Austin Barnes nickname: Why is Austin Barnes nickname Sam?

Austin Barnes is an American professional baseball catcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball.

Barnes played collegiate baseball for the Arizona State Sun Devils.

He was subsequently drafted by the Florida Marlins in the eighth round of the 2011 Major League Baseball draft.

During his time in the minor league, he played for the Jamestown Jammers, Greensboro Grasshoppers, Jupiter Hammerheads and Jacksonville Suns.

Austin Barnes was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers on December 10, 2014, making his MLB debut as the starting catcher for the team on May 2015.

Austin Barnes nickname

Austin Barnes’ current nickname is Sam, but he was named “Hoover” in childhood.

Austin Barnes nickname: Why is Austin Barnes nickname Sam?

Austin Barnes was nicknamed Sam by Chase Utley.

The origin story of “Sam” is quite humorous. Amid Spring Training in 2016, some of the team members sent Barnes, a rookie, on a taco run. When he got back, A.J. Ellis joked that he didn’t even know his name, so Utley said, “It’s Sam” and it stuck. Most of his teammates now call him “Barnsey.”