Josh Bard is a former professional baseball player who played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for over a decade. He was born on March 30, 1978, in Ithaca, New York, and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played college baseball for the Texas Longhorns.
Bard was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the third round of the 1999 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with the team in 2002. He played for the Rockies for two seasons before being traded to the Cleveland Indians in 2003. Bard played for the Indians for two seasons and then signed with the Boston Red Sox as a free agent in 2006.
Bard's time with the Red Sox was short-lived, as he was traded to the San Diego Padres in May 2006. He played for the Padres for two seasons and then signed with the Washington Nationals as a free agent in 2008. Bard played for the Nationals for one season before being traded back to the Red Sox in 2009.
Bard played for the Red Sox for one season before signing with the Seattle Mariners as a free agent in 2010. He played for the Mariners for one season and then signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers as a free agent in 2011. Bard played for the Dodgers for one season before retiring from professional baseball.
Throughout his career, Bard was known for his defensive skills as a catcher. He had a career fielding percentage of .993 and threw out 28% of attempted base stealers. Bard was also a solid hitter, with a career batting average of .254 and an on-base percentage of .320.
Bard's best season came in 2007 with the Padres, where he hit .285 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs in 111 games. He was also named the National League Player of the Week in August of that year.
Overall, Bard played in 586 MLB games over the course of his career, hitting .254 with 39 home runs and 220 RBIs. He was a reliable backup catcher and a valuable defensive asset for the teams he played for. After retiring from baseball, Bard became a coach and is currently the bullpen coach for the New York Yankees.
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