Josh Bard
Free Agent — No. --
Catcher
Born: March 30, 1978 (1978-03-30) (age 31) Ithaca, New York
Bats: Switch	Throws: Right
MLB debut
August 23, 2002 for the Cleveland Indians
Career statistics (through August 27, 2009)
Batting average	.261
Home runs	31
Runs batted in	191
Teams
Cleveland Indians (2002-2005) Boston Red Sox (2006) San Diego Padres (2006-2008) Washington Nationals (2009-present)

Joshua David Bard (born March 30, 1978) is an American Major League Baseball catcher who is currently a free agent. Bard is a switch-hitter who throws right-handed.

Bard played for the Cleveland Indians from 2002 through 2005. In 2006, he was traded to Boston Red Sox, but during the season he was traded to the San Diego Padres. Bard played with the Padres through the 2008 season.

[edit] Early life and personal

Bard was born in Ithaca, New York, and attended Cherry Creek High School in Greenwood Village, Colorado. He then attended Texas Tech, where he was a two-time All-American while playing for Texas Tech Red Raiders. Bard is married to his high-school sweetheart and has three children.

[edit] Career

[edit] 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^{[citation needed]}. 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] San Diego Padres

Bard with the Padres.

A few days later, Bard was traded along with Cla Meredith to the San Diego Padres for Mark Loretta and Doug Mirabelli.^[1] Mirabelli, who previously played for the Red Sox, had experience catching Tim Wakefield.^[1]

Upon his arrival in the National League, Bard became one of the best hitters in the major leagues. 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.^[2] The arrival of Barrett significantly cut Bard's playing time^{[citation needed]}. In October 2008, Bard left the Padres and became a free agent.^[3]

[edit] Red Sox camp - 2009

On January 2, 2009, Bard signed with the Red Sox with a one-year, $1.6 million dollar contract, which included a $3 millon club option for 2010.^[4]. However, on March 18, Bard was released.^[5][6]

[edit] Washington Nationals

On March 21, 2009 Bard signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals and was invited to Spring Training.^[7]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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