Jewish Baseball News

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Garrett Wittels had a phenomenal 2010 season at Florida International University.

The then-sophomore had a hit in all 56 regular-season games, putting him in contention to break Robin Yount’s all-time NCAA hit-streak record of 58 games when he resumes play in 2011. He finished the year with a .413 batting average, an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of 1.004, and 60 RBIs in just 242 at-bats.

So it comes as a bit of a surprise that the 20-year-old infielder’s summer in the Alaska Baseball League was so, well, average. In 32 games with the Peninsula Oilers, a team not affiliated with Major League Baseball, Wittels hit .254 — a hair above the .249 team average — with 16 RBIs in 118 at-bats, 7 stolen bases, and an OPS of .640.

This does not mean Wittels’ streak was a fluke. After all, he has risen above mediocrity before. He batted only .246 his freshman season at FIU, which made his 56-game hit streak the following year seem all the more unlikely.

In a recent interview with the Wichita Eagle (8/6/2010), Wittels displayed the sort of humility and team-spiritedness that have endeared him to baseball fans and earned him a nomination for a ESPY award (Best Male College Athlete):

This summer, I’ve been able just to go out there and get hits, just play the game. It’s been a relief not to be playing with the hitting streak. But definitely, when the fall comes I’ll be able to get home and get started again trying to help my team win. We have eight returners to our starting lineup, so Florida International baseball is definitely going in the right direction.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday (8/15/2010):

There are six Jewish players named Jason in minor-league baseball today. Three of them shined yesterday:

• 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AA” Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians) went 2/2 with a HR, a walk, 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored in a 7-0 drubbing of the New Britain Rock Cats. A second-round pick in the 2009 amateur draft, Kipnis is batting .339 with 9 HRs and 34 RBIs since being promoted to the Aeros mid-season.
• RP Jason Markovitz of the “A” Clinton LumberKings (Seattle Mariners) pitched 2 innings of one-hit ball in a 6-3 win over the Beloit Snappers, striking out three and walking none. A 21-year-old who was drafted in the 13th round of the 2010 amateur draft, Markovitz has a 2.35 ERA over four games since being promoted to the LumberKings.
• SP Jason Knapp of the rookie-league AZL Indians (Cleveland Indians) pitched 4 innings of one-hit ball in a 1-0 heartbreaker to the AZL Rangers. A 19-year-old from Westwood, N.J., Knapp gave up one unearned run and got the loss while lowering his ERA to 1.46.

In other minor-league news:

• OF Ben Guez of the “AAA” Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers) went 1/3 with a home run, a walk and 3 RBIs in a 7-4 win over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Guez, 23, is batting .261 with 8 HRs and 27 RBIs  since being promoted to “AAA” ball mid-season. He is a teammate of RP Scot Drucker, a fellow Hebe.

Finally, over in the MLB:

• B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins went 3/4 with a double and turned a key double play in a 4-2 win over the Oakland A’s. The 25-year-old rookie boosted his batting average to .329.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3/5 with a double and run scored in a 6-5 loss to the Colorado Rockies. Braun has hit .382 in his past 10 games but driven in just 2 runs.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Saturday (8/14/2010):

