Jewish Baseball News

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A total of 10 Jewish ballplayers were selected in the 2011 amateur draft, one more than we last reported. So where are they playing, and how well?

Here, in draft order, are the 10 players, their minor-league assignments, and their performance at this early date:

1. Lenny Linsky, P (Tampa Bay Rays: 2nd round, 89th pick overall). Playing for the “A-short season” Hudson Valley Renegades, where, in his only appearance, he recorded two strikeouts and two walks over one inning.
2. Adam Ehrlich, C (St. Louis Cardinals: 6th round, 200th pick overall). Playing for the rookie-league GCL Cardinals, where he is hitting .250/.400/.458 (batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage) with 1 HR and 4 RBIS in 24 at-bats.
3. Nick Rickles, C (Oakland A’s: 14th round, 436th overall). After playing three games for the rookie-league AZL Athletics, Rickles was sent to the “A-short season” Vermont Lake Monsters. Overall, he is hitting .303/.425/.485 with 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 4 RBIs in 33 at-bats.
4. Jack Marder, C (Seattle Mariners: 16th round, 483rd overall). Unsigned.
5. Zach Borenstein, OF/3B (Los Angeles Angels: 23rd round, 705th overall). Playing for the rookie-league AZL Athletics, where he is hitting .270/.372/.459 with 2 triples, 1 HR, and 5 RBIs in 37 at-bats.
6. David Colvin, P (Seattle Mariners: 27th round, 813rd overall). Playing for the rookie-league Pulaski Mariners, where he is 0-1 but has a 0.00 ERA, 9 strikeouts, and 3 walks over 9 innings.
7. Max Perlman, P (Oakland A’s: 35th round, 1,066th overall). Playing for the AZL Athletics with fellow Jewish draftee Nick Rickles, Perlman is 1-2 with a 4.76 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and 4 walks over 17 innings.
8. Corey Baker, P (St. Louis Cardinals: 49th round, 1,490th overall). Playing for the “A-short season” Batavia Muckdogs, where he is 1-1 with a 3.65 ERA, 6 strikeouts, and 1 walk over 12-and-one-third innings.
9. Jadd Schmeltzer, P (Boston Red Sox: 49th round, 1,492nd overall). Playing for the rookie-league GCL Red Sox, where he is 0-2 with a 3.24 ERA, 4 strikeouts, and 4 walks over 8-and-one-third innings.
10. Benny Sosnick, 2B (San Francisco Giants: 49th round, 1,497th overall). Unsigned.

Nine of the 10 draftees were identified in prior Jewish Baseball News articles (one, two, three). The latest addition, thanks to Jewish Sports Review, is Adam Ehrlich.

Adam Ehrlich

The second-highest Jewish draft pick last month, Ehrlich was one of just two Jews drafted out of high school. He is a 2011 graduate of Campbell Hall H.S., an Episcopal school in North Hollywood, Calif., where he hit .566 with 5 HRs and 49 RBIs as a senior. Ehrlich had signed a letter-of-intent to play at Loyola Marymount University.

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Jason Kipnis

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — In his first full season in “AAA” ball, Cleveland Indians prospect Jason Kipnis has all the markings of a star.

Player of the Week winner? Yep, just last week in fact.

All-Star selection? You bet. He’s the starting second baseman on the “AAA” International League squad, which will line up against the “AAA” Pacific Coast League on July 13.

Chosen to play in the prestigious All-Star Futures Game? Check. He’s one of 25 players on the U.S. squad, which will play against a ‘World’ team on July 10.

Not surprisingly, Indians fans, rotisserie baseball enthusiasts, and sports writers alike have been clamoring for the 24-year-old suburban Chicago native to be called up, stat. Just today (7/6/2011), Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Terry Pluto said “it’s time for the Indians to once again change their infield,” noting that the Tribe could summon Kipnis “very, very soon.”

Just how well is he playing these days? The fleet-footed Kipnis leads the International League in triples (9) runs (60), ranks 2nd in OPS (.906), is 3rd in slugging percentage (.520) and total bases (155), in 6th in OBP (.386) and RBIs (50/tied), and is 8th-highest in walks (40).

