Just Josh: a baseball player with ambition, determination

This archived article was written by: Brianna Johnson

Josh Barber is laid-back, easy and out-going, loves meeting new people, and having fun and is also the centerfielder for the College of Eastern Utah’s men’s baseball team.
He lists his accomplishments as not giving up on his dreams, “Even if my team is losing, I’m still playing.” He was voted Defensive Player of the Year his senior year; he played in the Little League World Series, (the first Utah team to ever attend), and is now attending to college and graduating soon. He reflects about the opportunity he was given at the age of 12. “I was chosen to play on Team USA (we were called the Stixx). I stayed with a host family in Mexico and loved every minute of the time I spent playing and learning down there.”
Barber is well rounded, and he loves music, “Music’s music, I like it.” He enjoys listening to John Meyer, “He’s my musical hero; he doesn’t conform to everyone.” He plays the piano, drums and guitar, “I’m best at guitar.”
His three favorite movies are “For the Love Of the Game,” “Bad Boys II,” and “Field of Dreams”.
His favorite color is blue, even though his favorite major league baseball team is the Chicago White Sox team.
He loves animals, but holds a special place in his heart for dogs. He has two lizards at home, named Spike and Lilly.
Barber was raised in Provo, Utah, where he attended Timpview High School. When looking at colleges, he chose CEU because it was “close to home, so I can have the support of my family, I heard that baseball was a fun program here, I talked to the coach and really liked him.” His inspiration to play baseball came from his role models, his dad and his uncle; “I just fell in love with it because of them.” His adopted brother, Howie Kendrick, second baseman for the Los Angeles Angels, also played a huge role in his older years, “He’s such a stud.”
His high school coach put a lot of time and effort into baseball and he played at CEU, which also played a factor into the reason why Barber chose to play at CEU as well.
Barber’s first reaction to Price was, “I’m going to have to make up stuff to have fun.” So while in Carbon County, he plays X-Box and hangs out with his friends on and off the team. He also enjoys going camping with his family when he is home. His parents own the Vespa Scooter franchise, so he and his friends always have fun riding those as well.
He is majoring in business and his favorite class has been his corrections class, and his favorite teachers are Michelle Fleck and Larry Severeid.
Josh hopes to take baseball as far as he can go. He will be attending Utah Valley State College or the University of Utah or “wherever I can play is where I’ll be. My ultimate dream is to play in the majors, of course that is every little kid’s dream.”
Barber believes that what sets him apart is that he works his hardest no matter what, “I hustle everywhere I go, I might not have the same talent, but I don’t know what I’d do without baseball.” And also his drive and love of the game.
When asked about his coach, he replied, “He is a real fun, awesome guy. It’s fun to have a younger coach that is easier to connect with. He really knows the game. He really takes pride in the team.”
One of his biggest problems is the subject of steroids, “they’ve ruined the game.” He wishes there were “true players who played for the game instead of the fame.” He hates to see it ruined.
Ten years from now Josh hopes that his dreams have come true that he is playing in the major league. “I’m an independent guy, I’m not sure if I’ll be married by then.” He will be successful and happy doing whatever. “I want to stay actively involved with baseball though, I’d do anything to be around it.” If he has a son, he thinks it would be fun to coach him in a little league team. He would also enjoy being an assistant clubhouse manager. “In the end, I want to live in a city with a team, so I can have season tickets to go see a game whenever I want.”
No matter what though, one can predict that Josh Barber will always be a die-hard baseball fan.