Aug. 12, 2010

SAN FRANCISCO - Former Oregon State shortstop Darwin Barney made his Major League debut with the Chicago Cubs Thursday afternoon at AT&T Park. He appeared as a defensive substitute at second base in the ninth after earning his promotion Wednesday night.

Barney, who lettered at Oregon State from 2005-07, made a putout but did not earn an at bat after San Francisco won it in the ninth, 8-7. He wore No. 15 for the Cubs after getting called up from Triple-A Iowa Wednesday night.

"For me, Darwin is a special guy," Oregon State head coach Pat Casey said. "I have a special place in my heart for him because when I was out recruiting and tried to convince people we were going to be a national threat, he was one of the guys who believed in me. He came in here as a freshman and played every day. He did absolutely everything you can imagine on the baseball field to make our team better. He put himself always behind the club.

"He's a special guy for me, a special guy for this program and a special guy to the entire University. I always say he has `it' and he does. He makes people around him better. I hope he has a long big league career."

The infielder was a part of three Oregon State teams that made it to Omaha, and he helped guide the Beavers to College World Series titles in 2006 and 2007. He was then drafted in the fourth round of the 2007 MLB First-Year Player Draft by Chicago.

Barney holds the Oregon State career records for most at bats (765) and hits (238) while he is second in runs scored (152), fifth in doubles (40), sixth in runs batted in (136) and tied for 10th with 99 walks. He is also seventh with 311 total bases and 10th with 36 stolen bases.

Barney was named the Pacific-10 Conference Fielder of the Year in 2005, his freshman campaign, and was selected to the all-conference team in 2006 while earning honorable mention honors in 2007. In 2006, he also played for the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and collected a Gold Medal at the FISU World Championships in Havana, Cuba.

With his appearance in Thursday's game, Barney is the second former Beaver to make their Major League debut this season, joining Arizona's Cole Gillespie. Four players from Oregon State's College World Series teams have now made the Majors, as Barney and Gillespie join Jacoby Ellsbury (Boston) and Eddie Kunz (New York Mets).

Barney is also the 23rd player in Oregon State's history to play for a Major League Baseball team.

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