He’s no slouch in HRs, with 11 dingers so far, including a two-HR game on 6/28/2011. And check out this stat: Kipnis has stolen 11 bases — and not been caught once.

Exactly when will he get the call? Terry Pluto, the columnist, says the Indians can use next week’s All-Star break to “decide if it’s time to turn second base over to JasonKipnis.”

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Click to order

Author: Richard Michelson (website)

Illustrator: Zachary Pullen

Published: 2011

Pages: 32

Price: $11.86 at Amazon.com
(List price: $16.95)

Our rating: 5 stars (out of 5)

Reviewed by Zachary O. Katz for Jewish Baseball News

Overview

Most people think that Babe Ruth was the first home run king. But he wasn’t. Instead, it was Lipman Pike, a Jewish baseball player who played in the mid-1800’s. In this book, you will learn how he made his way to fame as the “Iron Batter.”

What’s Jewish about it

Lipman “Lip” Pike was Jewish and from Brooklyn. Because of this, he was voted off his team, the Philadelphia Athletics. His teammates didn’t trust him to play against the Brooklyn team.

My take

I really liked this book, because it explained a connection between Jews and baseball that I didn’t know about. I also enjoyed it because it taught me what baseball was like in the mid-1800’s. You should read this book if you are a major baseball fan.

My Dad’s take

This beautifully illustrated children’s book tells the whimsical story of a young man who chooses to pursue a dream to play baseball, which was in its organizational infancy, rather than work in his father’s Brooklyn haberdashery. A folk hero of sorts, Lipman Pike apparently was just as famous in his day for outrunning racehorses as he was for hitting home runs. Although this book is intended for younger children, baseball fans of all ages will enjoy the story of this little-known slugger, his successes on the field, and his struggles against anti-Semitism as he blazed a trail in the fledgling sport that became America’s pastime.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

Zachary Katz recently completed 5^th Grade at Ezra Academy in Woodbridge, CT. He is the son of fellow reviewer Stuart M. Katz.
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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your MLB highlights for games played on Saturday (7/3/2011), plus an update on each player mentioned:

• Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia had the go-ahead hit in a come-from-behind, 9-7 win over the Milwaukee Brewers, going 2/4 with a double and two RBIs. The Brewers had led the Twins by as much as 5 runs early in the game. But when Valencia hit a bases-loaded single in the 7th inning and Twins LF Mark Kotsay misplayed the ball (see video), Valencia landed on third base and all three runners scored, putting the Twins ahead 9-7. Coincidentally, Kotsay was filling in for Brewers LF Ryan Braun, who was out with a strained left calf. Player update: Valencia, who finished 3rd in the 2010 A.L. Rookie of the Year contest while batting .311, has struggled both at the plate (he is hitting .225) and in the field (3 more errors so far) in his sophomore season. Through 293 at-bats, the 26-year-old Miami native has matched many of the offensive stats he had in 299 at-bats last year, including runs, triples, HRs, RBIs, and walks. But he has hit 37 percent fewer singles (down from 67 to 42), and 22 percent fewer doubles (down from 18 to 14).
• Valencia wasn’t the only Jewish ballplayer to put his team ahead Saturday. Boston Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis made the Houston Astros regret their decision to intentionally walk Boston 1B Adrian Gonzalez in the top of the 9th inning when he drew a bases-loaded walk (see video), leading the Sox to a 2-1 win. For the day, Youk went 1/4 with a single and scored a run on an errant throw, possibly reinjuring his sore right ankle (see video). Player update: Youkilis, coming off a year in which he missed one-third of all games with injuries, is hitting just .271, his lowest average since his rookie year in 2004 (.260), and is hitting into too many double plays. But there are many positive notes. Because he is drawing walks at a personal-record pace, his on-base percentage (.392, 7th in A.L.) is on par with his career average. Youk’s 57 RBIs are 6th in the A.L. And his after hitting just .218 in April, he hit .293 in May and .289 in June. One lingering concern is the gap between his batting average this season at Fenway Park (.370) and everywhere else (.185).
• Batting leadoff, Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler had a stellar day on offense, notching 2 singles, a walk, and 2 stolen bases, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a 6-4 loss to the Florida Marlins. Kinsler also made this acrobatic catch and tag to nix Marlins RF Mike Stanton’s steal attempt. Player update: After an injury-plagued 2010 season in which he played only 103 games, Kinsler has recovered some of the HR power (12 HRs in 303 at-bats) and base-stealing skill (18 SBs, 8th-best in the A.L.) he displayed in his breakout 2009 season, when he became the second Jewish player in history to record at least 30 HRs and 30 SBs in a single season. He hit 2 HRs on 6/29/2011 — the eighth 2-HR game of his career but the first since 8/27/2009 — and has 4 in his past 10 games. And although he is hitting a career-low .241 (vs. a career average of .276), he is striking out less than ever and is poised to crush his personal walks record. As a result, Kinsler’s on-base percentage this season (.359) is on par with his career average (.356).
• In his worst start of the season, Washington Nationals P Jason Marquis gave up 6 earned runs and 8 hits over just 1-and-a-third innings as the Pittsburgh Pirates cruised to a 10-2 victory. The loss dropped his record to 7-3 and plumped his ERA to 4.11. Player update: Despite Saturday’s game, Marquis is enjoying his best season since 2004, when he went 15-7 with the St. Cardinals, and a remarkable turnaround from his injury-plagued 2010 season, when he went 2-9 with a 6.60 ERA before succumbing to elbow surgery. The 32-year-old Manhasset, N.Y., native is walking fewer batters than ever before; striking out twice as many batters as he walks, which is well above his career average; and has given up a career-low 7 HRs so far. But it’s somewhat concerning that opposing batters are hitting a robust .294 against him.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Names of Jewish players selected in last month’s MLB draft continue to trickle in, and the latest is a University of Pittsburgh hurler named Corey Baker.

