Spring Break
Some big shoes to fill
Junior infielder Jason Ogata gets his first crack at becoming a full-time infielder for OSU
Kye Johnson
Issue date: 2/20/08 Section: Sports
Replacing Darwin Barney is going to be a tough job. In fact, it's almost an impossible chore for any college baseball player to attempt. But with Barney gone and a huge hole to fill in the middle of Oregon State's infield, Jason Ogata has the daunting task of replacing an athletic icon at OSU. And being a life-long friend of Barney's, Ogata may be better fit to fill that role than anyone else.
A Beaverton native and a graduate of Westview High School, Ogata left the state of Oregon and played his freshman year of baseball at Louisiana State University. At LSU, Ogata only played 24 games, starting 16 of them and hitting .255 on the year.
"It's great to be back home," Ogata said about being at Oregon State. "I have a lot of support here. I love the coaching staff here and all of the players that I'm surrounded with, so I'm really glad to be back."
Ogata played little league baseball for the Sun Creek Little League Organization, where he learned at a very young age what Barney was all about.
"We always had to face Murray Hill, which was always Darwin's team," Ogata said. "So they always won everything."
Last year at Oregon State, with Barney at shortstop and Joey Wong at second base, Ogata didn't get a great opportunity to play in the field on a consistent basis. But that changes this year with Barney's departure, and now Ogata will get his chance to become a full-time player for OSU.
"No one is ever going to replace Darwin Barney," Ogata said. "He's a great player, a great guy, a great teammate and one of my close friends. Joey is going to be who he is, and I'm going to be who I am and I'm just going to do what I can and try my best to show what I can do."
As of right now, it appears that Ogata will move to second base and Wong will move to shortstop to fill Barney's role defensively.
"Last year I was coming in and just wanting to be a role guy. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team when I got in," Ogata said. "This year, I'm trying to be a full-time guy and be a leader by example to show everyone that I can play and deserve to be a starter."
A Beaverton native and a graduate of Westview High School, Ogata left the state of Oregon and played his freshman year of baseball at Louisiana State University. At LSU, Ogata only played 24 games, starting 16 of them and hitting .255 on the year.
"It's great to be back home," Ogata said about being at Oregon State. "I have a lot of support here. I love the coaching staff here and all of the players that I'm surrounded with, so I'm really glad to be back."
Ogata played little league baseball for the Sun Creek Little League Organization, where he learned at a very young age what Barney was all about.
"We always had to face Murray Hill, which was always Darwin's team," Ogata said. "So they always won everything."
Last year at Oregon State, with Barney at shortstop and Joey Wong at second base, Ogata didn't get a great opportunity to play in the field on a consistent basis. But that changes this year with Barney's departure, and now Ogata will get his chance to become a full-time player for OSU.
"No one is ever going to replace Darwin Barney," Ogata said. "He's a great player, a great guy, a great teammate and one of my close friends. Joey is going to be who he is, and I'm going to be who I am and I'm just going to do what I can and try my best to show what I can do."
As of right now, it appears that Ogata will move to second base and Wong will move to shortstop to fill Barney's role defensively.
"Last year I was coming in and just wanting to be a role guy. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team when I got in," Ogata said. "This year, I'm trying to be a full-time guy and be a leader by example to show everyone that I can play and deserve to be a starter."
Note: writers will not reply to comments.
Comments by registered users are approved by default.