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Two More Golden League Players Purchased by Angels

July 10, 2007 - Golden Baseball League (GBL) News Release


(Dublin, CA. July 10, 2007) The Golden Baseball League (GBL) announced today that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have purchased the contracts of 3B Jeff Larue of the Long Beach Armada of Los Angeles and RHP Alex McRobbie of the Orange County Flyers. The rivals will now become teammates as both players have been assigned to the Angels' High-A farm team in Rancho Cucamonga of the California League.

"Jeff LaRue has been one of the top players in independent baseball the last two years," said Darrell Evans, Manager of the Long Beach Armada. "He deserves this opportunity and will do very well for the Angels."

LaRue, 26, was undrafted after finishing his collegiate career at Washington State University.

He was quickly selected by the independent Southeast League to begin his professional career. After that league folded at the conclusion of their initial season, he attended the first all-comers tryout for the new Golden Baseball League at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, CA in December of 2004. One of 1400 hopefuls who registered for the tryouts and one of the over 400 that received inviations and participated in the two-day event, LaRue impressed Long Beach Armada Manager Darrell Evans and was one of the 36 players signed by the eight GBL teams. His first year in Long Beach he was runner-up for the GBL rookie of the year award as he hit .252 with 5 home runs and 45 RBIs in 78 games. Last season he emerged as an offensive force as he finished in the top five in most offensive categories and then was loaned to Brockton of the Can-Am League late in the season where he hit .320 and was key in their run to the Championship Series. This year he has continued his assault on GBL pitching as he has hit .342 with 6 home runs and 24 RBIs in 30 games and has already received a Player of the Week Award. This will be Jeff's first opportunity to test his skills in a major league oragnization.

McRobbie, 24, was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 24th round of the 2005 amateur draft after an outstanding collegiate career at the University of California - Santa Barbara. He played one season with the Blue Jays farm team in the Appalachian League where he posted a 4-3 record and led the league in starts. Released by the Blue Jays, he joined the Orange County Flyers this year and moved right into their rotation as one of the top starters on a team that reached the GBL Championship Series last year. In six starts this year he has a record of 3-0 with an E.R.A. of 2.70 including two complete games while striking out 43 and only walking 9 in 40 innings pitched.

His assignment to the High-A California League is a two-level jump from where he had been in the Toronto system placing him ahead of where he would have been if the Blue Jays had not released him.

"Alex has been just outstanding for us and has been sharp in every single start this year," said Orange County Flyers General Manager Ed Hart. "He was impressive in spring training, and then under the development of Manager Garry Templeton and the coaching staff has blossomed into one of the dominant pitchers in the league. I congratulate the Angels on getting to him first as he would not have been available much longer."

These two acquisitions bring to four the number GBL players acquired in the last five days, and increases the total to 10 players in 2007 that have been acquired from the league by Major League organizations (9) or top foreign professional leagues (1).

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. Golden Baseball League teams include the Chico Outlaws in Chico, CA;, the Orange County Flyers in Fullerton, CA; the Long Beach Armada in Long Beach, CA; the Yuma Scorpions in Yuma, AZ; the St. George Roadrunners in St. George, Utah; and the Reno Silver Sox in Reno; NV.

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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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