Johan Klarberg

Johan Klarberg

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 185 lb.

• School Högskolan Dalarna, College of the Canyons
• High School Leksand Gymnasium

• Born September 1, 1993

Biographical Information

Johan Klarberg has played in the Elitserien in three decades (as of 2021) and been on the Swedish national team. He is the son of former national team player Tony Klarberg. He has led Sweden in RBI (3 years in a row), hits, triples, outfield assists (4 years in a row), steals, doubles

He debuted with the Leksand Lumberjacks at age 15, hitting .205/.243/.205. The next year, he batted .227/.250/.272. During 2011, he became a starter and a key contributor for Leksand, producing at a .360/.401/.391 clip, finishing 9th in the Elitserien in average (between Elias Sölveling and Philip Gajzler), while going 8-for-8 in steals and playing error-free defense in the outfield. He again had no errors as an outfielder in '12 but his offense fell to .247/.305/.278.

Coming to the US for college, he was 2 for 12 with a walk, run and RBI for the College of the Canyons in 2013. In the Elitserien that year, he hit .323/.452/.411 in limited time due to his playing in the US as well. The next summer, he batted .365/.388/.492 and was among the leaders in average (9th, between Robin Lausen and Oscar Holmberg), slugging (8th, between Eddie Aucoin and Magnus Pilegård) and outfield assists (3, tied for 1st with Pontus Byström).

In '15, he continued to develop; the 21-year-old had a batting line of .402/.463/.556 with 27 runs, 22 RBI and 13 steals in 17 tries. He was second in the loop in batting average (.054 behind Matt Merrifield), first in hits (39), 5th in doubles (7), first in triples (4), second in slugging (.207 behind Merrifield), 5th in OBP, led in RBI (3 more than Byström), 2nd in runs, 1st in steals and 1st with five outfield assists. He kept on rolling in 2016 at .400/.446/.591. He was second in average, 1st in hits (48), second in runs (33), 1st in doubles (10), 3rd in homers (3, one behind Joel Johnson and Jason Ochart), second in slugging, 10th in OBP, 1st in sacrifice flies (6), first in RBI (10 ahead of Johnson and Ochart) and 1st in outfield assists (4). Leksand won its first title of his career.

Making Sweden's squad for the 2016 European Championship, he was Sweden's leadoff hitter in the opener against Germany. After striking out twice against Enorbel Márquez and grounding out, he singled off Jan-Niclas Stöcklin later. His longest hit was a triple off France's Pierrick Lemestre and he finished at .308/.357/.423 with four runs and four RBI in six games, while handling 13 putouts, 3 assists and no errors. He was third among Sweden's regulars in average, behind Johnson and Merrifield. In the 2017 Federations Cup, he was Leksand's lead performer at the plate (.400/.471/.600, 5 RBI in 5 G). He tied for fourth in the Cup with three doubles. In that year's Elitserien, he faded at the plate (.278/.355/.413) but still led in doubles (14, 4 ahead of Evan Opperman) and RBI (27, tied with Opperman). He made no errors and led outfielders with four assists.

Klarberg was only 1 for 12 with a walk and two runs in 2018, when Leksand won the pennant. He rebounded in '19 (.318/.367/.450), playing shortstop more than in any outfield spot. In the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, he did not play. Returning to action in 2021, he hit .258/.319/.333 and was 1-1 with a 0.59 ERA (9 R to 1 ER).

He played for Sweden in the 2021 European Championship, backing up Peter Johannessen in right field. He was 1 for 3, his hit coming off the Czech national team's Boris Bokaj.