The St. Louis Cardinals selected Baker in the 49th round of the amateur draft, or 1,490th overall. A 21-year-old native of New City, N.Y., he recently graduated from Pitts and is the Panther’s all-time career wins leader with 24. Baker is the ninth 2011 draftee identified so far by Jewish Baseball News — the eight others are described here and here — and came our way courtesy of a tip from MLB.com columnist Jonathan Mayo.

Mayo recently profiled Baker for the Jewish Chronicle. In it, the right-hander touched on his Bar Mitzvah at a Reform synagogue, his participation years ago in the Maccabi games, and the relative scarcity of Jews playing at the highest levels of sport.

“It’s something I’m proud of, my background, my heritage,” Baker told Mayo. “In sports, it’s different than being, say, African-American, because being on the field, people can’t really tell. It’s not something completely obvious, it’s not written across my chest. It doesn’t make me any different than any ballplayer, but I know there’s such a small amount of (Jewish) athletes in this country, it’s something I’m proud of. Hopefully, I go on to play pro baseball, become part of an even smaller percentage.”

Baker was drafted in spite of an unspectacular senior season in which he went 5-4 with a 5.04 ERA and an opposing-team batting average of .305. His finest season came junior year, when he went 11-3 with a 5.37 ERA and struck out 73 batters while walking just 32.

According to his team bio, Baker attended Clarkson South High School, where he was a member of the Foreign Language National Honors Society and received Outstanding Achievement Awards in history and English. He is the son of Mark and Leah Baker.

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Ryan Braun" width="150" height="150" />

Ryan Braun

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — If Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun finishes the 2011 season the way he’s started it, he’ll be joining one of baseball’s most exclusive clubs: those with 30+ HRs and stolen bases in a single year.

Only 34 MLB players have joined the 30/30 club since 1901 (see table). Two are Jewish: Shawn Green (1998), and Ian Kinsler (2009). The only Brewer on the list is 3B Tommy Harper, who had 31 HRs and 38 SBs in 1970.

Braun, a 27-year-old now in his 5th MLB season, hasn’t come close before. Power has never been the problem; Braun has hit 30+ HRs in 3 of his 4 full seasons. What’s kept him from joining the club is stolen bases. Since his rookie year in 2007, he has averaged 16 thefts and never stolen more than 20.

Improbably, Braun’s base-stealing prowess is improving. Through 78 games this year he has stolen 17, 6th best in the A.L. and more than full-season totals in 2007, 2008, or 2010. Braun’s prior high at the 78-game point was 11 stolen bases, in 2010 (see table below). Having said that, his  base-stealing efforts typically decline in the latter half of a season.