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 3/5 with two doubles and scored the winning run in a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies. A 26-year-old in his fourth major-league season, Braun has hit .394 in his last 10 games, boosting his average to .289.
• RP Scot Drucker of the “AAA” Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers) pitched two innings of one-hit ball in a 7-3 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, striking out two and walking none. A 28-year-old in his fifth minor-league season, Drucker is 4-5 with a 5.69 ERA, 59 strikeouts and 26 walks.
• 2B Josh Satin of the Binghamton Mets (AA) hit his third home run in four games en route to an 11-9 win over the Reading Phillies. Since being promoted to “AA” mid-season, Satin is batting .325 with  a .417 on-base percentage and .485 slugging percentage. His recent home-run prowess is sudden: in his first 52 games with Binghamton this year, Satin had just one dinger.
• C Ryan Lavarnway of the “AA” Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) went 3/5 with one RBI in a 6-5 victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Lavarnway opened the 10th and final inning with a single; a teammate sent in to pinch-run for him scored the winning run. Since being promoted to “AA” ball, the 23-year-old Yale recruit is batting .271 with 2 HRs and 22 RBIs in 96 at-bats.
• SS Jake Lemmerman of the rookie-league Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers) went 3/5 with a double and 1 RBI in a 7-5 victory over the Idaho Falls Chukars. A 21-year-old recruit from Duke University, Lemmerman is ranked 1st in the Rookie Pioneer League in doubles (19), 5th in on-base percentage (.413), and 6th in batting average (.351) and slugging percentage (.539).
• SP Joshua Zeid of the “A” Lakewood BlueClaws (Philadelphia Phillies) struck out 7 and walked none in a 6-2 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds. A 23-year-old in just his second year of minor-league ball, Zeid has struck out 91 batters in 88-and-2/3 innings but walked only 23. He has a 6-4 record and a 2.74 ERA. (PhuturePhillies.com has an interesting interview with Zeid.)

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Friday, Aug. 13, 2010.

It was a memorable day for Jewish pitchers in the minor leagues. Three had lengthy stints in which they gave up one or no runs and racked up multiple strikeouts without giving up a single walk:

• SP David Kopp of the “AA” Springfield Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) struck out six and walked none in a 6-1 win over the Corpus Christi Hooks. A 24-year-old out of Clemson, Kopp got roughed-up during a mid-season stint in “AAA”, where he went 0-5 with an 8.63 ERA. He has fared far better with the “AA” Cardinals, going 10-3 with a 3.14 ERA.
• SP Dylan Axelrod of the “A-Advanced” Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox) gave up just four hits and one earned run over 7 innings, but the Dash gave up three runs in the 8th en route to a 4-3 loss to the Frederick Keys. Axelrod struck out nine batters while walking none. Since being promoted to “AA” earlier this season, Axelrod is 6-2 with a 2.20 ERA and a phenomenal strikeout-to-walk ratio of 68-10.
• RP Jason Markovitz of the “A” Clinton LumberKings (Seattle Mariners) pitched 3 innings of one-hit ball in a 15-4 loss to the Burlington Bees, striking out four and walking none. A 21-year-old who was drafted in the 13th round of the 2010 amateur draft, Markovitz was promoted to the LumberKings after just 11 games with the “A-short season” Everett AquaSox.

Two minor-leaguers hit home runs:

• 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AA” Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians) went 2/5 with a HR and 2 RBIs in an 11-7 win over the New Britain Rock Cats. A second-round pick in the 2009 amateur draft, Kipnis is batting .333 with 8 HRs and 31 since being promoted to the Aeros mid-season. For the entire season, he is batting .318 with 14 HRs and 62 RBIs.
• 1B Nate Freiman of the “A” Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) hit a three-run HR, accounting for all the TinCaps’ runs in a 3-2 victory over the Lake County Captains. A 6’7″ native of Wellesley, Mass., Freiman has four HRs in his past 10 games and is batting .301 with 14 HRs, 32 doubles and 73 RBIs.

Beset by injuries, Jewish major leaguers have not had much to report lately. But on Friday:

• 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins went 2/4 with a ground-rule double and 2 RBIs in a 4-3 win over the Oakland A’s. The 25-year-old rookie is batting .318 but has been in a slump, hitting just .171 over his last 10 games.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — You’ve heard of the 12 tribes. How about the 12 tribesman?

Two months after Major League Baseball held its 2010 amateur draft, we’re still figuring out how many of the player selected were Jewish. (At last count, we knew of 11.) Thanks to a tip from Jewish Baseball News reader Irwin Cohen, we recently discovered a 12th: Derek Goodwin.

