Brian Bixler #43

Brian Bixler graduated from Perkins (OH) High School in 2001...Played three seasons of baseball at Eastern Michigan University...Was a member of the 2004 Academic All-Middle Atlantic Conference team...Finished his career as Eastern Michigan's all-time leader with 194 runs scored and was second with 258 hits...Hit .453 (second in the nation) in 2004 and was named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year as well as Collegiate Baseball's Louisville Slugger First Team All-American selection and a First Team All-Mid-American Conference choice...Became the first player in MAC history to collect 100 hits in a season...Posted an MAC record 32-game hitting streak in 2004...Hit .322 in 2002 and was named the Conference's Freshman of the Year...Was a member of the Gold Medal winning Team USA at the IBAF World Cup (The USA defeated Cuba in the final game) in 2007.

2012

Was with the Astros four separate times during the year...Began the year with Houston and optioned to Oklahoma City (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League on April 11...Was recalled on April 27 and optioned back on April 29...Joined the Astros again on June 8 and stayed until July 29...Spent the remainder of the year in the minors...With the Astros, he played second base, shortstop, third base, leftfield and rightfield...Hit .286 (4-14) with runners on base and two outs...Collected a season-high three hits and three RBI vs. Kansas City on June 18...Also had two other games with two hits, June 12 at San Francisco and June 25 vs. San Diego...Hit his only two home runs of the season on June 18 vs. Kansas City and June 25 vs. San Diego...Stole two bases at Chicago (AL) on June 9...Hit safely in his first 10 games at Triple-A (21-44, .477)...Batted .411 (23-56) in 13 April games for Oklahoma City...Had two, four-hit games on the year, April 13 at Memphis and April 22 vs. Albuquerque...Played second base, shortstop, third base and all three outfield spots in the minors.

2011

In a career-high 79 games, hit .205 (17x83) with one double, two triples, two RBI and four stolen bases...saw action at first base (2g), third base (14g/3gs), shortstop (2g/1gs) and each outfield position (34g/11gs)...had only 83 at-bats in 79 games, appearing in 32 games without recording an at-bat...his 34 appearances as an outfielder were a career high at any professional level...began the season with Triple A Syracuse, and had his contract purched by Washington on April 23...optioned back on July 17 before returning to finish the season with the Nats on July 30...hit .314 (27x86) and posted a .439 OBP in 25 contests during two stints with Syracuse.

2010

Played for Triple-A affiliates in CLE, PIT and Washington organizations, batting a combined .285 with 18 doubles, 4 triples, 4 homers, 47 RBI and 18 stolen bases in 102 games...was traded 3 times...upon being acquired by the Nationals on Aug. 7, batted .340 with 8 extra-base hits, 19 RBI and 6 stolen bases in 27 games with Syracuse.

2009

Spent majority of season with Triple-A Indianapolis and led team in games played, at bats, runs and hits...Shared team lead in triples and was tied for second in the International League in that department (T7th in the IL in runs scored w/71)...Made a team-high 61 appearances at shortstop; also made 27 at second base, two at third base and 15 in center field...Batted .355 (43-for-121) against left-handed pitchers and .241 (68-for-282) against right-handed pitchers, but hit eight of his nine home runs off righthanders... Led Pirates with a .345 (20-for-58) batting average in 25 spring training games and was one of the final cuts, having been optioned to Indianapolis on 3/30...Hit safely in 11 of his first 14 games with the Indians, going 18-for-55 (.327) with five doubles, two triples, eight RBI and 16 runs scored...Went 4-for-4 with two doubles and four runs scored on 4/14 vs. Columbus...Was recalled by Pittsburgh on 4/26 when Jack Wilson went on the D.L...Made start at shortstop on 4/26 at San Diego and went 1-for-3 with a two-run double...Struck out four times in four at bats on 4/27 at Milwaukee...Went 5-for-25 and struck out 18 times in his eight games with the Pirates before being sent back to Triple-A on 5/12...Played outfield for first time ever (CF) and hit second home run on 7/6...Homered in third straight game while making second start in center field on 7/7...Went 37-for-108 (.343) with six home runs, 20 RBI and 14 multi-hit contests in 28 games during the month of July...Hit safely in 15 straight Triple-A games between 7/29 and 8/13 (25-for-67, .373)...Was recalled by Pittsburgh on 8/15...Walked as a pinch hitter and played one inning at second base on 8/22 vs. Cincinnati...Made start at shortstop on 8/23 vs. Cincinnati and went 1-for-4 with a double...Pinch-ran and scored tying run in 9th inning vs. Philadelphia on 8/25...Made start at shortstop on 8/29 at Milwaukee and struck out three times in three at bats...Was optioned back to Indianapolis on 8/31...Recalled a third and final time by Pittsburgh on 9/8...Made first big-league appearance/start at second on 9/19 vs. San Diego and went 1-for-3...Played final inning of game on 9/22 vs. Cincinnati in center field, his first Major League appearance in the outfield...participated in the Mexican Winter League and batted .300 (42-for-140) with five homers and 12 RBI in 35 games with Mazatlan.

