Clint Barmes

Clint Harold Barmes (, born March 6, 1979) is an American former professional baseball second baseman and shortstop.

Barmes, who hit .410 with four home runs and 14 RBIs, also became the third player in MLB history to hit .400 or better in March/April, joining the New York Yankees' Willie Randolph in 1980 and Montreal Expos' Andrés Galarraga in 1986.

In June, Barmes suffered an injury that sidelined him until September after breaking his left collarbone in a fall while carrying a package of deer meat given to him as a gift by Todd Helton up the stairs in his apartment building on June 5.

(Barmes initially told the team and the press that he got hurt carrying groceries, but later admitted that this was not the truth. He claimed that he was trying to prevent Helton from being embarrassed.) Barmes, who was leading National League rookies in most offensive categories, underwent surgery on June 7.

He was hitting around .400 and led the major leagues in batting average for the first six weeks of the season.

After a mild slump, he was still leading NL rookies in hitting (.329), runs (40), hits (74), doubles (16), home runs (8) and RBIs (34) up until the time of his injury.

His Rookie of the Year candidacy, however, was ruined by his freak injury, which he called "the craziest thing that's happened to me, by far."

However, Barmes still finished eighth in the National League Rookie of the Year voting for the season.

Barmes played one season at Indiana State in 2000 after transferring from Olney Central College.

Barmes led the Sycamores in hitting during his lone season at ISU, posting a .375 batting average with 93 hits, 18 doubles, seven triples and 10 home runs with 63 runs scored, 37 runs batted in and 20 stolen bases.

Indiana State went 31-28-1 on the diamond in 2000, reaching the semifinals of the MVC Tournament.

Drafted by the Rockies in 2000 out of Indiana State University, Barmes played three seasons of minor league baseball before reaching the majors with Colorado.

In 2002, he was a post-season All-Star for the Carolina Mudcats of the Southern League; in 2004, he was a post-season All-Star for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Pacific Coast League and 2007, he was a mid-season All-Star for the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Pacific Coast League.

He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2003 through 2015 for the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, and San Diego Padres.

Barmes attended Olney Central College and Indiana State University.

While at Indiana State, Barmes was voted All-Region by the ABCA and All-Conference.

Barmes teamed with Mitch Stetter to lead the Sycamores to the semi-finals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.

From 2003 to 2004, Barmes posted a .292 batting average with two home runs and 12 RBIs in 32 games played.

He spent time in subsequent seasons (2004–2005, 2007–2008) for rehabilitation and demotions.

In 2005 in 81 games Clint hit .289, 10 home runs, and 46 RBIs.

On Opening Day at Coors Field, Barmes hit a game-winning, walk-off home run off Trevor Hoffman of the San Diego Padres, becoming the first Rockies rookie to hit such a home run.

At the end of the month, MLB selected Barmes as the National League Rookie of the Month for April.

Barmes entered the 2006 season with high expectations.

Many predicted a repeat of the beginning of the '05 season for Barmes in '06.

Although Barmes set career highs in a number of offensive categories, his '06 season was widely considered a disappointment.

He managed a subpar .220 batting average (the lowest of any starter in baseball) with only 7 home runs and a .264 on-base percentage.

As Spring Training prior to the 2007 season began, Barmes was informed that recently drafted prospect Troy Tulowitzki would be competing with him for the starting role in '07.

After a spring performance that mirrored his unimpressive '06 season, Barmes ultimately lost the Rockies starting shortstop role to Tulowitzki.

Subsequently, Barmes began the regular season with the Rockies Triple-A affiliate, the Colorado Springs Sky Sox.

After an injury to starting second baseman Kazuo Matsui, Barmes was recalled to the Major League roster on April 15.

After wearing jersey number 12 throughout his tenure in the Majors, Barmes switched to number 21 for the '07 season after veteran Steve Finley chose number 12 for the season.

Not long after being recalled, Barmes was sent down to Triple-A on May 1.

With Tulowitzki firmly entrenched in the shortstop position, Barmes entered Spring Training as one of four players aiming to start at second base for the Rockies.

The job was ultimately won by Jayson Nix, who subsequently started the regular season very poorly.

With the benching of Nix, Barmes competed with teammates Jeff Baker and Omar Quintanilla for the starting second baseman role.

Barmes would win the job.

He produced very well as the second baseman, although sustained an injury that put him on the Disabled List for several weeks.

Upon his return Barmes continued as the Rockies starting second baseman for the remainder of the season.

Barmes walked into Spring Training prior to the 2009 season as the starting second baseman.

In 2009, Barmes started off the season with the starting job and hit nearly .300.