Why Braun is stealing more bases now is up for debate. (Jewish Baseball News readers are encouraged to offer their opinions in the ‘comments’ section below, or on our Facebook page.) But it’s worth noting that he’s on pace to reach career highs in walks and on-base percentage.

The only other MLB player on pace to join the 30/30 club in 2011 is Los Angeles Dodgers CF Matt Kemp, who has 22 HRS and 21 stolen bases through 80 games.

If both Kemp and Braun join the club this season, Jews will account for three of all 36 members, a percentage far in excess of our MLB representation.

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Josh Satin

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Josh Satin of the “AA” Binghamton Mets (New York Mets) hit for the cycle Friday night (6/24/2011) in a 5-3 victory over the Bowie Baysox.

The 26-year-old University of California-Berkeley recruit, who splits his time between second base and third base, accomplished the rare feat in just four at-bats, starting with a 1st-inning HR followed by a double, single, and triple.

Triples come the hardest for Satin. “It’s a running joke with the guys in the dugout that I’m not the fleetest of foot,” he told MLB.com. “Once the ball came off the wall, I knew it was my chance. I just thought, ‘Oh, my God,’ and I kicked it into another gear that I didn’t know I had.”

A 6th-round pick in the 2008 amateur draft, Satin is proving a good investment for the Mets. The MVP of the 2010 “A” Florida State League All-Star Game, he is among the Eastern League leaders in multiple categories this season. Satin is ranked 2nd in doubles (21/tie) and OPS (.947); 3rd in on-base percentage (.414), slugging percentage (.533), and walks (42/tie); 4th in RBIs (46/tie); and 7th in batting average (.318) and HRs (9/tie).

Baysox DH Robbie Widlansky went 1/4 in the game.

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Garrett Wittels (Miami Herald)

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Bahamian prosecutors dropped a rape charge against Garrett Wittels on Monday (6/20/2011), ending a six-month legal odyssey that cast doubt on the Florida International University infielder’s character and may have cost him a chance at being selected in the recent MLB draft.

According to the Miami Herald, Bahamian authorities “decided the evidence didn’t support prosecution” of Wittels and two friends on charges they sexually assaulted two 17-year-old American girls in December.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The running count of Jews chosen in the 2011 MLB draft has reached 8.

Last week we reported that at least four of the 1,500 players selected in the three-day amateur draft were Jewish. But thanks to help from Jewish Baseball News reader Dan Cooper, we have identified 4 more. They are:

Nick Rickles (Oakland A’s: 14th round, 436th overall pick). A 6’3″ catcher who just completed his junior year at Stetson University, the Loxahatchee, Fla., native led his team in batting average (.347/tied), HRs (12), doubles (20), and slugging percentage (.600) in 2011. Rickles, named a second-team All-American by Baseball America, struck out just 10 times in 245 at-bats — giving him more HRs than strikeouts — while drawing 25 walks. He was the 7th toughest batter to strike out in NCAA/Division I play this year. According to this article, he was “expected to go 10 rounds higher and might be tough to sign in this round.” 

Jack Marder (Seattle Mariners: 16th round, 483rd overall). A 6’0″ catcher (and converted shortstop) who just completed his sophomore year at the University of Oregon, the Calabasas, Calif., native showed good speed in 2011 (10 stolen bases in 13 attempts) but only modest success at the plate, hitting .209 with 2 HRs, 19 RBIs, and a .360 on-base percentage.

Harvard University may have compiled a miserable 9-36 record in 2011, but that didn’t stop Max Perlman (Oakland A’s: 35th round, 1,066th overall pick) from excelling. A 6’7″ starting pitcher who just graduated from Harvard University, the Longwood, Fla., native missed most of his sophomore and junior seasons with an elbow injury (and Tommy John surgery) but struck gold during his senior year, leading all Ivy Leaguers with an 1.80 ERA, holding opposing teams to a .213 batting average, and recording more strikeouts (55) than hits surrendered (46). (See local article on him.)