2008

Was named to International League mid-season All-Star team while spending majority of season with Triple-A Indianapolis...Also had three separate stints with Pittsburgh...Started each of Indianapolis' first three games and went 0- for-9 with two walks and two RBI...Was recalled by Pittsburgh on 4/6 after shortstop Jack Wilson was placed on the 15-day disabled list...Made Major League debut that afternoon at Florida and struck out in pinch hit appearance...Made first career start at shortstop on 4/9 vs. Chicago (NL) and went hitless in two at bats...Committed errors in back-to-back games on 4/12-13 before going seven contests without a miscue...Snapped an 0-for-8 streak to start career with a single off Cincinnati's Mike Lincoln on 4/12 at PNC Park...Had first career two-hit game on 4/25 vs. Philadelphia and tallied first RBI the following day against the Phillies...Committed two errors on 4/26 vs. Philadelphia...Snapped an 0-for-11 streak on 5/16...Produced RBI-single off Carlos Zambrano at Wrigley Field on 5/17...Was optioned to Indianapolis on 5/27 when Jack Wilson was reinstated from D.L...Hit .175 in first 34 games with Pirates thru 5/25, making 29 appearances (24 starts) at shortstop...Hit first of seven home runs with Indy on 5/20 vs. Toledo...Hit safely in 18 of his 26 games during the month of June, going 30-for-102 (.294) with four homers, four triples and 10 RBI...Homered in back-to-back games on 6/8 and 6/10...Reached base safely in 14 straight games from 7/11-27, going 16-for-47 (.340) with six walks...Was recalled by Pittsburgh on 7/29...Grounded out as a pinch hitter at Colorado on 7/30 and was optioned back to Indy on 7/31...Went 3-for-5 on 8/2 vs. Toledo and hit safely in six straight games from 8/2-7...Hit .429 (12-for-28) with five multi-hit games in a seven-game span from 8/11-18, raising average from .268 to .285...Made first of 10 appearances at second base on 8/7 at Buffalo...Hit last home run with Indy on 8/25 at Durham and finished Triple-A campaign with a 25-game errorless streak (15 at shortstop and 10 at second base)...Made a total of 74 appearances at shortstop and 10 at second base while playing with Indianapolis; also went 3-for-8 in two games as the designated hitter...Hit .311 (32-for-103) against left-handed pitchers and .266 (58-for-218) against righthanders...Was named Indy's Defensive Player-of-the-Year, making seven errors in 359 total chances between second base and shortstop...Was recalled by Pittsburgh a third and final time on 9/2 and went 3-for-27 (.111) in 15 games (eight starts at shortstop)...Tripled and scored a run on 9/5 at San Francisco...Swiped lone base on 9/6 at San Francisco...Was used as a pinch runner six times by the Bucs after being recalled in September...Made last start on 9/25 at Milwaukee.

