped the ball. Ellsbury was initially called safe. Eric Wedge came out to argue. The umpires discussed it and soon called Ellsbury out. Terry Francona was ejected for arguing the call.
Los Angeles Dodgers
He signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December, 2011. He was released by the Dodgers on March 29, 2012.[10] But later re-signed with them and was assigned to the AAA Albuquerque Isotopes. He was the backup catcher to Tim Federowicz at Albuquerque and appeared in 45 games with a .331 batting average. Bard singled in his final career at bat against the Omaha Storm Chasers in the Isotopes season-ending playoff loss on September 9, 2012.
He retired after the season and chose to remain with the Dodgers as a Special Assistant.[11] He became the Dodgers major league bullpen coach for the 2016 season.[12]
Personal
Although Bard was born in Ithaca, New York, his family moved to Colorado when he was five-months old.[13] His wife, Lindsey, is a teacher and they have been married for 10 years.[13] Together they have three children.[13]
His brother, Mike Bard, is an MLB personal coach,[14] was a collegiate coach for 13 years,[15] and is currently a private instructor in the Denver area at Bardo's Diamond Sports in Parker.[16] He is, however, not related to Daniel Bard, a pitcher in the Chicago Cubs organization.
References
- ↑ Mariners sign veteran catcher
- 1 2 Sullivan, Tim (2006-09-19). "Towers: 'These guys don't miss (Mirabelli)'". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ↑ Muskart, Carrie (2007-06-20). "Cubs deal Barrett to Padres". MLB.com. Retrieved 2008-12-31.
- ↑ Brock, Corey (2008-10-06). "Padres part ways with Bard, Estes". Retrieved 2008-10-06.
- ↑ "Red Sox Look To Re-Sign Catcher Bard". AHN. 2008-12-30. Retrieved 2009-01-04.
- ↑ Finn, Chad (March 18, 2009). "Sox release Josh Bard". The Boston Globe.
- ↑ Red Sox release backstop Bard
- ↑ Nationals agree to terms on minor league contract with catcher Josh Bard
- ↑ Dierkes, Tim. "Mariners Designate Edward Paredes For Assignment". MLBTradeRumors.com. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
- ↑ http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/los_angeles_dodgers/index.html
- ↑ Dodgers hire six International Scouts covering Cuba, Europe, Latin America, Mexico, the Pacific Rim and Venezuela
- ↑ Weisman, Jon (December 17, 2015). "Dodgers name coaches for 2016". Dodgers.com. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
- 1 2 3 "Q&A with Josh Bard Tacoma Rainiers". Tacoma Weekly. Pierce County Community Newspaper Group. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
- ↑ Tom Krasovic. "Winter of Bard's Content". San Diego Union Tribune.
- ↑ Thomas Harding. "Bard Brothers to Hold Reunion of Sorts". MLB.com.
- ↑ "About Mike Bard".
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Josh Bard. |
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
| Preceded by Chuck Crim |
Los Angeles Dodgers bullpen coach 2016–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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