Jewish Baseball News

Jason Kipnis

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Highly-touted Cleveland Indians prospect Jason Kipnis will be the newest Jewish major-leaguer.

Shortly after today’s announcement of his impending promotion from the “AAA” Columbus Clippers (7/21/2011), MLB.com reported that Kipnis could make his MLB debut as early as Friday (7/22/2011).

“It’s time!” the 24-year-old wrote on his Twitter feed earlier today. “I’m coming Cleveland!”

The promotion did not come as a surprise. Drafted in 2009, Kipnis has quickly risen through the minor-league ranks. Through Wednesday’s games, the Illinois native led the “AAA” International League in triples (9) while ranking 2nd in runs scored (64), 7th in total bases (164), 10th in walks (44/tied), 12th in RBIs (55), and 17th in stolen bases (12).

Among the honors Kipnis already has received this season: a Player of the Week award, a starting slot in the AAA all-star game, and selection to the prestigious XM Futures Game, in which he homered.

Where Kipnis will play for the first-place Indians is an intriguing question. An outfielder through 2009, the franchise switched him to second base last year. But MLB.com says the Tribe’s greater need at present is in the outfield.

Friday’s home game against the Chicago White Sox will begin at 7:05pm EST.

Three  Jews made their ML B debuts last season: Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia, who finished 3rd in voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year; New York Mets 1B Ike Davis, who finished 7th in the N.L. Rookie of the Year vote; and Boston Red Sox CF Ryan Kalish.

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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 — Voting began yesterday (4/26/2011) for the 2011 All-Star Game, and all 6 Jewish position players were on the ballot.

The six include:

• Tampa Bay Rays OF Sam Fuld
• Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun
• New York Mets 1B Ike Davis
• Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia
• Boston Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis
• Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler

Fans can vote online by going here, and up to 25 times .

All-Star pitchers are selected by team managers, so the fate of Jewish throwers like Oakland A’s reliever Craig Breslow, Washington Nationals starter Jason Marquis and Chicago Cubs reliever John Grabow remains to be seen.

The biggest surprise on the list is the selection of Sam Fuld, who began the season a virtual unknown but has grown famous for his aggressive baserunning, daring catches and surprisingly productive hitting. MLB.com’s article on the All-Star ballot even mentions him:

Could the amazing first-month story of Rays outfielder Sam Fuld carry momentum through the voting?

As they say in Chicago, vote early and often.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — There was another display of Maccabee Power in Major League Baseball yesterday (4/23/2011).

Four Jewish ballplayers — Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun, New York Mets 1B Ike Davis, Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia, and Boston Red Sox 3B Kevin Youkilis — hit HRs, along with a combined 8 RBIs.

It’s no fluke. Through Saturday (4/23/2011), baseball’s six Jewish position players had hit a total of 23 HRs in 431 at-bats, or one in every 18.7 at-bats. By contrast, according to Jewish Baseball News calculations, non-Jewish players had a combined 526 HRs in 20,230 at-bats, or one in every 38.5 at-bats.

The comparison is ever-so-slightly skewed, because the non-Jewish totals include at-bats by pitchers, who typically are not HR hitters. Even so, it’s likely that Jewish position players are out-homering their non-Jewish counterparts roughly 2-to-1.

Leading the way for the Maccabees are Braun, who is tied for the National League lead with 7 HRs, and Kinsler, who has 5.

Several Jewish players are on a hot streak. Davis has homered in each of his last 3 games, Braun in 3 of his last 4, and Youkilis in 4 of his last 8.

The player with the least round-trippers is Sam Fuld, with one. But Fuld has nothing to be ashamed of. He leads the American League in stolen bases (10), ranks 4th in batting average (.365), and is tied for 2nd in triples (2),

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS –Maybe it’s the matzoh.

What is it about Jewish baseball players and Passover this season? On Monday (4/18), the night of the first seder, five Jewish batters hit a collective .650, each one knocking out anywhere from 2 to 4 hits apiece.

