Orange County Flyers send star to Angels’ farm system
Patrick Breen at the University of Houston.
With a little luck and a lot of hard work, a Orange County Flyers/Servite High baseball star may one day play again in Anaheim.
The contract of Patrick Breen has been purchased by the Angels, the Golden Baseball League franchise in Fullerton has announced.
Breen is coming off one of the best seasons of any player in GBL history. In 2008, he was named Golden Baseball League MVP, selected to the Baseball American All-Indy First Team and Top Prosepects List, and named Baseball America’s Independent Leagues Player of the Year in the last month.
Breen - who is listed as 6-3, 215 pounds - earned the Golden Baseball League batting title hitting at a .396 average. He also set the single-season home run record (28) and tallied 94 RBI - three shy of the league lead and a Triple Crown. He established new GBL single-season hitting records for home runs (28), total bases (227), on-base percentage (.509), slugging average (.825), and extra base hits (56).
Breen, 26, graduated from Servite High School and then played at Santa Ana College, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and the University of Houston. In 2004, he was drafted by Tampa Bay in the 21st round of the amateur draft. By the 2007 season, Breen had risen to Double-A Montgomery in the Southern League - before his batting average dipped and he was cut.
He immediately signed with the Orange County Flyers, where he took off.
“This (league) is a place where players can re-establish their careers and get back to the majors,” said Flyer general manager Justin Gurney.
Gurney said he expects Breen to report to either the Angels’ Double-A or Triple-A club next year.
“He’s ready for Triple-A,” Gurney said.
Breen is the fifth Flyer and 20th GBL player to be signed by a major-league team. He is a native of Newport Beach and the son of Robert and Carolyn Breen.
Check back later for an interview and more photos of Breen.
<a href=”http://www.orangecountyflyers.com/News/Angels-Pick-Up-Patrick-Breen!.cfm”>Read the Flyers’ announcement here.
Read Breen’s University of Houston bio here.
Tags: Anaheim, Angels, Angels Baseball, Baseball, Newport Beach, News, Orange County, Sports