A graduating senior at Diamond Ranch H.S. in Pomona, Calif., Goodwin was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 46th round (1389th overall). In an interview today (8/13/2010) with JBN, he discussed high-school ball, his thoughts on the draft, and his plans for the future:

• Goodwin was a double-threat at Diamond Ranch, where he played catcher and was the team’s ace pitcher. Since Diamond typically played two games per week, he would catch one game and pitch the other. For the purposes of the draft, however, Goodwin focused on catching. “Catching’s my best position,” he said.
• That the Milwaukee Brewers drafted him was not a big surprise. Senior year, Goodwin played in a Wednesday night “Brewers elite” league organized and coached by Brewers scouts. At Diamond Ranch games, scouts from the Brewers, the St. Louis Cardinals and the the San Diego Padres came to see him play.
• Though being drafted was exciting, Goodwin said he had hoped to be selected in an earlier round, where the signing bonuses are higher.
• Goodwin gave “some thought” to signing with the Brewers, but he accepted a baseball scholarship at Sacramento State instead. “After talking to the (Brewers’) scout over the phone, I decided I’m going to go play college for three years, get bigger and stronger, and try to get drafted again…I just want to improve my game and maybe get drafted toward the top 10 rounds after my junior year.”
• Goodwin’s father was a high-school pitcher, and his brother, a high-school catcher two years his junior, is already drawing interest from college baseball programs.
• Although Goodwin’s mother is not Jewish, he says he was raised in the Jewish tradition and identifies himself as such. Like many Jewish athletes, he says team practices didn’t leave him with time to study for a Bar Mitzvah. “We were too busy with sports,” he says.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Thursday, Aug. 12, 2010:

• 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AA” Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians) scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning for a 3-2 win over the Reading Phillies. A second-round pick in the 2009 amateur draft, Kipnis went 3/5 with a triple and one RBI. His .332 average is high enough to lead the league, but Kipnis — who was promoted to “AA” mid-season — lacks enough plate appearances to qualify for the batting crown.
• C Ryan Lavarnway of the “AA” Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) went 2/4 with a double and a walk in a 9-2 victory over the Bowie Baysox. In 104 games this season with Portland and the “A-Advanced” Salem Red Sox, Lavarnway is batting a combined .279 with 16 HRs, 84 RBIs, a .378 on-base percentage, and a .460 slugging percentage. As this article points out, the 23-year-old Yale alum has cooled off a bit since a red-hot start in “AA” ball.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2010:

• RP Michael Schwimer of the “AAA” Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies) pitched a perfect inning of relief, striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced in a 5-1 win over the Pawtucket Red Sox. Since being promoted to “AAA” earlier this season, the 6’8″ middle reliever has gone 2-2 with a 1.10 ERA, and “AAA” batters are hitting just .183 against him.
• 2B Joshua Satin of the Binghamton Mets (AA) went 3/3 and hit a HR for the second straight day in a 5-4 loss to the Harrisburg Senators. The 25-year-old Berkeley recruit has the highest on-base percentage on the Mets (.409) and is ranked 2nd in batting average (.318). In 54 games since being promoted to “AAA” ball, he has 3 HRs, 18 doubles and 29 RBIs.
• Batting cleanup, 1B Nate Freiman of the “A” Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) went 2/4 with a home run, walk and 2 RBIs in a 10-6 victory over the Lake County Captains. Freiman leads the TinCaps in home runs (13/tie), runs scored (74) and RBIs (70). The 6’7″ native of Wellesley, Mass., is ranked 2nd on the team in doubles (32) and slugging percentage (.470), and he ranks 3rd in batting average (.304), walks (52) and on-base percentage (.381).