Jadd Schmeltzer (Boston Red Sox: 49th round, 1,492nd pick). A 6’5″ starting pitcher who just graduated from Cornell University, the Tappan, N.Y., native went 3-4 with a 3.63 ERA and was named Pitcher of the Year on a team that finished 2011 with a 10-30 record.

Details on our four previously-identified players (listed below) are available here:

• Lenny Linsky (Tampa Bay Rays: 2nd round, 89th overall pick)
• Zach Borenstein (Los Angeles Angels: 23rd round, 705th overall)
• David Colvin (Seattle Mariners: 27th round, 813rd overall pick)
• Benny Sosnick (San Francisco Giants: 49th round, 1,497th pick)

For updates on the 2011 draft, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Google Reader.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A number of eagle-eyed readers recently have pointed out glaring omissions in our all-time list of Jewish major leaguers, including such luminaries as Hank Greenberg and Shawn Green.

While we always appreciate your e-mails, please note that Jewish Baseball News is in the process of re-populating its database of players. In the long run, this step will provide readers with more current and accurate data. But in the short run, dozens of players will be missing from our list.

We apologize for the inconvenience and will publish a notice when the list has been re-populated. And over time, we will be adding new details on each and every player.

Thanks for your patience!

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — At least four Jewish players were among the 1,530 amateurs drafted last week by MLB teams.

Though the list is likely to grow — Jewish Sports Review typically publishes a more comprehensive tally in its July/August issue — we believe this preliminary list is the first published anywhere this season.

Two of the more interesting story lines in the 2011 draft involve P Lenny Linsky and SS Garrett Wittels. Linsky is noteworthy because he was a relatively high draft pick (2nd round, 89th overall); by comparison, of the 11 Jews selected in the 2010 draft, the highest pick was SS Jake Lemmerman (5th round, 172nd overall). Wittels — a rising senior at Florida International University whose 56-game hitting streak in 2010 drew national attention but was overshadowed by a subsequent arrest — is notable because he wasn’t drafted at all.

The four known draftees include:

Lenny Linsky (Tampa Bay Rays: 2nd round, 89th overall pick). A 6’2″ closer who just finished his junior year at the University of Hawaii, the Palos Verdes, Calif., native led his team with a 1.30 ERA and 14 saves, had a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 34/9, and gave up a total of just 3 extra-base hits in 34-and-two-thirds innings this season, all doubles. Baseball America described Linsky as “nearly unhittable” and had predicted he might be drafted even higher than he eventually was. (See local article on him.)

Zach Borenstein (Los Angeles Angels: 23rd round, 705th overall). A 6’0″ OF/3B who just completed his junior year at Eastern Illinois University, the Buffalo Grove, IL, native led his team in at least 10 offensive categories this season, including batting average (.349), on-base percentage (.419), slugging percentage (.554), average with runners in scoring position (.391), runs (38), doubles (13/tie), and stolen bases (9). In the first game of a double-header against Morehead State, Borenstein went 4/5 with 3 HRs and 6 RBIs.

David Colvin (Seattle Mariners: 27th round, 813rd overall pick). A 6’3″ starting pitcher who just completed his senior year at Pomona-Pitzer, the Mill Valley, Calif., native led his team with an 8-2 record and 5 complete games while posting a 2.96 ERA. He fanned 94 batters and walked 21. (See local article on him.)

Benny Sosnick (San Francisco Giants: 49th round, 1,497th pick). A 2011 graduate of the Jewish Community High School of the Bay, the 6’1″ Sosnick “primarily played pitcher, catcher and shortstop” but was drafted as a second baseman (see article). He led his team with a .583 batting average. The Giants reportedly will consider offering Sosnick a contract pending his performance in a summer league.

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Kevin Youkilis" src="http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Youkilis-t-shirt-e1307594421119-300x287.jpg" alt="http://www.majesticathletic.com/Kevin-Youkilis-Boston-Red-Sox-Majestic-Player-Designed-Signature-Series-T-Shirt-_-2112200040_PD.html" width="300" height="287" srcset="http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Youkilis-t-shirt-e1307594421119-300x287.jpg 300w, http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Youkilis-t-shirt-e1307594421119-150x143.jpg 150w, http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Youkilis-t-shirt-e1307594421119.jpg 599w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />

"L'Chaim" is shown circled above

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Kevin Youkilis didn’t just practice fielding bunts during Spring Training. The Boston Red Sox 3B also designed his own MLB t-shirt.

