Jewish Baseball News

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — And now, news that enthralls about Jews with balls:

• Florida International University sophomore Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak to 45 games Sunday (5/16/2010) in a 5-0 win over the University of South Alabama. The 20-year-old infielder went 1-for-4 with a single and an RBI. At 45 games, he is tied with Roger Schmuck for the third-longest Division I hitting streak in history. Next target: Phil Stephenson’s 2nd-place record of 47, set at Wichita State in 1981. FIU plays Florida Atlantic University on Thursday (5/20/2001).
• For Milwaukee Brewers OF Adam Stern, the pressure was on Friday (5/14/2010). Stern, 30, hadn’t batted in a major-league game in more than four years (since April 19, 2006). Now, after a lengthy soujourn in the minors, he was back in the bigs, pinch-hitting for pitcher Randy Wolff in the 5th inning of a game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Alas, there was no storybook ending: 47-year-old Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer struck Stern out on seven pitches.
• The Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy in suburban Philadelphia is 16-and-3 this season and aims to win its fourth straight Penn-Jersey League championship, as well as compete in the Tri-County League playoffs. They won the Tri-County League semifinals 8-7 today (5/17/2010) by scoring five runs in their final at-bat. Congratulations, guys.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The latest developments among Jews with bats:

• Jason Hirsh, starting pitcher for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (AAA), continued his  turnaround Thursday (5/13/2010) with a 7-3 victory against the Columbus Clippers. A 6’8″, 250-pound former major leaguer who began the season with three consecutive losses, Hirsh pitched six innings against Columbus, giving up three earned runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four. The fourth straight win improved his 2010 record to 4-and-3.
• The St. Louis Cardinals recently promoted CF James Rapoport to their AAA squad. In six games with the Memphis Redbirds, Rapoport has had three multi-hit games and is hitting .296.
• SP Stephen Strasburg, the Washington Nationals’ No. 1 overall pick in the 2009 draft, continued his remarkable first season in the minors Wednesday (5/12/2010) with a 6-inning, no-hit outing for the Syracuse Chiefs (AAA). Strasburg, who is not Jewish, may have dominated media coverage of the game, but teammate Josh Whitesell helped seal the Chief’s 4-1 victory over the Norfolk Tides with a three-run triple in the 5th inning.
• Florida International University standout Garrett Wittels reportedly is headed to Alaska this summer. According to this article, Wittels — currently enjoying a 43-game hitting streak at FIU — will play for the Peninsula Oilers of the Alaska Baseball League, a six-team summer league. Peninsula is based in Kenai, Alaska.
• Washington Nationals SP Jason Marquis had surgery on his elbow Friday (5/14/2010). Marquis, who had bone chips in the elbow, is expected to begin rehab immediately and begin making minor-league rehab appearances in four to six weeks.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Florida International University sophomore Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak to 43 games Friday (5/14/2010) in a 6-5 win over the University of South Alabama. Wittels hit an RBI single in the first inning but went hitless the rest of the game.

Eric Berkowitz, a senior closer and fellow Jew, pitched one inning of shutout ball to get the save, striking out one batter and allowing one hit.

Wittels, a 20-year-old infielder, has the longest active hitting streak in Division I baseball and the 4th longest in league history. A hit in tonight’s (5/15/2010) game against South Alabama would tie Wittels with Roger Schmuck, who assembled a 45-game hitting streak for Arizona State in 1971.

No word on whether Roger Schmuck was Jewish. But with a name like that, you’d have to hope so.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Talk about consistency.

Florida International University sophomore Garrett Wittels has played in 42 games this season, and he’s had a base hit in every one. The 42-game streak is tied for 4th-highest in Division I history and has earned Wittels a bushel of media attention recently, including a Miami Herald profile (in which father Michael Wittels comes out sounding a bit like The Great Santini), and an interview on ESPN 2.

On Friday (5/14/2010), Wittels will have a chance to extend his streak when FIU begins a playoff series against the University of South Alabama. The Division I mark of 58 games was set in 1987 by Robin Ventura, who went on to play for the Chicago White Sox and three other teams over a 15-year pro career.

Wittels, a 20-year-old infielder from Bay Harbor Island, Fla., has rung up some other impressive statistics this season, including a .412 batting average (#1 on the team), .468 on-base average (#1), .537 slugging percentage (#3), 46 RBIs (#2), 12 doubles (tied for #2), and only 16 strikeouts, the fewest of any starter.

Wittels isn’t the only Jewish player making a difference on the Golden Panthers this season. The team’s closer, senior Eric Berkowitz, has six saves, 44 strikeouts and only 17 walks in 47 innings pitched, good enough to earn his own profile in the Miami Herald. As the Herald points out, Berkowitz is tiny for a pitcher (5’8″, 155 lbs.) but can deliver a fastball over 90 mph.

Friday’s game begins at 7:00pm EST.

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