Last night (4/23), the Jews brought their homer sticks to the Passover plate, too. Ryan Braun, Sam Fuld, Ike Davis and Ian Kinsler batted a combined .550, hit a total of 3 long balls, and drove in 7 runs.

Elijah did not play.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — When it comes to driving in runs, New York Mets 1B Ike Davis has some pretty elite company this season.

Davis, a second-year player, has 11 RBIs so far. He shares the MLB lead with three offensive juggernauts: Milwaukee Brewers 1B Prince Fielder, Philadelphia Phillies 1B Ryan Howard, and Chicago White Sox 1B Paul Konerko. It’s noteworthy that all four play 1st base.

Overall this season, Davis is batting .351 with 1 HR, 5 extra-base hits, and a .419 on-base percentage.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Three games into the 2011 season, Jewish players are aiming for the seats.

On Sunday alone (4/3/2011) they hit four, raising the season total to 7 in 54 at-bats, or roughly one HR every 8 at-bats.

For comparison’s sake, in 2010 players across all of major-league baseball hit 4,613 HRs in 165,354 at-bats, about one HR in every 36 at-bats.

Leading the way for the Jews of 2011 is Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler. The 5th-year player has hit a dinger in each of his team’s 3 games (including this one on Sunday), tying him with three others for the major-league lead. Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun has 2 HRs so far; Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia and New York Mets 1B Ike Davis each have one.

Nine Jewish players made it onto opening-day rosters this season, including six position players and three pitchers.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The 2011 MLB season opened Thursday (3/31/2011), and Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun started things off on the right foot.

Braun, 27, went 2/3 with a long blast over the center-field fence, two walks, and 3 runs scored in a 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. In 2010, Braun went 2/4 on Opening Day, with a double, sacrifice fly, and two RBIs.

Braun is one of 9 Jewish players to make this year’s Opening Day rosters. They are:

• 3B Danny Valencia (Minnesota Twins)
• 2B Ian Kinsler (Texas Rangers)
• 1B Ike Davis (New York Mets)
• 3B Kevin Youkilis (Boston Red Sox)
• CF Sam Fuld (Tampa Bay Rays)
• P Jason Marquis (Washington Nationals)
• P John Grabow (Chicago Cubs)
• P Craig Breslow (Oakland A’s)
• LF Ryan Braun (Milwaukee Brewers)

Several players who were on major-league teams in 2010 didn’t make an Opening Day roster this year. The Boston Red Sox sent LF Ryan Kalish to the team’s AAA affiliate, the Los Angeles Dodgers cut RF Gabe Kapler, and Texas Rangers P Scott Feldman is on the disabled list.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — At least 19 Jews got playing time during Spring Training 2011, including five pitchers and 14 position players.

Here are our awards honoring the best, worst, and most surprising performances:

Best All-Around Offense: Ian Kinsler. The Texas Rangers 2B didn’t look like the same player who sat out nearly 100 games last season with injuries. Kinsler, 28, led all Jewish batters with 7 doubles, 5 HRs, 13 RBIs (tied), and a .389 on-base percentage. Although Jewish batters as a group struck out way more than they walked (94 vs. 41), Kinsler was one of just two players who didn’t, matching his 5 Ks with 5 BBs.

Best All-Around Offense (runner-up): Ryan Braun. The Milwaukee Brewers LF batted only 40 times, but that didn’t stop him from hitting 4 HRs, driving in 11 runs, and leading all Jews with 15 runs scored, a .325 batting average, .700 slugging percentage, and 1.072 OPS (on-base percentage plus slugging percentage).

Best All-Around Offense (honorable mention): Ike Davis. The New York Mets 1B pretty much matched the productivity of his 2010 rookie season, hitting .273 with 3 HRs, 13 RBIs (tied/1st), and a .344 on-base percentage.

Breakout offense: Sam Fuld. At 29, you can’t quite call the Tampa Bay Rays CF an up-and-comer. But Fuld made the most of what turned out to be his best chance in years to make an opening-day roster, hitting .277 with 1 HR, 5 extra-base hits, 8 RBIs, and 4 stolen bases. And he got his wish: a seat on the Rays’ bench.