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2010:

• OF Sam Fuld of the “AAA” Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs) hit two triples and scored one run in a 13-3 loss to the Portland Beavers. A 29-year-old Stanford recruit with brief stints in the majors in 2007 and 2009, Fuld is batting .271 and is tied for third in the “AAA” Pacific Coast League with 7 triples. Despite Mondays loss, the Cubs are 67-50 and have a 3.5-game lead in their division.
• 2B Joshua Satin of the Binghamton Mets (AA) hit a 3-run HR in a 7-1 victory over the  Harrisburg Senators. In a season split between Binghamton and “A-advanced” St. Lucie Mets, Satin is batting a combined .312 with 7 HRs, 33 doubles, 62 RBIs and a .403 on-base percentage.
• RF David Rubinstein of the “A” West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh Pirates) went 3/4 with a walk and a stolen base in a 17-3 loss to the Lakewood BlueClaws. A 23-year-old Appalachian State recruit who was a 2010 Mid-Season All-Star is batting .291 with 1 HR, 39 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
• 1B Mike Schwartz of the rookie-league Bristol White Sox (Chicago White Sox) went 3/5 with three RBIs in an 8-3 win over the Danville Braves. A 2010 recruit out of the University of Tampa, Schwartz is 6/11 with 4 RBIs over his last 3 games.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Monday, Aug. 9, 2010:

• Batting leadoff, LF Adam Stern of the “AAA” Nashville Sounds went 2/4 with a double, a walk, and one run scored in a 12-2 win over the Las Vegas 51s. The 30-year-old Canadian also threw out a runner who was trying to extend a single into a double. Stern — who went 0/8 in brief stints with the Milwaukee Brewers this season — is hitting .299 with 4 HRs and 25 RBIs in 214 at-bats at Nashville.
• RP Jeff Urlaub of the rookie-league AZL Athletics (Oakland Athletics) earned his first minor-league save in a 6-3 victory over the AZL Royals, striking out three of the four batters he faced. A 30th-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft, he has a 2.66 ERA with 22 strikeouts and only 3 walks.
• RP Andrew Pevsner of the rookie-league Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers) continued his stellar debut, striking out 2 of the 4 batters he faced and giving up one hit in a 3-2 loss to the Orem Owlz. A 16th-round pick in the 2010 draft, Pevsner is 3-0 with a 1.62 ERA, and he has struck out 17 batters in 16-and-2/3 innings pitched. He is a teammate of shortstop (and fellow Hebe) Jake Lemmerman.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday, August 8, 2010:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 2/4 with a walk, 2 RBIs and three runs scored in an 11-6 win over the Houston Astros. A 26-year-old in his fourth major-league season, Braun is on pace to hit career lows in home runs and RBIs this season. In the past 10 games he’s hit .425 with 5 RBIs and 9 runs scored.
• CF James Rapoport of the “AAA” Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) went 3/4 with a walk and one run scored in an 8-2 loss to the Reno Aces. Rapoport, 25, is batting .263 since being promoted to “AAA” ball earlier this season but .359 in August.
• SP Josh Zeid of the “A” Lakewood BlueClaws (Philadelphia Phillies) gave up just three hits and one run in a 5-4 loss to the West Virginia Power. Zeid, a 23-year-old in just his second year of minor-league ball, struck out 9 and walked two in seven innings, but BlueClaws reliever Luke Wertz gave up four runs in the 9th to lose the game. Zeid has an impressive 84 strikeoutsin 82 and 2/3 innings this season, along with 23 walks.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — In his first appearance since going on the disabled list 4 months ago, Washington Nationals SP Jason Marquis gave up 2 earned runs over 4 innings in an 8-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday (8/8/2010).

The first inning was a nightmare for the 31-year-old veteran. He allowed two hits, two walks, four stolen bases, and made a throwing error, leading to four Dodger runs.

