Harold Noel Breeden (June 28, 1944 – May 3, 2021) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player. Hal was a rarity in that he was a right-handed hitter who threw left-handed. He was also the brother of catcher

Danny Breeden Danny Richard Breeden (born June 27, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from to for the Cincinnati Reds and the Chicago Cubs. Baseball career Breeden was born in Albany, Geo ...

. After retirement from baseball, he served as

Sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

Lee County, Georgia Lee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,163. Its county seat is Leesburg. Lee County is included in the Albany, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The land for Lee, Mu ...

for twenty years until 2008.

Career

Signed by the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bost ...

as a free-agent in 1963, Breeden was a very solid minor league hitter. For example, he hit .330 in 116 games with the

Waycross Braves The Waycross Braves were a minor league baseball team located in Waycross, Georgia, United States. An affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves, they played in the Georgia–Florida League The Georgia–Florida League was a minor baseball league that ...

in 1963. In 75 games with the

Yakima Bears The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season, ...

in 1964, Breeden hit .406. He played with two teams in 1967 — the West Palm Beach Braves and Kinston Eagles — and between the two of them he hit .310 in 139 games. Breeden also attained a power stroke in the minors, hitting 37 home runs in 136 games for the

Richmond Braves The Richmond Braves were an American minor league baseball club based in Richmond, Virginia, the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves from 1966 to 2008. Owned by the parent Atlanta club and colloquially referred to as the ...

in 1970. He was developing himself into a notable prospect - or at least the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

thought so - because on November 30, 1970, he was traded straight up for future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

pitcher

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

. Not long after being traded to the Cubs, Breeden found himself in a big league uniform. He made his Major League debut on April 7, 1971 against

Steve Carlton Steven Norman Carlton (born December 22, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher for six different teams from 1965 to 1988, most notably as a member of the Philadelphi ...

and the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

. Pinch hitting for

Earl Stephenson Chester Earl Stephenson (born July 31, 1947) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 3rd round of the 1967 amateur draft and played for the Cubs (1971), Milwaukee Brewers (1972), and Ba ...

in the bottom of the seventh inning, Hal grounded out in his only at-bat of the game. Overall, his first season in the Majors was fairly unsuccessful — in 23 games, he collected five hits in 36 at-bats for a .139 batting average. Hal played alongside his brother for a few games in 1971, as they were teammates for a while. On April 7, 1972, Breeden was traded with

Héctor Torres Héctor Epitacio Torres Marroquin (born September 16, 1945) is a Mexican former Major League Baseball shortstop. Nicknamed "La Malita" in his native Mexico, he played all or parts of nine seasons in the majors, between and , with the Houston As ...

to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

for

Dan McGinn Daniel Michael McGinn (born November 29, 1943) is an American former professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. Early life and football Born in Omaha, Nebraska, McGinn was a multi-sport athlete at Omaha Cathed ...

. With the Expos, Breeden was never a starter. His best season was 1973, when in 105 games he collected 71 hits in 258 at-bats for a .275 batting average. He also belted 15 home runs, 10 doubles and six triples for a .535

slugging percentage In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats, through the following formula, where ''AB'' is the number of at bats for a given player, ...

. Of all the players who appeared in 100 or more games for the Expos that year, Breeden had the highest slugging percentage. In 1973, Breeden tied

Joe Cronin Joseph Edward Cronin (October 12, 1906 – September 7, 1984) was an American professional baseball player, manager and executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop, most notably as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Cronin spe ...

for the record for most pinch-hit home runs in a double header, at two. Breeden played his final big league game on September 11, 1975. Afterwards, he played three seasons in Japan with the

Hanshin Tigers The Hanshin Tigers (Japanese: 阪神タイガース ''Hanshin Taigāsu'') are a Nippon Professional Baseball team playing in the Central League. The team is based in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and is owned by Hanshin Electric Railway ...

. Overall in his career, he played in 273 games, collecting 148 hits in 608 at-bats for a .243 batting average. He scored 61 runs, drove 76 runs in, hit 28 doubles, six triples and 21 home runs. He did not steal a single base in his career, although he tried twice. He walked 69 times and he had 107 strikeouts.

Tommy John Thomas Edward John Jr. (born May 22, 1943), nicknamed "The Bionic Man," is an American retired professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 26 seasons between 1963 and 1989. He played for the Cleveland Indians, Ch ...

called Breeden "a good pull hitter."

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breeden, Hal 1944 births 2021 deaths American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Austin Braves players Austin Senators players Baseball players from Georgia (U.S. state) Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Chicago Cubs players Florida Instructional League Braves players Hanshin Tigers players Kinston Eagles players Memphis Blues players Major League Baseball first basemen Miami Amigos players Montreal Expos players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Peninsula Whips players Richmond Braves players Shreveport Braves players Sportspeople from Albany, Georgia Tacoma Cubs players Waycross Braves players West Palm Beach Braves players Yakima Braves players