Darwin Barney Interview

February 28, 2007

One season after leading his team to a national title, Oregon State shortstop Darwin Barney continues to live the highlife. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder continued to improve his prospect stock during the 2006 campaign, posting a .330/.430/.395 vital line.

The Beaver co-captain was selected as the 2007 preseason Pac-10 Player of the Year – he was the 2005 Pac-10 Rookie of the Year – and was ranked as the No. 4 draft prospect in the conference by Baseball America. Barney recently sat down with Project Prospect Columnist Adam Loberstein to discuss how he decided to attend Oregon State, his memorable summer with Team USA, and his big league dreams. 


Adam Loberstein: Talk about your homegrown story for a bit. Being a Beaverton, Ore. native, what made you choose to stay at home and play for Oregon State? 

Darwin Barney: Oregon is not really thought of as a baseball homeland. It’s a place where talent is grown, but everybody leaves Oregon. When I saw the class above me stay – like Dallas [Buck], [Kevin] Gunderson, guys like that – it made my decision pretty easy. I had a bunch of visits lined up – I went to the clubhouse here when I made my first visit. When you have a guy like Jacoby Ellsbury, the pitching staff here, and good leaders like Andy Jenkins and Mitch Canham, it was easy – I cancelled all my other visits.  

Loberstein: Every kid to ever hold a baseball bat has dreamed of the World Series. Your Beavers won the national championship last season – can you even put the emotions into words? 

Barney: It’s hard to put the actual title into words. You go to a tournament with eight teams – the eight best teams in the country – and it’s just a matter of who plays good at the right time. This year, you can take the glory, you live it a bit, and then you forget it – it’s time to build something with this club. I see a lot of similarities between last year and this year – we’re pretty deep – you can put anybody out there. Last year was special, but we’re not living in the past. It’s time to move forward and be as good a team as we can be this year.  

Loberstein: You got the chance to experience a pretty spectacular summer on top of that title – what was it like to don the Team USA jersey? 

Barney: You think back to your summer and the opportunity I was given – you can’t possibly pass up that opportunity. It created memories that we’re going to have for a long time. Maybe one in a million people get to play and represent their country. More than it helping me on the field, it was just such a great experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.   

Loberstein: Let’s put the clubs aside and talk about your personal game for a bit. When you take your position at shortstop, is there any player in particular that you try to emulate? 

Barney: I’d like to say a mixture of Derek Jeter and Ozzie Smith. I like Jeter for the way he leads – the way that he’s respected – how he plays the game. Ozzie Smith is my favorite player just because he makes all the easy plays, and then he can do some special things. I just go out a try to be a leader – not by saying anything – but by example. I just want to play a solid game at shortstop.  

Loberstein: You’re expected to be an early-round selection in the upcoming entry draft. What goes through your mind having a potential date with Major League Baseball just around the corner? 

Barney: It’s hard to even imagine. Growing up, I was always a good baseball player, but I was small – 5-foot-9, 5-foot-10 – I try to get away with 5-10 [laughs]. It’s something that you try not to think about. You get an advisor that can take care of everything – my job is just to go out and play baseball – have fun, do the things that you’ve been doing, and play the game that you love to play. So for me, it’s pretty easy. If I get drafted high, drafted low – it makes no difference to me. You’re still going to pro ball – it’s still the same place. If money is not a big deal to somebody – and I don’t really care about that kind of thing – then it doesn’t matter or affect your game. All that matters right now is getting wins on this team. 

Loberstein: If you get drafted in the range that you’ve been projected to land in, do you see yourself signing this season? 

Barney: Yes. That’s the goal – you want to go your junior year if you have the opportunity because it gives you leverage. Definitely – that would be my goal – that’s what you’re striving for. If that doesn’t work out, I don’t see any downside in coming back here. But if the opportunity arises, I’ll definitely jump on it.  

Loberstein: Everyone is going to know that you’re a great ball player – what else would you like the public to know about you? 

Barney: I’m just like anybody else. I mostly try to stay around my team – keeps myself out of trouble [laughs]. I have some hobbies – I like to play the piano – things like that. You don’t want to have your mind on baseball when you’re not on the field. The thing that people need to realize about baseball is that it’s such a statistical sport where failure is literally just there all the time. It’s really hard on the brain, and physically, you’re getting drained out there. It may look easy and like anybody can do it, but it’s one of the hardest sports mentally that there is. It’s a struggle – more power to you if you can play the game.  


Adam Loberstein can be reached at adamloberstein@gmail.com.