2007

Spent entire season with Triple-A Indianapolis...Led club in hits, runs and stolen bases...Was named to International League mid-season and post-season All-Star teams...Shared league lead in triples...Also ranked fourth in runs scored and tied for fourth in stolen bases...Led league shortstops in games (113), assists (327), double plays (80) and total chances (485)...Made 113 appearances at shortstop and 16 at second base...Batted .317 against left-handed pitchers and .259 against righthanders...Began season with a 10-game hitting streak (14-for-36, .389)...Had first of two four-hit games on 4/11 vs. Toledo...Hit safely in 17 of his 20 games played in April, going 23-for-70 (.329) with 10 RBI...Hit first Triple-A home run on 4/30 at Ottawa...Produced 12-game hitting streak from 4/22 thru 5/5 (15-for-41, .366)...Had second four-hit game on 5/14 vs. Ottawa...Made first professional appearance at second base on 5/16 at Syracuse (had made 349 consecutive appearances at shortstop to begin his career)...Homered in back-to-back games on 6/3-4...Had two triples on 6/6 vs. Rochester...Ranked second in all of Triple-A baseball and led International League with 11 stolen bases in June...Hit safely in 12 straight games from 6/15 thru 7/6 (15-for-43, .349)...Went 1-for-4 with two runs and two stolen bases in mid-season All-Star Game...Hit grand slam and tallied season-high four RBI on 7/15 at Rochester; the grand slam was his last homer of the season...Was a member of Team USA squad which captured the Gold medal at the IBAF World Cup in Taiwan in November; went 4-for-25 with a double and five walks in nine games.

2006

Hit .302 with 29 doubles, three triples, eight home runs and 52 RBI in 133 games between Single-A Lynchburg and Double-A Altoona...Ranked fifth among all Pittsburgh farmhands in batting and second in games played behind Andrew McCutchen (134)...Was named to the Carolina League mid-season and post-season All-Star team...Established minor league career highs in games, runs, hits, doubles and RBI...Hit first home run while going 4-for-6 on 5/9 at Wilmington...Went 9-for-16 (.563) over four-game stretch from 5/9-13...Was part of Pittsburgh's roster in annual Hall of Fame Game vs. Cincinnati in Cooperstown, NY, on 5/15...Batted .436 (17-for-39) during 10-game hitting streak from 5/23 thru 6/2...Hit a pair of home runs on 6/5 at Myrtle Beach...Started at shortstop and went 1-for-3 with two runs scored in the Carolina League/California League All-Star Game on 6/27 in Salem, VA...Was fourth in the Carolina League in batting when he was promoted to Altoona on 7/3...Hit first Double-A home run in second game with the Curve on 6/30 vs. Akron...Knocked in the game-winning run in the 10th inning of the Curve's 1-0 win on 7/2 vs. Akron...Hit .357 (30-for-84) during a 21-game stretch from 8/1-22 and recorded separate hitting streaks of 10 games and nine games during the stretch...Went 4-for-5 on 8/29 vs. Akron...Hit .353 (41-for-116) in 30 games during the month of August to raise his average from .245 to .303...Went 5-for-20 with an RBI in five Eastern League playoff games...Hit .304 (17-for-56) with four doubles and four RBI while playing for Honolulu in the Hawaiian Winter League.

2005

Spent entire season with Hickory (A)...Led club in games played...Led South Atlantic League shortstops in games (126) and assists (407)...Established minor league career highs in home runs and stolen bases...Went homerless in first 61 games before hitting three long balls in a six-game span from 6/21-26...Hit safely in 21 of his 22 games from 6/9 thru 7/6 and in a season-high 14 straight games from 6/18 to 7/6 (20-for-54, .370)...Posted a .348 average (31-for-89) in June...Hit two home runs and tallied season-high four hits on 8/6 vs. Delmarva...Batted .462 (18-for-39) during a nine-game hitting streak from 8/6-15...Produced a .328 batting average in final 30 games, going 41-for-125 with five home runs and 19 RBI.

2004

Signed with Pittsburgh on 6/30/04 after being selected in second round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft (52nd player chosen overall)...Led Williamsport in hits and runs scored during first professional season...Made pro debut on 7/1 vs. Staten Island and went 2-for-4 with a stolen base...Hit .317 (20-for-63) during 13-game hitting streak between 7/14-29 and .301 in 24 games during the month of July...Reached base safely in 48 of his 59 games.