Jewish Baseball News

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — It didn’t take long for the the New York Mets to call up 23-year-old first baseman Ike Davis.

Davis, the 18th overall pick in the June 2008 amateur draft, hit a blistering .480 with three home runs, three doubles and 10 RBIs in just 25 at-bats during the Mets’ Spring Training this year. The team sent him to the AAA Buffalo Bisons anyway to get some more plate experience, but an injury suffered by Mets starter Daniel Murphy helped pave the way for Davis’ swift return.

Davis wasted no time contributing. In his first MLB game Monday night (4/19/2010), he went 2-for-4 with one RBI in a 6-1 Mets victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Davis’ father, relief pitcher Ron Davis, played for five teams during an MLB career that stretched from 1978 to 1988.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Fresh from being jettisoned by the Milwaukee Brewers, pitcher Scott Schoeneweis has signed on with the Boston Red Sox. The 36-year-old lefty was given the final spot in the team’s bullpen.

From ML B.com:

“You know, the cliché of things happening for a reason or whatever, this could turn out to be a really excellent situation,” Schoeneweis told MLB.com. “Like I said, my mom is from Newton (Mass.). I grew up going to Fenway. I’ve always pitched well there. It’s a special place. If anyone asks me what my favorite place to play is, I don’t even blink an eye — that’s what it is. I’m excited. This is exciting for me.”

Boston will be Schoeneweis’ sixth MLB team in an 11-year career, during which he has assembled a 46-and-57 record and 4.97 ERA. Schoeneweis was a starting pitcher during much of the first half of his career but became a full-time reliever in 2005 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Schoeneweis’ signing makes him the second Jewish player on the Red Sox’s 25-man roster, after All-Star first baseman Kevin Youkilis.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The New York Mets sent Ike Davis to their AAA squad, despite a phenomenal Spring Training that saw the 23-year-old first baseman hit .480 with three home runs and 10 RBIs in just 25 at-bats.

From the New York Post:

“We brought [Davis] into the room and let him know how impressed we were with him this spring training,” GM Omar Minaya said. “He showed us a lot of good things. He needs to go to Triple-A and get at-bats.”

Davis, the 18th pick overall in the June 2008 amateur draft, was promoted to AA ball midway through the 2009 season. He hit .309 for the Binghamton Mets (AA), with 13 home runs and 43 RBIs in 207 at-bats.

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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The Milwaukee Brewers released pitcher Scott Schoeneweis today, offering him a spot on their AAA team instead. But Schoeneweis, 36, rejected the minor-league assignment and expressed dismay at the team’s decision.

Despite earning a 7.71 ERA in seven Spring Training innings, Schoeneweis struck out 10 batters and walked just two.

“It’s not performance-based,” he told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “It can’t be. I did everything I said I would do.”

Schoeneweis, a single father of four, lost his wife to a drug overdose during the 2009 baseball season. He said he would ask his agent to find a spot on another MLB club.

As a non-roster invitee, Schoeneweis was not on the Brewers’ 40-man roster and had a relatively slim chance of making the club. The Brewers still have one Jewish player on the team, All-Star LF Ryan Braun.

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