By Scott Barancik, editor Here’s what’s happening in Major League Baseball. Ryan Braun hit his 250th career home run Wednesday. Among Jewish players, only legends Hank Greenberg (331) and Shawn Green (328) have hit more. The homer, Braun’s 20th of the season, came against the Cubs’ Jason Hammel, the same pitcher who gave up Braun’s 249th…
By Scott Barancik, Editor The latest athlete to join the ranks of Jewish ballplayers is a 6-foot-4-inch first baseman with prodigious power and a promising future with the Toronto Blue Jays. California native Rowdy Tellez, 21, turned down a roster spot at USC in 2013 when the Blue Jays offered him an $850,000 signing bonus out…
By Scott Barancik, editor Baseball great Al Rosen died Friday night (3/15/2015) in Rancho Mirage, Calif., just two weeks after his 91st birthday. A native South Carolinian who learned boxing as a youth to defend himself against anti-Semitic attacks, “Flip” Rosen had a storied career with the Cleveland Indians despite playing just 8 full Major League…
By Scott Barancik, editor Richard Bleier pitched 7 shutout innings Wednesday for the Harrisburg Senators (AA), giving up just four hits and not a single walk in a 13-0 win. So what else is new? In 103 Double-A innings this year, the 28-year-old Washington Nationals prospect has walked only nine batters, or 2.2% of those…
(8:02pm) What B.A. degree did Reds “AAA” pitching prospect Jon Moscot recently complete at Pepperdine? Economics * * * (7:58pm) In late July, Israel’s national team will compete against Austria, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden in the B-level European Championships * * * (7:45pm) Happy birthday to Toronto’s Kevin Pillar, who turned 26 today! * * * (7:43pm) Happy birthday to Hall…
[Editor’s note: Havana Curveball is not yet available for individual purchase or rental. To screen the film at a school, library, synagogue, or local theater, contact Leah Lamb at leah@patchworksfilms.net.] By Stuart M. Katz, correspondent Havana Curveball, a new documentary by filmmakers Marcia Jarmel and Ken Schneider, tells the tale of a bar mitzvah boy’s innocent and initially…
