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**Brian Bixler**
Brian Bixler
	Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 10
	Shortstop
	Born: October 22, 1982 (age 27); Sandusky, Ohio
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
MLB debut
	April 6, 2008 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Career statistics; (through 2009 season)
Batting average	.178
Home runs	0
Runs batted in	5
Teams
	Pittsburgh Pirates (2008-present);

Brian Joseph Bixler (born October 22, 1982 in Sandusky, Ohio) is a Major League Baseball shortstop and currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

[edit] College career

Bixler attended college at Eastern Michigan. Bixler also played in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League for the Delaware Cows.

[edit] Professional career

Bixler was Pittsburgh's second-round pick in the 2004 Major League Baseball Draft. He spent 2004 in the short-season New York - Penn League playing for the Williamsport Crosscutters. He spent his first full profession season with the Class-A Hickory Crawdads. In 2006, Bixler played for both the High-A Lynchburg Hillcats and the Double-A Altoona Curve. He was invited to spring training by the Pirates in 2007, batting an impressive .359 with a .970 OPS. [1] In 2007, Bixler played for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, and was named the team's most valuable player. On November 20, 2007, the Pirates purchased his contract, protecting Bixler from the Rule 5 Draft.

[edit] 2008

Bixler did not make the Pirates opening day roster in 2008, but soon received a call up on April 6 when Jack Wilson was placed on the disabled list.^[1] That same day, Bixler made his major league debut against the Florida Marlins as a pinch hitter and struck out in his only at bat of the day.

He spent the majority of the season in Indianapolis, but made several short appearances for the Pirates. On September 2, he was recalled again when the rosters expanded.

[edit] 2009

Bixler attended Spring Training camp, but was reassigned to AAA (Indianapolis Indians) on March 30, 2009.

He was recalled to Pittsburgh in late April after Jack Wilson was placed on the disabled list. In 8 games with Pittsburgh, he batted .200. He was optioned back to AAA when Wilson returned from injury.

After the June call ups of AAA outfielders Steven Pearce, Garrett Jones and Jeff Salazar to Pittsburgh, Bixler began to see playing time in center field due to the shortage of players on the roster. This transition to a utility player role may help increase his chance of becoming a full-time Major League player.

Bixler was again recalled to Pittsburgh in mid-August.

[edit] References

^ Langosch, Jenifer (2008-04-06). "Bucs place Wilson on the 15-day DL". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080406&content_id=2497562&vkey=news_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit. Retrieved 2008-04-07.

[edit] External links

Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)

[0] Langosch, Jenifer (2008-04-06). "Bucs place Wilson on the 15-day DL". MLB.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080406&content_id=2497562&vkey=news_pit&fext=.jsp&c_id=pit. Retrieved 2008-04-07.

[1]