Rod Barajas: Former Mets Catcher Who Hit the First Walk Off HR at Citi Field (2010)
At Santa Fe High School he was first team All- Conference. He attended Cerritos Junior College where he became the baseball team's MVP.
In December of 1996 he was signed in by the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Barajas was a fine defensive catcher who never hit for high averages but showed occasional power surges with multiple HRs. He played in the minors reaching AA El Paso in 1999. In 2000 he hit 25 doubles with 75 RBIs at AAA Tuscon.
MLB Debut: Barajas came up briefly with the Diamondbacks in their glory days of the late 1990's early 2000’s. In his first two seasons, he was a September call up, seeing action in five games each year. He did not commit an error behind the plate in any of those games.
2001 Arizona Championship Season: Barajas was one of three back up catchers to Damian Miller, seeing the most action of the three, in 51 games. In his first seven games he hit three HRs 7 batted .333. Behind the plate that year, threw out 23% of runners trying to steal & post a .995 fielding %. At Bat, he hit .160 with 3 HRs & 9 RBIs.
2001 Post Season: In the NLDS win over the Cardinals, Barajas saw action as a defensive replacement finishing off the Game #2 loss.
In 2004, Barajas signed with the Texas Rangers as non-roster Spring Training invitee. He ended up having some of his best seasons there from 2004-2006. In 2004 would get the starting catcher's job when Gerald Laird was sidelined with a sprained thumb. That season he hit 15 HRs with 58 RBIs & a career high 26 doubles.
In 2005, he had his best season hitting 21 HRs with 104 hits 24 doubles & 60 RBIs while batting .254. Behind the plate in 94 games, he threw out 34% of would-be base stealers (5th best in the league) & posted a .984 fielding percentage, making ten errors which led the AL.
On September 1st & 2nd, Rod had back-to-back multi-HR games hitting two in each game, becoming just the sixth Ranger in team history to accomplish that feat. On the season he had back-to-back HR games three times.
In 2007, it seemed he was to sign a deal to play in his home country of Ontario with the Blue Jays, but he backed out of a deal when he switched agents.
He ended up going to Philadelphia for one season with the Phillies as Carlos Ruiz’s back up.
Mets Career: For the 2010 season, the journey man catcher signed a one-year deal with the New
York Mets to share catching duties with Henry Blanco. During Spring Training, the 34-year-old Barajas was named the Opening Day catcher.
On April 21st, he hit a HR at Citi Field in a loss to the Cubs.
Multi HR Game: As the Mets made their first road trip to Philadelphia, Barajas hit three with five RBIs in two games he played in. On April 30th, he had his second Mets multi-HR game, with HRs off Kyle Kendrick & Brad Lidge in a 9-1 Met win.
First Walk Off HR at Citi Field & Another Multi HR Game: On May 7th the hot HR hitting Barajas struck again. In a 6-4 win over the Giants at Citi Field, he hit two HRs including the first walk off HR in Citi Field history.
On May 20th, he hit his tenth HR of the season, coming off the Nationals Tyler Walker in a 10-7 win in D.C.
On May 31st, Barajas hit his 11th HR of the season, coming in a loss at San Diego. From there he slowed down & didn’t hit another HR until July 21st. Although he was still leading all NL catchers in HRs with 12.
Mets Trivia: In 2010, Rod Barajas was the first catcher since Mike Piazza in 2005, to hit 12 or
more HRs in a season.
Barajas saw most of the action behind the plate for the Mets into August, but with team not going anywhere, rookie Josh Thole slowly began easing his way into the lineup.
In February 2013 he signed on with the Arizona D-backs but was released at the end of Spring Training.
Barajas was a fine defensive catcher who never hit for high averages but showed occasional power surges with multiple HRs. He played in the minors reaching AA El Paso in 1999. In 2000 he hit 25 doubles with 75 RBIs at AAA Tuscon.
MLB Debut: Barajas came up briefly with the Diamondbacks in their glory days of the late 1990's early 2000’s. In his first two seasons, he was a September call up, seeing action in five games each year. He did not commit an error behind the plate in any of those games.
2001 Post Season: In the NLDS win over the Cardinals, Barajas saw action as a defensive replacement finishing off the Game #2 loss.
World Series HR: In the World Series win over New York, he was the starting catcher for pitcher Miguel Batista in Game #5 in New York. In the top of the 5th inning, he hit a HR off Mike Mussina in the extra inning loss.
After the Championship he remained in Arizona for two more seasons as the back up to Damian Miller & Chad Moller.
After the Championship he remained in Arizona for two more seasons as the back up to Damian Miller & Chad Moller.
In 2005, he had his best season hitting 21 HRs with 104 hits 24 doubles & 60 RBIs while batting .254. Behind the plate in 94 games, he threw out 34% of would-be base stealers (5th best in the league) & posted a .984 fielding percentage, making ten errors which led the AL.
Grand Slam: On April 20th he hit his first career grand slam coming off the Rays John Webb in a 12-10 win at Tampa.
Back-to-Back Multi- HR Games: From August 31st to September 2nd, he hit HRs in three straight games.
In 2006 he saw limited action, due to injuries, playing in 97 games. He batted .256 with 11 HRs 20 doubles & 41 RBIs.
Grand Slam: On May 25th, with the Rangers down 7-0, he hit his second career grand slam, coming off the A's Brad Halsey. It started a comeback in the 8-7 win at Texas.
