Austin Barnes is an American Professional Baseball catcher, known by the stage name Hoover for her astonishing capability to catch ground balls. He has helped the Los Angeles Dodgers of the Major League Baseball (MLB) team to win the 2020 World Series since his debut with the Dodgers on May 24, 2015.
Barnes has also played as an infielder and moved to be a catcher before his Sophomore season in 2010. After playing as a catcher for the LA Dodgers of the MLB, he gained popularity and came into the spotlight. He has been mentioned in the elit list in United Stated as a famous celebrity and considered as the most popular Baseball Player.
Austin Barnes, a professional baseball player has agreed to the extension of his contract for two more years with the team through the 2024 season.
Know more about Barnes’s parents, family, career, and net worth details. Before that let’s know some quick facts about him.
Quick Facts:
| Full Name | Austin Barnes |
| Complete Family Name | Austin Scott Barnes |
| Date of Birth | December 28, 1989 |
| Birth Place | Riverside, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Capricorn |
| Age | 32 years |
| Proseesion | Baseball Player |
| Nickname | Hoover, Barnsey, Sam |
| Father’s Name | Dennis Barnes |
| Mother’s Name | Stephanie Barnes |
| Sibilings | 3 |
| Sibliing’s Name |
Griffin Barnes and Dennis Barnes (Brothers) Savanah Barnes (sister) |
| Relationship Status | Married |
| Wife’s Name | Nicole Rappaport |
| Children | 1 |
| Height | 5’10” |
| Weight | 80kg |
| Active in Los Anges Dodgers | 2015-present |
| MLB debut | May 24, 2015 for the Los Angeles Dodgers |
| MLB Statistics (through June 18, 2022) | |
| Batting average | .225 |
| Home runs | 28 |
| Runs batted in | 122 |
Austin Barnes is also active on his social media Instagram.
Parents and Family Details, and Children
Barnes was born on December 28, 1989, in Riverside, California to father Dennis Barnes and mother Stephenie Barnes. He is the elder son of the family to the other three siblings, Griffin Barnes and Dennis Barnes (Brothers), and Savanah Barnes (sister).
His maternal uncle Mike Gallego was also a baseball player and he played for Oakland Athletics. Griffin, his younger brother is also a baseball player and played with Grand Canyon University as a catcher not long ago he has been signed by the Los Angeles Angels. His other brother, Dylan Barnes also used to play baseball in his teenage years but now he is currently working in Riverside.
Regarding his romantic relationship, Austin Burnes is currently married to his wife Nicole Rappaport, whom he met through their mutual friend. The couple got engaged in February 2017 and finally tied a knot after postponing their marriage date from January 18 of 2018 to January 20 the same year.
The couple currently resides in Glendale, California, a suburb of Los Angeles close to Dodger Stadium and his wife Nicole is an alumna of Riverside’s Martin Luther King High School. Aside from his wife, the player in the past has not been rumored with any other partner and there are no controversies. In February 2021, his wife gave birth to their son.
Career Details- From Playing College Baseball to Getting Singed for $7 Million
Austin attended Riverside Polytechnic High School and was playing with future Houston Astros outfielder Jake Marisnick on the same baseball team. He started playing baseball from an early age. From 2009 to 2011, he played college baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils at Arizona State University.
Barnes moved from infield to catcher in 2010, before his sophomore season. During Barnes’sophomore season, after both the catcher Xorge Carrillo and Andrew Pollak suffered injuries, Austin was called behind the plate and things began to change for him. In the finishing season, he improved his batting with a .272 average. In his first season as a full-time catcher, he earned registered a .985 fielding percentage when he started in 48 games out of which 43 of them were behind the plate.
In the eighth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft, he was selected by the Florida Marlins and made his professional debut that season for the Jamestown Jammers, where he proved that he is a passionate catcher and a strong batter very early in his career. He played for the Greensboro Grasshoppers, Jupiter Hammerheads, and Jacksonville Suns between 2012 to 2014. He split his time between catcher and second base.
Bernes was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with Chris Hatcher, Andrew Heaney, and Enrique Hernandez, in exchange for Dan Hren, Dee Gordon, Miguel Rojas, and cash on December 10, 2014. Austin was assigned to the AAA Oklahoma City Dodgers. Except for pitcher, he played every position for the Oklahoma City Dodgers.
On May 24, 2015, Barned made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut as starting catcher for the Dodgers, originally wearing number 65. In his debut, he has one hit in three -bats with his first MLB hit being a single to center field off Dale Thayer of the San Diego Padres. He was named as a starter on the Pacific Coast League team for the mid-season Triple-AAll-Star after he returned from a short time on the Dodgers roaster to Oklahoma City. Post-season PCL all-star team and Baseball America’s Triple-AAll-Star team were also named to him. He hit .315 with nine homers and 42 RBI in 81 games for Oklahoma City.
He had 6 hits in 29 at-bats (.207) in 20 games for the Dodgers after he rejoined in September. In 2016, he changed his number from 65 to 28 and made his presence with one pinch-hit appearance and one pinch-run appearance in the 2016 National League Division Series against the Washington Nationals. He 2016, he played 21 games, hitting .156 for the Dodgers, and 85 games, hitting .295 for Oklahoma City.
In 2017, Barnes made the Opening Day rosters as the backup catcher. On 30 June of the same year, the first multi-homer game of his career was recorded and a career-high seven RBIs against the San Diego Padres was recorded.
Barnes began his Spring Training battling elbow discomfort in 2018. He took over the catching role more in the postseason because of the passed balls and errors made by Garndal and fans disapproving of his faults and errors while encouraging Burnes to catch. He had a .993 fielding percentage and allowed only one passed ball and was ranked third in the MLB for framing and defensive statistics. He put the Dodger on the board for the very first time in the game in 2018, September 4 when the team played against the New York Mets as he rushed a two-run home run and eventually led to an 11-4 victory over the Mets and it was considered his one of the best game.
After Grandal signed with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019, Bernes was named the Opening Day starting catcher. On July 26, 2019, he was sent to Oklahoma City to make room for rookie catcher Will Smith to take over the everyday catching duties. He was hitting .203 in 2019 when he made appearances in only 75 games in the majors and in 23 games in the minor leagues, he hit .264. Avoiding arbitration, he signed a year contract for $1.1 million with the Dodgers after the season.
Barnes appeared in 29 games during the pandemic season in 2020. With Barnes catching the final out, the Dodgers won the World Series in six games with Julio Urias closing the game. A new two-year contract of $4.3 million was signed with the Dodgers to avoid salary arbitration on February 15, 2021, and appeared in 77 games as the backup catcher behind Will Smith. Again on July 3, 2022, a contract for a two-year extension worth $7 million was signed (receiving a $2.7 million raise on his new contract) between Barnes and the Dodgers.
Net Worth
Austin Barnes’s had a net worth of $2 million in 2019 and her further net worth is not available on any credible sites but his net worth has been rapidly growing after 2020 was mentioned on some sites.
According to some reliable online sources and Forbes, google, Barnes is said to collect most of his earnings from his Yeezy sneakers.