Most disappointing offense: Kevin Youkilis. Whatever you chalk it up to — bad thumb, the distraction of switching from 1B to 3B, etc. — the Boston Red Sox stalwart, normally an on-base machine, struggled at the plate this Spring. Youk hit  just .175 with no HRs, 4 RBIs, a Jew-high 15 strikeouts, and just 4 walks. Teammate Ryan Kalish was a close second in this category, hitting .235 with 0 HRs and one lonely RBI.

Weirdest stats: Ben Guez. The Detroit Tigers CF has yet to play a regular-season MLB game and saw only limited playing time in Spring Training, getting 12 plate appearances and 7 at-bats. But oh, what Guez did with them. The 24-year-old singled twice, doubled once, and walked five times, good enough for a .429 batting average and .667 on-base percentage.

Nicest surprise: John Grabow. After a dismal 2010 in which he went 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA and “held” opposing batters to a .321 average, the Chicago Cubs reliever must have grown tired of being Public Enemy #1 in the Windy City. How else can you explain Grabow’s 2.57 ERA in Spring Training? A close second to Grabow in this awards category is Washington Nationals starter Jason Marquis, who went 2-9 with a 6.60 ERA in an injury-plagued 2010 season but finished Spring Training with a 1-1 record and a 4.02 ERA.

Worst surprise: Craig Breslow. Arguably the only Jewish MLB pitcher who didn’t embarrass himself last year, the Oakland A’s reliever went 4-4 in 2010 with a 3.01 ERA, holding opposing batters to a meek .194 batting average. But Breslow had an awful spring, with an 11.25 ERA and an opposing-hitters batting average of, believe it or not, .500. The saving grace? We’re only talking about 5 appearances and 4 innings pitched, not a lot to go on. Still, the Freaky Friday switcheroo Breslow and Grabow did this Spring has got us mighty confused.

Here are the final 2011 Spring Training stats for position players:

And the final 2011 stats for pitchers:

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Daily Highlights for Tuesday (3/15/2011):

New York Mets 1B Ike Davis went 2/3 with 3 RBIs in a 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals, stroking a two-run double and an RBI single. Davis, who finished 7th in last year’s N.L. Rookie of the Year voting, is batting .360 in 25 at-bats this spring, with 2 HRs, a team-leading 9 RBIs, and a .484 on-base percentage.

Tampa Bay Rays CF Sam Fuld is hitting just .091 this spring (2/22), but on Tuesday the 29-year-old showed just how productive he can be, scoring 3 runs despite going 0/1 at the plate. In the 4th inning, Fuld walked, stole second, and scored on Evan Longoria’s single. In the 6th, he walked and scored on a double. In the 8th, he got on base due to a fielder’s choice and later scored on a double.

Meanwhile Tuesday, Fuld survived another round of cuts in his bid to make the Rays’ opening-day roste

Los Angeles Dodgers RF Gabe Kapler, another Jewish player seeking an opening-day roster spot, hit a pinch-hit RBI single in the 8th inning to help L.A. beat the Texas Rangers 8-7. In 27 at-bats this spring, Kapler is batting .222 with 3 RBIs.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Spring Training 2011 is just two weeks old. Many players are still shedding their off-season rust. But a couple Jewish players are already tearing the stitching off the ball.

Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, who was hobbled by injuries last season, leads all MLB players with 4 HRs, is tied for second with 7 RBIs, and is batting .444 (8/18). Figure in walks, and he has a nifty on-base percentage of .545.

Also hitting well is Minnesota Twins 3B Danny Valencia. After finishing 3rd in voting for the A.L. Rookie of the Year award last year, Valencia is batting .500 (6/12) with 3 RBIs and is tied for the A.L. lead in doubles, with four.