He ended up going to Philadelphia for one season with the Phillies as Carlos Ruiz’s back up.
In 2008, Rod did end up going to Toronto as a backup to catcher Greg Zaun. Barajas soon won over the starting catching position by winning the confidence of his manager, Cito Gaston.
In 2009 he led the AL by catching 120 games behind the plate, throwing out 34% of runners attempting to steal, while making 55 assists & making 8 errors (most in the league). He hit only .226 but had 19 HRs with a career high 71 RBIs.
In 2009 he led the AL by catching 120 games behind the plate, throwing out 34% of runners attempting to steal, while making 55 assists & making 8 errors (most in the league). He hit only .226 but had 19 HRs with a career high 71 RBIs.
That year he also played for Mexico in the World Baseball Classic.
York Mets to share catching duties with Henry Blanco. During Spring Training, the 34-year-old Barajas was named the Opening Day catcher.
On April 5th, Opening Day he debuted catching Johan Santana, collecting two hits & an RBI in the Mets 7-1 win over the Florida Marlins.
Multi- HR Game: On April 9th, in the fourth game of the year he hit a pair of HRs off the Nat's Garrett Mock at Citi Field in the Mets to an 8-2 win over Washington.
Multi HR Game: As the Mets made their first road trip to Philadelphia, Barajas hit three with five RBIs in two games he played in. On April 30th, he had his second Mets multi-HR game, with HRs off Kyle Kendrick & Brad Lidge in a 9-1 Met win.
The next day he returned to collect two hits, having back-to-back HR games, with his sixth HR of the season, a two-run shot off Jamie Moyer in a Mets loss.
First in the bottom of the 2nd, he followed Ike Davis with back-to back HRs off Jonathan Sanchez. Then in the bottom of the 9thm with the score tied at 4-4, Barajas hit a two-run walk off HR off Sergio Romo, the first walk off at HR Citi Field.
All of a sudden by mid-May, Rod Barajas was leading the NL in HRs with nine & had three muti- HR games. As many of his teammates were having a hard time hitting HRs out of the big ballpark at Citi Field, Barajas seemed to have no trouble with it.
Multi- Three RBI Game: On May 26th he matched his season high, with his third multi- Three RBI game of the year. It came in a combined Mets shut out led by Hisanori Takahashi (six innings) over the Phillies at Citi Field. Barajas sac fly & two run double off Joe Blanton led the Mets offense in the 5-0 win.
On May 31st, Barajas hit his 11th HR of the season, coming in a loss at San Diego. From there he slowed down & didn’t hit another HR until July 21st. Although he was still leading all NL catchers in HRs with 12.
more HRs in a season.
Barajas saw most of the action behind the plate for the Mets into August, but with team not going anywhere, rookie Josh Thole slowly began easing his way into the lineup.
In 73 games behind the plate for the Mets, Rod only made three errors in 540 chances, posting a .996 fielding% which was second best in the NL. He threw out just 15% of would-be base stealers.
In 74 games, he hit .225 with 12 HRs 11 doubles 30 runs scored & 34 RBIs posting a .677 OPS.
On August 22nd his contract was purchased by the Los Angeles Dodgers as they were in desperate need for a catcher.
Post Mets Career: In Los Angeles he hit .297 with 5 HRs through the rest of the season. In 2011 Barajas was the Dodgers main catcher (88 games) sharing time with Dioner Navarro (54 games).
He had another hot start with 5 HRs & 11 RBIs thru April. Barajas hit 16 HRs that season, third most among NL Catchers, hitting 13 of them on the road. On August 23rd, he had another muti HR game with two against the Cardinals.
In 2012 he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates & became main catcher for his fifth team. Barjas had a good month of May hitting 4 HRs with 19 hits batting .302. On the season he played in 104 games hitting 11 HRs with 11 doubles & 31 RBIs but hit just .206.
In 2012 he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates & became main catcher for his fifth team. Barjas had a good month of May hitting 4 HRs with 19 hits batting .302. On the season he played in 104 games hitting 11 HRs with 11 doubles & 31 RBIs but hit just .206.
Rod threw out just 6% of would-be base stealers & allowed the most stolen bases in the league with 93. At the end of the season, he was granted free agency.
Career Stats: In his 14-year career, Barajas hit .235 with 812 hits 136 HRs 187 doubles & 480 RBIs. He struck out 638 times with 207 walks posting a .284 on base & .691 OPS % in 1114 games.
Behind the plate he caught in 1065 games, throwing out 28% of runners attempting to steal. Rod posted a .993 fielding % with 51 errors in 7220 chances.
Retirement: After his playing days, he started managing with the San Diego Padres Rookie League team. In 2015 he moved up to manage their AA San Antonio Missions team & then the AAA El Paso Chihuahuas.
Family: Rod & his wife Stacie have eight children, four girls & four boys.
Behind the plate he caught in 1065 games, throwing out 28% of runners attempting to steal. Rod posted a .993 fielding % with 51 errors in 7220 chances.
In 2018 he became the San Diego Padres bench coach under Andy Green. In 2019 when Green was fired, Barajas was the interim manager. In 2020 he became the Padres catching & quality control coach. In 2023 he became a coach with the Miami Marlins.
Family: Rod & his wife Stacie have eight children, four girls & four boys.
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