And wouldn’t you know, he included a nod to his Jewish faith on the very front of the tee.

No, not “Dirt Dog.” It’s “L’Chaim,” which we’ve circled in the photo to your right. Youk is one of three Boston players who designed a shirt this season.

“I think the cool thing is everyone puts a little bit of their heritage into it,” he told MLB.com. “We’re all known to be baseball players in Boston, but there’s also a lot more to us than just baseball players.”

MLB.com has priced the shirts at $24.99, plus shipping. But get yours before 11:59 pm on Friday (6/10/2011) and you’ll pay just $19.99, a 20 percent discount.

And if you enter MLB.com through this here link, MLB.com will share a few shekels from your purchase with Jewish Baseball News. It’s a painless way for you to support your favorite website.

Just be sure that when you reach MLB.com, you type Kevin Youkilis players choice in the “Product Search” box located on the page’s top left corner, then click ‘Go.’ Men’s and women’s versions of Youk’s tee will magically appear for your ordering convenience.

L’Chaim!

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Jason Marquis" src="http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/marquis-mug.jpg" alt="http://www.jewishbaseballnews.com/players/jason-marquis/" width="194" height="263" />

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Major League Baseball handed out suspensions for a series-long skirmish between the Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks that peaked on Sunday (6/5/2011).

Among those named: Nationals P Jason Marquis, who was ordered to sit out 5 games, or roughly one start in a 5-pitcher cycle.

Marquis was 5-and-a-third innings into a 1-0 shutout Sunday when he hit Diamondbacks RF Justin Upton in the back with a pitch (see video). In any other game, no eyebrow would have risen. But Marquis’ errant toss marked the 4th time Upton had been hit in the series, and it came shortly after Nationals RF Jayson Werth was hit for the 3rd time in the series, inspiring home-plate umpire Rob Drake to warn both benches.

Marquis (6-2, 3.84 ERA) plans to appeal, telling the Washington Post he hasn’t once thrown at a batter in his MLB career:

I’ve been in this game for 12 seasons. Never been ejected, never been fined, never been suspended. I don’t understand why I would start now. I’ve been in games where there have been (players) getting hit back and forth. It’s a 1-0 game. We’re trying to put something together here. The game is 1-0. You don’t want it to get away from you just because you’re trying to show your manhood. I’m out there trying to win as many games as possible.

Washington won Sunday’s game 9-4 with an 11th-inning grand slam.

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Ken Holtzman's 1969 card

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Little was at stake that day at Riverfront Stadium (6/3/1971).

Just 11,751 fans turned up to see their 5th-place Cincinnati Reds, 16-and-a-half games out of first place, play the 4th place Chicago Cubs. On the mound, the Reds’ Gary Nolan (3-6) was due to face the Cubs’ Ken Holtzman (4-6).

But on that day, 40 years ago Friday (6/3/2011), Kenny Holtzman turned in a gem: the second no-hitter of his career. It was a crushing defeat for the Reds, who were the defending league champions, and the first ever at Riverfront Stadium.

Holtzman struck out 6 batters and gave up just 4 walks to the powerful Reds, whose lineup included CF George Foster, C Johnny Bench, and 1B Lee May. After reaching base on an error, Holtzman also scored the Cubs’ lone run, driven in by 2B Glenn Beckert’s single in the 3rd inning.

Holtzman went on to finish the season with a career-worst 9-15 record. But he recovered gloriously the following season with the Oakland A’s, going 19-11. In fact, Holtzman won anywhere from 18 to 21 games in each of his first four seasons with the A’s.

Holtzman’s first no-hitter (8/19/1969) came at Chicago’s Wrigley Field against the Atlanta Braves, whose lineup included legends Phil Niekro on the mound and Hank Aaron in right field. The game also featured this historical footnote: Holtzman did it with zero strikeouts.

Now 65, Holtzman remains among the top Jewish pitchers in history. Among other categories, he is 1st in career wins (174), 2nd in strikeouts (1,601), 5th in ERA (3.49), and 2nd in no-hitters (2), according to Wikipedia.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Call it the Jewish Baseball News curse.

