MLB Monday (September 7-13, 2020)

By Scott Barancik, Editor

Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 7-13, 2020:

Mazel tov

MLB.com columnist Jonathan Mayo ranked Orioles rookie Dean Kremer #9 last week on a list of baseball’s hottest rookies.
MLB.com gave manager Gabe Kapler credit for inspiring his San Francisco Giants to come back from their early-season woes to reach the eighth and final N.L. postseason spot with less than 20 games to play (see article).

Stats to share

There’s a good reason Max Fried (Braves) is #2 in ESPN.com’s ranking of pitchers most likely to win the N.L. Cy Young Award. As Jewish Baseball News reader Jack W. points out, the southpaw leads all MLB pitchers in lowest exit velocity, lowest barrel percentage, and lowest hard-hit percentage.
Through September 13, Jewish pitchers were a combined 9-2 with a 2.39 ERA and 83 strikeouts over 90.1 innings. The combined ERA for all MLB pitchers is 4.41.
A hefty percentage of Jewish ballplayers are likely to compete in this year’s playoffs. According to ESPN.com, the Dodgers (Joc Pederson), Rays (Ryan Sherriff), and Braves (Max Fried) all have a 100 percent chance of making the postseason, while the Blue Jays (Rowdy Tellez) have a 98.3 percent shot, the Astros are at 94.3 percent (Alex Bregman, Garrett Stubbs), and the Cardinals (Rob Kaminsky) have a 77.9 percent chance.
Don’t forget: for Jewish players’ season totals — both current and historical — visit the Season Stats box on the Jewish Baseball News home page.

At the plate

OF Ryan Braun (Brewers) hit .364 (4-for-11) last week with 2 HRs, 6 RBIs, a walk, and a .385 on-base percentage.
OF Joc Pederson (Dodgers) hit .200 (1-for-5) with a double and a .200 OBP.
OF Kevin Pillar hit .190 (4-for-21) with a double, one RBI, and a .190 OBP.
3B Alex Bregman (Astros), back after nearly three weeks on the injured list, hit .125 (2-for-16) with a double, one RBI, 2 walks, and a .222 OBP. Bregman’s 2020 season has been a far cry from 2019, when he finished second in the American League MVP vote.
1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) hit .125 (1-for-8) with a double and 2 RBIs before going on the injured list September 9 with a right knee strain.
C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) was optioned to Houston’s alternate training site on September 9.

On the mound

Dean Kremer (Orioles) pitched well again in his second Major League start on September 12, yielding one earn run on 4 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings while striking out seven Yankee batters. His ERA is a slim 1.64.
Cardinals rookie Rob Kaminsky (Cardinals) maintained his perfect 0.00 ERA, pitching 2 scoreless innings on a combined 2 hits, no walks, and a strikeout.
Ryan Sherriff (Rays) tossed 1.1 innings of scoreless ball across 2 games, yielding two hits and no walks.
Max Fried (Braves) suffered his only subpar outing of the 2020 season on September 5, yielding 3 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings while striking out 4. Did a spasm in his lumbar spine muscle play a role? Fried went onto the injured list on September 8.
Richard Bleier (Marlins) went 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA across 3 appaerances, yielding one earned run on 4 hits and 2 walks over 1.2 combined innings.
Robert Stock (Red Sox) pitched 1.2 innings of relief on September 11, giving up 2 earned runs on 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2.

Injured list

Miscellanea

Over the decades, we’ve seen plenty of articles opining on whether Jewish athletes should play on the High Holidays. In an article for the Forward, Florida International University law professor Howard Wasserman instead did a deep statistical dive into a different question: when Jews have played on Yom Kippur in the past, how have they performed?
The Forward also published a fascinating article on Sam Nahem, a Syrian Jew from New York who played on and off in the Majors and minors from 1938 to 1948. A self-avowed Communist who obtained a law degree between seasons, Nahem played an early role in the racial integration of baseball. In addition to encouraging his white teammates to consider the idea, Nahem insisted — in defiance of the military establishment — on having Negro league players on a military team he played for and managed.
P Ryan Sherriff (Rays) and P Robert Stock (Red Sox) faced off against one another on September 11. The Rays got the last laugh, slaughtering Boston 11-1.

Minor League notes

Several athletes who have played in the Majors this season are now at their team’s so-called alternative training site:
- Ryan Lavarnway (Marlins)
- Garrett Stubbs (Astros)

Get your Jewish Baseball News updates via E-mail, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

Similar Posts