Meet PBI’s Major League Baseball Connections

Professional Baseball Instruction‘s Major League Baseball connections go deep.

PBI owner Doug Cinnella came up through the ranks of the Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos and New York Mets organizations playing for and with the likes of Felipe Alou, Clint Hurdle, Randy Johnson, Todd Hundley, Pete Harnisch, Sid Fernandez, and more.

Our Major League Advisors include legendary pitching coach Leo Mazzone, former MLB manager Sam Perlozzo and Clint Hurdle.

Other current PBI instructors such as Jeff Remo and Steve Hayward have ties to the Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox, respectively. Prior to that, PBI has employed players from the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, and Houston Astros organizations.

The first PBI instructor to make it to the major leagues was Mike Aviles, who made his debut with the Kansas City Royals on May 29, 2008. One week later, he got his first career hit in Yankee Stadium when he doubled into the right field corner off Darrell Rasner, one of two doubles that night.

Mike ended his rookie season hitting .325 with 10 home runs and 51 runs batted in. The Royals named him their 2008 Player of the Year and he finished fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting behind Evan Longoria, Alexei Ramirez and Jacoby Ellsbury. He has subsequently played for the Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians and Detroit Tigers.

Patrick Kivlehan joined the PBI staff in September 2015 literally at the doorstep of Major League Baseball. A two-year varsity starter at St. Joseph’s (Montvale), Patrick set the single-season home run record (14) in his senior year in a lineup that included current Chicago Cubs infielder Tommy La Stella. Patrick went to Rutgers where he focused on football. In the spring of his senior year he returned to baseball and put up an incredible .392/.480/.693 season that included 14 home runs, 50 runs batted in and 24 stolen bases in 51 games. It was no surprise when he was named Big East Player of the Year.

Patrick was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB draft and moved through the Mariners minor league system. He was traded to the Texas Rangers during the 2015 off-season and started 2016 in their minor league system. He was traded back to Seattle in May 2016 and acquired by the San Diego Padres in August 2016. My made his MLB debut on August 20, 2016 and marked the occasion by hitting a 461-foot home run for his first big league hit!

Patrick ended the season with the Cincinnati Reds.

Tommy La Stella and Patrick both train at PBI during the off-season. Their MLB careers intersected on the last day of the 2016 regular season when the Reds hosted the Chicago Cubs.