Hal Breeden

Who is Hal Breeden?

Harold Noel "Hal" Breeden is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. Hal was a rarity in that he was a right-handed hitter who threw left-handed. He is also the brother of catcher Danny Breeden.

Signed by the Milwaukee Braves 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 in 1963. In 75 games with the Yakima Bears 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 in 1970.

He was developing himself into quite the prospect - or at least the Chicago Cubs thought so - because on November 30, 1970, he was traded straight up for future Hall of Fame pitcher Hoyt Wilhelm.

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 and the St. Louis Cardinals. Pinch hitting for Earl Stephenson 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. Interestingly, Hal played alongside his brother for a few games in 1971, as they were teammates for a while.