Last month, we reported that Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun was leading the National League with 12 HRs and dared to speculate whether he might become the first Jewish home-run king since Cleveland Indians 3B Al Rosen in 1953.

Braun, 27, didn’t hit another HR in the next 16 games, a period during which he fell from 1st to 3rd behind Cincinnati’s Jay Bruce (17 HRs) and the Dodgers’ Matt Kemp (13 HRs). Jewish Baseball News hung its head.

But on Friday (6/2/2011), Braun broke out of his HR slump with a flourish, smashing a pinch-hit, 2-run shot in the 9th inning to defeat the Florida Marlins 6-5 (see video).

“Brauny came up with a big pinch-hit home run off a closer who’s having a good year,” Brewers  pitcher Randy Wolf told MLB.com. “That’s a huge win for us. We know that this Marlins team is a very talented young team that’s capable of winning games. To come back and sneak a win here was big for us.”

Braun had been on the bench nursing a sore shoulder when he was called in to pinch-hit.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS –Israel and its fledgling baseball culture have never been invited to compete in the World Baseball Classic.

But Team Israel will get a chance to earn its way there next year.

WBC officials announced Wednesday (6/1/2011) that a newly-instituted qualifying round scheduled for late 2012 will give Israel and 11 other countries their first-ever chance at playing in the quadrennial Classic, which is scheduled next for March 2013.

Joining those 12 in the qualifying round will be 4 countries that competed in the 2009 Classic but failed to win a single game. Together, the 16 will compete for four open slots in the 2013 tournament. The winning four will be joined in 2013 by a dozen teams that received automatic invitations due to winning at least one game in the 2009 Classic.

“The Israel Association of Baseball is honored to be invited to play in the WBC,” secretary general Peter Kurz said in an e-mail to Jewish Baseball News. “We will make all efforts to put a competitive team on the field.”

Israel’s inclusion in the qualifying round represents a milestone for baseball enthusiasts in the tiny country, where soccer and basketball dominate the sports landscape.

On Wednesday, New York Times baseball blogger Ken Belson wondered aloud whether MLB Jews such as Boston Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis or New York Mets 1B Ike Davis might end up playing for Team Israel next year.

The IAB’s Kurz said it’s too soon to tell. “We have not yet been apprised by the WBC of what criterion will be used to select players,” he wrote. “We are not yet in any negotiations or discussions with any specific player and have yet to develop what our roster considerations will be.”

Japan is the reigning World Baseball Classic champ, having won the tournaments in 2006 and 2009.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — It was Jew vs. Jew on Wednesday (6/1/2011) as the Tampa Bay Rays and LF Sam Fuld took on the Texas Rangers and 2B Ian Kinsler in St. Petersburg.

Here’s how it went.

Direct interactions

• Batting in the 3rd inning, Kinsler flied out to Fuld.
• After drawing a walk in the 5th inning, Fuld attempted to steal second base but was tagged out by Kinsler.

Game stats

• Fuld went 1-for-2 with a single and a walk. He got caught stealing in the 5th inning but notched his 13th stolen base of the season in the 8th inning.
• Kinsler went 0-for-3 but drew a walk and stole his 11th base of the season in the 8th inning.

Final analysis

• Fuld had a slightly better game offensively than Kinsler, but he nullified it by getting caught stealing in the first of two attempts. Each player recorded one out on the other.
• Bragging rights belong to Kinsler, whose team won by a score of 3-0.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Sunday (5/29/2011) was Super Sam Fuld Cape Day at Tropicana Field, and the Tampa Bay Rays LF responded with characteristic scrappiness in a 7-0 rout of the Cleveland Indians.

• With two men on base in the 5th inning, Fuld legged out an infield hit to drive in one run. An errant throw to first base by Indians SS Asdrubal Cabrera allowed Fuld to reach second base and scored a second run.
• Earlier the same inning, Fuld made a dramatic, sliding attempt to catch a sinking liner hit by Indians 3B Adam Everett. Instant replays showed Fuld trapped the ball.
• Fuld, who covers a lot of outfield real estate with his short legs, made a running grab of Travis Buck’s fly ball in the 9th inning.

