RAILCATS SIGN ROOKIE PITCHER BRIAN HALFORD
December 20, 2007 Contact: Tom Nichols at (219) 882-2255
Gary, Ind.—The 2007 Northern League Champion Gary SouthShore RailCats Professional Baseball club announced today that right-handed pitcher Brian Halford has been signed as a free agent. RailCats manager Greg Tagert made the announcement.
Halford, 23, played four years at the University of Louisville from 2003-'06 and is the school's all-time career leader in games pitched with 97. He ranks second on the Louisville career saves list with 17 and posted a career record of 18-11. His best season came as a junior in 2005 when he went 3-1 with eight saves and a 3.61 earned run average. Halford went 5-4, 4.69 in 2006 when he made 26 appearances including a career high eight starts.
Halford was signed by the Kansas City Royals prior to the 2007 season but was released in May. He has not appeared in a professional game.
Halford earned all-state honors at Louisville Eastern High School where he also quarterbacked the football team and played guard on the basketball team.
Halford is one of four rookies currently on the RailCats roster (catcher Brett Wallace, pitcher Matt Brinkmann, and infielder Omar Padilla are the others). Northern League rules require clubs to feature a minimum of four rookies on their 22-man roster during the season.
The RailCats begin defense of their 2007 Northern League title on May 15th when they host Joliet in the 2008 Northern League season opener.
More Info: The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a Professional Minor League Baseball Team serving Northwest Indiana and Chicago's south suburbs. The RailCats won the Northern League championship in 2005 and 2007 and for each of the last four 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.
###