RailCats Sign Veteran Outfielder, Experienced Pitcher to Roster
April 25, 2006 - Northern League (NL)
Gary SouthShore Railcats News Release
Gary, Ind. - The 2005 Northern League Champion Gary SouthShore RailCats Professional Baseball Club announced today that outfielder Nathan Haynes and left-handed pitcher Josh Habel have been signed as free agents.
Haynes (pictured at left) was selected by the Oakland A's in the first round (32nd overall selection) of the 1997 draft and has spent nine years in affiliated minor league baseball in the A's, Angels, and Giants organizations. He is known as an outstanding defensive outfielder with tremendous speed. He is ticketed to play left field for the RailCats.
Haynes has stolen at least 30 bases in four seasons and has swiped 211 in his professional career over 634 games. His career batting average is .276. Accordingly, Haynes has more than twice as many career triples (45) as home runs (22). He has primarily hit in the lead-off spot in the batting order.
Habel has tossed 435 innings at the professional level over a four year minor league career in the San Francisco Giants and Milwaukee Brewers organizations. He was drafted by the Giants in the 14th round in 2002 out of the University of Northern Iowa. Habel was traded by the Giants to the Brewers following the 2004 season in exchange for major league pitcher Dave Burba.
Habel's best season was 2003 when he posted a record of 11-7 with a 2.36 earned run average with Single-A Hagerstown and earned South Atlantic League all-star honors.
The addition of Haynes gives the RailCats three veterans (players with at least five full years of professional experience). Other veterans are shortstop Jay Pecci and outfielder Jermaine Allensworth. Northern League rules allow only four veterans on the roster, so Tagert will have one veteran slot to fill prior to the start of the season. For a complete look at the current RailCats roster, go to railcatsbaseball.com and click TEAM.
The RailCats begin spring training on May 4th at U. S. Steel Yard. They open the 2006 Northern League season and begin defense of their title on May 18th at Calgary. The home opener is May 26th at U. S. Steel Yard in Gary. Ticket options are available for the 2006 season by calling (219) 882-BALL (2255).
More Info: The 2005 Northern League Champion Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. For the last three years, they have been chosen "Best Local Spectator Sport" by Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly. Their 96 game schedule includes 48 home games at beautiful U. S. Steel Yard, an award-winning 6,000 seat state-of-the-art facility located next to the Indiana Toll Road (I-90) with easy access to I-65.
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Northern League Stories from April 25, 2006
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- RedHawks re-sign Pitcher of the Year Culp - Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
- RailCats Sign Veteran Outfielder, Experienced Pitcher to Roster - Gary SouthShore Railcats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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