But Marquis — who was 0-3 with a 20.52 ERA before he went on the disabled list with elbow problems — calmed down a bit afterward, giving up one run on three hits over the next three innings. He was replaced in the 5th inning after hitting leadoff batter Ryan Theriot with a pitch.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Saturday, August 7, 2010:

• OF Sam Fuld of the “AAA” Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs) went 2/5 with a walk, a run and a stolen base in a 7-3 win over the Tacoma Rainiers. A 29-year-old Stanford recruit with brief stints in the majors in 2007 and 2009, Fuld is batting .270 this season with 4 HRs, 25 RBIs, a team-leading 17 stolen bases and an on-base percentage of .365.
• SP Dylan Axelrod of the “A-Advanced” Winston-Salem Dash (Chicago White Sox) gave up just four hits and one earned run over 8 innings, propelling the Dash to a 6-1 victory over the Frederick Keys. The 25-year-old struck out four and walked none. Since being promoted from “A” ball earlier this season, Axelrod has gone 6-2 with a 2.29 ERA across 74 and 2/3 innings, with a phenomenal strikeout-to-walk ratio of 59-10.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Friday, Aug. 6, 2010:

• 1B Nate Freiman of the “A” Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) went 3/5 with a home run, walk and 2 RBIs in a 12-3 crushing of the Lansing Lugnuts. A 2009 recruit out of Duke University, Freiman is ranked 1st on the TinCaps in runs scored (71), doubles (32), RBIs (68) and home runs (12/tie); 2nd in slugging percentage (.471) and batting average (.307/tie); and 3rd in walks (48) and on-base percentage (.381).
• 1B Mike Schwartz of the rookie-league Bristol White Sox (Chicago White Sox) went 2/3 with a double and run scored in an 11-3 loss to the Johnson City Cardinals. A 2010 recruit out of the University of Tampa, Schwartz is batting just .224 in 76 at-bats but has a team-leading .410 on-base percentage, thanks to his skill at drawing walks (20 so far this season).

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Thursday, August 5, 2010:

• SP Brett Lorin of the “A” West Virginia Power (Pittsburgh Pirates) pitched 5 shutout innings and struck out two in a 5-1 win over the Delmarva Shorebirds. A 23-year-old righty who stands 6’7″ (see Monsters of the Mound), Lorin is 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA since being promoted to “A” ball earlier this season.
• SP Jason Knapp, a 19-year-old “Monster of the Mound” with the rookie-league AZL Indians (Cleveland Indians), pitched three shutout innings in an 8-3 victory over the AZL Royals. In six innings pitched this season, Knapp has given up a total of 2 hits and no runs while striking out 11.
• SS Jake Lemmerman of the rookie-league Ogden Raptors (Los Angeles Dodgers) went 4/4 with two doubles in a 3-2 triumph over the Casper Ghosts. Lemmerman had a hand in all three Raptors runs yesterday, driving in two and scoring one. The #1 Jewish player in the 2010 amateur draft, he is ranked fourth in the Rookie Pioneer League in batting average (.357), first in doubles (17), and sixth in on-base percentage (.416), slugging percentage (.554) and OPS (.970).

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis will have season-ending surgery on his right thumb Friday, the team reported yesterday (8/5/2010).

For insight into how badly his injury hurts the Red Sox, listen to this video commentary by Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan, who argues that Youkilis is among the premier hitters and fielders in baseball and should have been named 2008 American League MVP instead of teammate Dustin Pedroia:

There really is no way to exaggerate the scope of this loss to the team…(He’s) the most versatile batter at Terry Francona’s disposal…Kevin Youkilis has been one of the premier run-producers and winners in baseball…He plays first base at a Gold Glove level…He cannot be replaced. It is a mortal blow to the Red Sox. No way they can overcome this.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 3, 2010:

• A day after going 4/7 in a doubleheader, 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AA” Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians) went 2/4 with a triple and HR in a 5-1 loss to the Altoona Curve. A 23-year-old out of Arizona State, Kipnis raised his batting average to .337, which would be second-highest in the Eastern League if he had enough at-bats. (He began the 2010 season with the “A+” Kinston Indians.)
• 1B Nate Freiman of the “A” Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) went 3/4 with a double and a walk in a 5-0 win over the Lansing Lugnuts. Freiman, a 6’7″ recruit out of Duke University, is batting .302 with 11 HRs and 65 RBIs in his second minor-league season.
• RP Jeff Urlaub of the rookie-league AZL Athletics (Oakland Athletics) pitched 3 perfect innings and struck out four in a 9-1 loss to the AZL Brewers. A 30th-round pick in the 2010 amateur draft, Urlaub has a 2.84 ERA with 19 strikeouts in 19 innings and just 3 walks.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and may be out for the season if he needs surgery, the Boston Globe reported.