No doubt, the 29-year-old Fuld is not hitting as well as he was when the Rays announced Super Sam Fuld Cape Day, on April 13. At that time he was batting .313 en route to a season high of .396. Today he is hitting .227, with an uncharacteristically low on-base percentage of .276.

Fewer hits and walks have meant fewer base-stealing opportunities. Fuld stole 10 bases on 13 attempts in April but has stolen only 2 bases on 4 tries so far in May.

But above-average fielding and hustle have allowed Fuld to remain both a starter and a fan favorite, and he continues to hit the ball hard, if not always “where they ain’t.”

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Ryan Braun leads the N.L. with 12 HRs

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — It’s been quite a while since a Jewish ballplayer won a major-league home run crown. Fifty-eight years, to be precise.

The last to do it? Cleveland Indians 3B Al Rosen, whose 43 HRs led the American League in 1953. Today, Rosen is 87 years old, which is a pretty good measure of how long a drought it’s been.

That brings us to Ryan Braun. Through his first 40 games of the 2011 season, a period that ended May 15, the Milwaukee Brewers slugger was leading the National League with 12 HRs. Could he be the one to break the spell?

Jewish Baseball News crunched the numbers. Here’s what we discovered.

Braun has always been a strong starter

As shown in the table below, Braun has always been a fast starter. In each of his five years with the Brewers, the left fielder has smacked anywhere from 7 to 12 HRs over the first 40 games.

Braun’s HR pace hasn’t fizzled out in past

Based on his first 40 games this season, Braun is projected to hit 49 HRs, assuming he plays all 162 games.

He’s done a pretty good job of keeping pace in the past. In 2008, as the table below shows, he hit 10 HRs in his first 40 games, was projected to hit 41 HRs in 162 games if he maintained the same frequency, and ended up hitting 37 in 151 games. In 2009, his 32 HRs matched the projected total, even though he didn’t play all 162 games. He fell several HRs short of his projected total in 2010.

To be fair, three years of data isn’t much to go on. (We don’t count his rookie season because he played only 113 games.) Maybe Braun will surprise us by fizzling out the rest of 2011 — or by increasing his HR pace as the season goes on.

* Braun played only 113 games in 2007, his rookie year.

Braun has some very tough competition

Braun has never hit more than 37 HRs in a season. The last time an N.L. player won the HR crown with 37 or fewer dingers was in 1992, when San Diego Padres 1B Fred McGriff hit 35.

And the players who currently trail Braun in the N.L. home-run race are no slouches, as the table below shows.

1B Prince Fielder, Braun’s teammate in Milwaukee, has 9 HRs so far this year but has hit as many as 50 in a season. Philadelphia Phillies 1B Ryan Howard, who also has 9 HRs, hit 58 in 2006 and has hit 45 or more HRs four times. Only Colorado Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki, with 11 HRs this season, has a lower career high than Braun. His best was 32 HRs, in 2009.

Conclusion: Braun has a chance to win, if slim

A lot will have to go right for Ryan Braun to win a HR crown this year. He’ll have to surpass his current record of 37 HRs. During the final 120 games of the season, he’ll have to maintain or exceed the HR pace of his first 40 games. And the powerful men who currently trail him will have to have subpar years.

So could this be the year of the Jewish home-run king? Absolutely. After all, this is only Braun’s 5th year in the Majors. We really don’t know what he’s capable of doing.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Thanks to off-season surgery on his right knee, Texas Rangers P Scott Feldman has spent the 2011 season on the disabled list. But he may be turning the corner.

On Saturday (5/14/2011), the 6-foot-6-inch starter pitched 5 strong innings for the “AA” Frisco RoughRiders in an 11-2 win over the Corpus Christi Hooks. Feldman gave up one earned run on just two hits while striking out 4 and walking 2.

According to MLB.com, the Rangers want to see Feldman pitch at least 2 more minor-league games before they decide whether he’s ready to return to the majors.

By coincidence, the starting pitcher the day after Feldman’s appearance was Richard Bleier, a fellow Jew. Bleier had a somewhat tougher time during his 6 innings on the mound, giving up 3 earned runs on 9 hits in a 4-3 loss to Corpus Christi.

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