Chico's Grant Gregg and Alex Perez Contracts Purchased by Chicago Cubs

January 10, 2006 - Golden Baseball League (GBL)
Chico Outlaws News Release


The Golden Baseball League announced that Chico Outlaw left-handed pitchers Grant Gregg and Alex Perez have had their contracts acquired by the Chicago Cubs. Gregg was the GBL Pitcher of the Year and a Baseball America First Team Independent League All-Star as he went 12-2 with a 1.97 E.R.A. Perez went 2-0 with a 3.71 E.R.A. for Chico after being acquired late in the season in a trade from the Winnipeg Goldeyes of the Northern League.

"The contributions of Grant Gregg and Alex Perez were a large part of the Outlaws success last season," said Bob Linscheid, general manager of the Chico Outlaws. "We hate to lose them, but they are great examples of the high quality of players that are excited to play in Chico and the Golden Baseball League."

Gregg, 24, a 6'3" 230 pound lefty from Abilene, Texas was the dominant pitcher in the GBL for the season as he won the award for the Pitcher of the Year, Pitcher of the Month in July, and twice Pitcher of the Week during the season. The Outlaw ace, who has reached as high as AA with the San Diego Padres organization, was originally drafted in the 9th round out of high school by the Minnesota Twins after twice being named to the Texas All-State team, but chose college and played at Texas A&M before finishing at Abilene Christian University where he was selected as Lone Star Conference Pitcher of the Year.

Perez, 23, a 6'4" 220 pound lefty from Perth Amboy, New Jersey joined the Outlaws during their run to the playoffs. A junior college All-American at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey, he earned a scholarship to the University of Miami. Injuries cut his collegiate career short, but he was signed by the New York Yankees after throwing 92 mph in a tryout. After extended spring training, New York sent him to Staten Island in the New York - Penn League where he went 2-0 with seven strikeouts and no walks, but then inexplicably released him. He was signed by Winnipeg to start 2005, and then dealt to Chico late in the season.

"The Cubs just acquired the two top lefties in the league," said Mark Parent, manager of the Chico Outlaws. "Grant demonstrated that he is ready to be a very effective starter at Double-A or higher, and Alex has tremendous potential with his velocity and control. It will be fun to watch both of them progress through Chicago's farm system."

After selling 17 player contracts to major league teams in 2005, these are the first two players to be acquired from the Golden Baseball League by big league clubs in 2006. In addition to providing first class family entertainment at the ballpark, the GBL is focused on providing opportunities for professional baseball players to advance their careers. Players are marketed to MLB scouting directors, team managers have incentive to actively promote their players' accomplishments to scouts, and the GBL employs player development directors to work with major league teams to help them fill roster needs in their minor league systems. As a result, the GBL ranked second among the six Independent Professional Baseball Leagues in having players acquired by major league teams during the 2005 Inaugural Season.

About the Golden Baseball League

The Golden Baseball League, Presented by Safeway Inc./VONS, is a professional baseball league operating under a single-entity ownership model, with the League owning all the individual teams. Charter Golden Baseball League teams include the Chico Outlaws in Chico; CA, the Fullerton Flyers in Fullerton; CA, the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach; CA, the San Diego Surf Dawgs in San Diego; CA, the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma; AZ, and the Reno Silver Sox in Reno; NV. The season consists of 80 games per team, begins the first of June and ends in early September. Each team will have a 23-player roster.

For general information, please visit our League web site at www.goldenbaseball.com.



Golden Baseball League Stories from January 10, 2006


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