The 31-year-old slugger tore a muscle in his right thumb Monday night (8/2/2010) while swinging at a pitch tossed by Cleveland Indians pitcher Fausto Carmona (see video). He sat out Tuesday’s game.

Says the Globe:

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 3, 2010:

• A day after going 5-for 7 with 2 RBIs, LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers smacked three hits and walked once in a 4-3 victory over the Chicago Cubs. Braun’s two-day barrage has lifted his season batting average 12 points to .286.
• 2B Jason Kipnis of the “AA” Akron Aeros (Cleveland Indians) went 2-for-3 and 2-for-4 in double-header losses to the Altoona Curve. Kipnis, a 23-year-old out of Arizona State, drove in two runs and scored and walked once apiece. Since being promoted to “AA” ball earlier this season, he’s batting a sizzling .333 with 6 HRs and 23 RBIs in 180 at-bats. Kipnis leads the Aeros in on-base percentage (.412) and OPS (.940) and is third in slugging percentage (.528).
• Playing as designated hitter, C Charlie Cutler of the “A+” Palm Beach Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) went 3-for-3 with 1 RBI and 3 runs scored in a 7-2 win over the Clearwater Thrashers. Since being demoted from “AA” ball earlier this season, the 24-year-old San Francisco native is batting .295 with 1 HR and 17 RBIs in 146 at-bats.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here is your player of the day for Monday, August 2, 2010:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 5-for-7 (all singles) with 2 RBIs in an 18-1 massacre of the Chicago Cubs, lifting his season batting average seven points to .281. Braun’s only other five-hit game came on 4/21/2009, when he went 5-for-5 with 2 HRs and 4 RBIs in an 11-4 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. Braun started the 2010 season on fire but has cooled off considerably since then, batting .355 in April, .286 in May, .264 in June, and .200 in July. He hit .320 in 2009. According to Martin Abramowitz of Jewish Major Leaguers, the record for hits in a single 9-inning game by a Jewish batter is six, shared by Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler and Shawn Green. Kinsler went 6-for-6 and hit for the cycle last year against the Baltimore Orioles (4/15/2009), driving in 4 runs and crossing the plate 5 times. Green, then in right field for the Los Angeles Dodgers, went 6-for-6 with four home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on 5/23/02, with 7 RBIs and 6 runs scored.
  

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your players of the day for Sun., August 1, 2010:

• 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in a 4-0 win over the Seattle Mariners, the Twins’ 8th-straight victory. The 25-year-old rookie is batting .388 for the season (103 at-bats) and .486 over his last 10 games.
• LF James Rapoport of the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) went 2-for-5 with a triple and an RBI in a 12-6 victory over the Omaha Royals. Rapoport, who majored in public policy at Stanford Univ., is batting .253 since being called up to “AAA” ball.
  
• 2B Joshua Satin of the Binghamton Mets (AA) went 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored in an 8-3 win over the Erie SeaWolves. Since being promoted from the “A+) St. Lucie Mets, the 25-year-old UC-Berkeley product is batting .311 with one home run and 22 RBIs in 167 at-bats, as well as a .408 on-base percentage.
• SP David Kopp of the Springfield Cardinals (AA) pitched a beauty of a game, giving up just one run, four hits and no walks in seven innings against the New Arkansas Naturals. But the Cards managed just two hits in a 1-o loss. Kopp — who went 0-and-5 during a mid-season stint with the Memphis Redbirds (AAA) — is 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA for Springfield.
  

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