Kevin Stewart Barker (born July 26, 1975) is an American

baseball analyst A sports analyst is a person looking through technical, tactical, physiological, and psychological performance metrics working with the sports coach and sports science team to improve athlete performance. They will often use Video motion analy ...

and former professional baseball player. In his career, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue Jays, and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He currently co-hosts the sports talk show ''Blair and Barker'' alongside Jeff Blair on

Sportsnet 590 the FAN CJCL (590 AM, '' Sportsnet 590 The Fan'') is a Canadian sports radio station in Toronto, Ontario. Owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media since 2002, CJCL's studios are located at the Rogers Building at Bloor and Jarvis in downtown Toro ...

radio and on multiple Sportsnet TV channels, out of Toronto. He began co-hosting Blair and Barker after Sportsnet parted ways with

Gregg Zaun Gregory Owen Zaun (; born April 14, 1971) is an American baseball analyst, public speaker and a former professional baseball catcher. He played for nine teams over 16 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1995 until 2010, winning a World Series C ...

Career

Barker is from the small community of Mendota in Washington County, Virginia. He played for three years at

John S. Battle High School John S. Battle High School is a high school located in the Southwest portion of Virginia in Washington County. Built in 1959, the school was named after former Virginia Governor John S. Battle. Extracurricular activities Baseball John Battle w ...

, before transferring to Virginia High School in

Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the twin city of Bristol, Tennessee, just across the state line, which runs down the middle of its main street, State S ...

as a senior in 1993. Barker attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he played college baseball for the Virginia Tech Hokies. The

selected Barker in the third round of the 1996 MLB draft. He made his major league debut on August 19, 1999, with the Brewers. He went 2 for 5 in his debut, with his first hit a single to right field off Chris Holt of the Astros. He hit his first home run on September 5, 1999, off of Larry Luebbers of the Cardinals. Though the Brewers hoped that Barker would be their long-term first baseman, he was soon surpassed by Richie Sexson. He played in a total of 78 games with the Brewers in 1999 and 2000 and hit .253. After spending the 2001 season in the minors, the Brewers traded him to the San Diego Padres on March 24, 2002, in exchange for Dusty Wathan. He appeared in only 7 games for the Padres and spent most of the season in AAA with the Portland Beavers. He spent 2003–2006 in the minor league systems of the Florida Marlins,

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

and Toronto Blue Jays and was named the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

player of the week in 2006 while playing with the

Syracuse SkyChiefs The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which open ...

. He received a September call-up with the Blue Jays and on September 3, 2006, Barker recorded his first hit as a Blue Jay, a home run off Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett. After the 2007 season, Barker signed a minor league contract with the

and played for the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

the entire year. In 2009, he appeared in 29 games for the Reds, batting .281. He spent the 2010 and 2011 seasons in the Mexican League. Barker currently co-hosts the sports talk show ''Blair and Barker'' alongside

Jeff Blair Jeff Blair (born March 30, 1960) is a Canadian newspaper columnist for The Globe and Mail, a sports columnist for Sportsnet and sports talk radio host on Sportsnet 590 The FAN in Toronto. In June 2019, Blair took over as a host of the long-runnin ...

on Toronto radio station

and on multiple Sportsnet TV channels.

Personal life

Barker is married to Hazel Mae of

Sportsnet Sportsnet is a Canadian English-language sports specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media. It was established in 1998 as CTV Sportsnet, a joint venture between CTV, Liberty Media, and Rogers Media. CTV parent Bell Globemedia then ...

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barker, Kevin 1975 births Living people Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Albuquerque Isotopes players Algodoneros de Guasave players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Virginia Canadian radio sportscasters Cincinnati Reds players El Paso Diablos players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Huntsville Stars players Indianapolis Indians players Louisville Bats players Louisville Redbirds players Louisville RiverBats players Major League Baseball broadcasters Major League Baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball first basemen Milwaukee Brewers players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players Ogden Raptors players People from Bristol, Virginia Portland Beavers players Reading Phillies players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players San Diego Padres players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Stockton Ports players Syracuse Chiefs players Syracuse SkyChiefs players Tiburones de La Guaira players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Toronto Blue Jays announcers Toronto Blue Jays players Toros del Este players Virginia Tech alumni Virginia Tech Hokies baseball players Yaquis de Obregón players