Here is how all Jewish position players were doing through Mon., March 7:

Among pitchers, Washington Nationals starter Jason Marquis followed up a difficult 2010 with a strong spring-training outing, giving up just 1 hit over 3 innings in his only game played so far. Here’s how all Jewish pitchers were doing through March 7:

To track Jewish players in Spring Training, visit Jewish Baseball News for our daily box score.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — New York Mets 1B Ike Davis finished 7th in voting for the N.L. Rookie of the Year award, the Baseball Writers’ Association of American reported today (11/15/2010).

Despite finishing the 2010 season among the top N.L. rookies in several offensive categories, the 23-year-old received only two votes for Rookie of the Year, both for 3rd place. San Francisco Giants C Buster Posey won the award with 129 points. (See vote totals below.)

After being called-up from AAA in late April, Davis hit .264 and ranked 2nd among N.L. rookies in runs scored (73), 3rd in RBIs (71), and 3rd in HRs (19/tie).  He also starred in the field, leading all N.L. First Basemen in UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating), which estimates how many more (or fewer) runs a fielder prevented than he allowed.

For information on the 2010 A.L. Rookie of the Year award, visit Jewish Baseball News here.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Albert Pujols, not Ike Davis, has won the 2010 N.L. Gold Glove award for first basemen.

Davis, the New York Mets rookie, was considered a strong contender for the award despite being a first-year player. The 23-year-old made several highlight-reel catches during the season and led all National League first baseman in UZR, a complicated statistic that tries to measure how many runs a fielder’s efforts prevented vs. allowed.

Davis drew so much attention for his head-over-heels catches into the dugout that his former minor-league team, the Brooklyn Cyclones, issued a bobble-head doll showing Davis upside down.

The Gold Glove award was the second for Pujols, who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. He also won the award in 2006.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Thursday (10/1/2010).

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit an RBI single, drew a walk, and scored his 100th run of the season in a 9-2 win over the New York Mets. Braun is batting .306 and leads all MLB Jews with 25 HRs and 103 RBIs. According to MLB.com, he is one of only 2 players in Brewers history to reach 100 RBIs and 100 runs in two consecutive seasons. Mets 1B Ike Davis entered the game as a pinch-hitter and went 0/2.
• Rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins doubled, walked, and scored a run in a 13-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. Valencia, a Rookie of the Year hopeful who recently began hitting for power, leads all MLB rookies with a .323 batting average.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday (9/29/2010).

It was Jew vs. Jew in a double-header between the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets. Here’s how the match-up went:

• LF Ryan Braun carried the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-1 win in Game 2 with a two-run double, his career-high 44th two-bagger. Braun is batting .306 this season and leads MLB Jews with 25 HRs and 102 RBIs. He went 1/5 in Game 1, which the Brewers won 8-7.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 0/4 in the double-header but drew 4 walks and hit a sacrifice fly. The 23-year-old has shown improving judgment at the plate in recent months; so far in September he has raised his batting average from .248 to .266, and his on-base percentage from .331 to .354.

In other games:

• Rookie 3B Danny Valencia of the Minnesota Twins singled 3 times in a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Royals. It was his 10th game with 3 or more hits since being called up from the minors in June but his first since Sept. 2. Valencia, who recently has been hitting more for power than average, leads all MLB rookies with a .323 batting average.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Tuesday (9/28/2010):

• SP Jason Marquis of the Washington Nationals pitched well in his final start of the 2010 season, tossing 6 innings of one-run ball in a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The Manhasset, N.Y., native scattered 7 hits and one walk while striking out 7 (see highlight video). After a horrendous start this year followed by several months on the disabled list, Marquis is 2-9 with a 6.60 ERA, but his ERA over the past 10 games is a more svelte 4.29. According to a broadcaster during yesterday’s game:

“(Nationals’ manager) Jim Riggleman says he doesn’t take any thing for granted for 2011, but he will be very surprised if Jason is not a major force on this pitching staff.”

• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets doubled to start a 9th-inning rally and scored the tying run in a 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers. Davis is 2nd among N.L. rookies in doubles (33), walks (67) and runs scored (72); 3rd in RBIs (69); and 4th in HRs (18/tie). He also has the dubious honor of being 1st in strikeouts (134). So far in September, Davis has raised his batting average from .246 to .268.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday (9/26/2010):

• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 1/3, drew 2 walks, and scored once in a 7-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies. Davis is 1st among N.L. rookies in strikeouts (133); 2nd in doubles (32), walks (67) and runs scored (71/tie); 3rd in RBIs (69), and 4th in HRs (18/tie). So far in September he has raised his batting average from .246 to .268.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers pounded two 2-run HRs (one, two) and drew a walk in a 7-1 win over the Florida Marlins. The power burst left Braun with 100 RBIs, making him the 3rd player in Brewer history to reach that plateau for three consecutive seasons. The 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year has had a remarkable August and September so far, hitting 9 HRs, driving in 36 runs, and boosting his batting average from .274 to .307. With the 2010 season nearly done, he has a career-high 43 doubles but is at career lows in HRs (25), triples (1), and slugging percentage (.508).

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Friday (9/24/2010):

• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets went 3/4 and scored once in a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. A 9th-inning double was his 32nd two-bagger of the season, second-highest among N.L. rookies. Davis is tied for 3rd among N.L. rookies in HRs (18), RBIs (69) and runs (69), but also has the most strikeouts (132).
• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers doubled, singled, and scored a run in a 10-3 win over the Oakland A’s. In a season shortened by injury, the 28-year-old Tucson, Ariz., native is batting .290 with 9 HRs, 45 RBIs, a .381 on-base percentage and 13 stolen bases in 18 tries.

And now, your Jewish Star of the Day:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers smacked a 2-run single and an RBI double in a 6-2 win over the Florida Marlins. The 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year is batting .308 with 23 HRs, 96 RBIs, a career-high 43 doubles, and 14 stolen bases in 17 attempts.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Wednesday (9/22/2010):

• In his first game since a disastrous appearance on Yom Kippur, SP Jason Marquis of the Washington Nationals gave up 2 earned runs on 7 hits in a 4-3 loss to the Houston Astros. He held Houston to one run over six innings but was pulled after giving up a leadoff double in the 7th, which later turned into a run. Marquis, who spent several months on the disabled list after getting elbow surgery, is 2-9 with a 7.18 ERA.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets singled twice and scored once in a 7-5 loss to the Florida Marlins. Here is an interview with him about his first season in the Majors, plus an article on how he memorizes his at-bats against individual pitchers.
• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit his career-high 42nd double and reached base four times in a 13-1 laugher over the Cincinnati Reds. The 2007 N.L. Rookie of the Year was pulled in the 5th inning after being hit on the left elbow with a pitch. Braun’s 42 doubles rank 3rd in the N.L.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Sunday (9/19/2010):

• In his first major-league start since 10/4/2009, CF Sam Fuld went 2/6 with an RBI double and a single to help the Chicago Cubs defeat the Florida Marlins, 13-3. As Jewish Baseball News reader Jessica R. points out, Fuld may get a few more starts due to a bizarre, broken-bat injury suffered Sunday by RF Tyler Colvin. ‘
• 2B Ian Kinsler of the Texas Rangers reached base twice in a 2-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Kinsler singled and drew a walk.
• Rookie 1B Ike Davis of the New York Mets singled twice and scored once in a 6-3 win over the Atlanta Braves.
• RP Craig Breslow of the Oakland A’s pitched a perfect 9th inning and struck out two batters to preserve a 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins. The 30-year-old middle reliever has a 3.19 ERA, tops among MLB Jews, and is having one of his best months of the season. His September ERA is 1.93, second only to his May ERA of 0.71.

And now, your Jewish Baseball News Star of the Day:

• LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers hit his third HR in the past 5 games, a two-run shot that accounted for both of the Brewers’ runs in a 9-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants. More impressive was Braun’s leaping catch over the outfield fence to rob the Giants’ Cody Ross of a home run. The play was so spectacular it inspired a separate article on MLB.com.

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