By Scott Barancik, Editor
Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 21-27, 2020, the final week of baseball’s 60-game regular season:
Mazel tov
- Of the 13 Jewish athletes who played Major League ball in 2020, 10 are on teams that will participate in this season’s expanded playoffs: Ryan Braun (Brewers), Alex Bregman and Garett Stubbs (Astros), Richard Bleier and Ryan Lavarnway (Marlins), Joc Pederson (Dodgers), Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays), Max Fried (Braves), Rob Kaminsky (Cardinals), and Ryan Sherriff (Rays).
Stats to share
- Collectively, Jewish pitchers outpitched their peers in 2020, going 10-3 with a 2.80 ERA versus the overall MLB ERA of 4.45. Meanwhile, Jewish batters hit .252, a few ticks above the MLB average of .245.
- Ryan Sherriff (Rays) was the only MLB pitcher in 2020 to maintain a perfect 0.00 ERA after 10 or more appearances.
- Kevin Pillar, who began the season in Boston but finished it in Colorado, recorded career bests in batting average (.288) and on-base percentage (.336).
- ESPN’s Cy Young Predictor has Max Fried (Atlanta) finishing second in the N.L. behind the Cubs’ Yu Darvish.
At the plate
- OF Kevin Pillar (Rockies) hit .345 (10-for-29) last week with a home run, 3 doubles, 5 RBIs, a hit-by-pitch, 2 stolen bases, and a .406 OBP. For the season, Pillar — who split his time between Boston and Colorado — hit a combined .288 (60-for-208) with 6 HRs, 3 triples, 12 doubles, 26 RBIs, 5 stolen bases in 7 attempts, a .336 OBP, and a .798 OPS (on-base plus slugging).
- OF Joc Pederson (Dodgers) hit .333 (4-for-12) with a home run, 4 RBIs, and a .429 OBP. For the season, Pederson hit .190 (23-for-121) with 7 HRs, 4 doubles, 16 RBIs, one stolen base in one attempt, a .285 OBP, and a .681 OPS.
- 3B Alex Bregman (Astros) hit .222 (6-for-27) with 2 HRs, a triple, a double, 5 RBIs, and a .313 OBP; the highlight came on September 24, when he came within a single of hitting for the cycle. For the season, Bregman hit .242 (37-for-153) with 6 HRs, one triple, 12 doubles, 22 RBIs, no stolen bases, a .350 OBP, and an .801 OPS.
- OF Ryan Braun (Brewers) hit .087 (2-for-23), with a home run, a walk, and a .125 OBP. For the season, Braun hit .233 (30-for-129) with 8 HRs, one triple, 7 doubles, 26 RBIs, one stolen base in one attempt, a .281 OBP, and a .769 OPS.
- 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) remained on the injured list last week with a right knee strain. For the season, Tellez hit .283 (32-for-113) with 8 HRs, 5 doubles, 23 RBIs, one failed attempt to steal a base, a .346 OBP, and a .886 OPS.
- C Ryan Lavarnway (Marlins) spent last week off of his team’s active roster. For the season, Lavarnway hit .364 (4-for-11) with a .364 OBP and a .727 OPS.
- C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) spent last week off of his team’s active roster. For the season Stubbs hit .200 (7-for-35) with 3 doubles, 2 RBIs, a .282 OBP, and a .568 OPS.
On the mound
- Ryan Sherriff (Rays) tossed 3.0 scoreless innings across 3 appearances last week, yielding a hit and a walk while striking out 2. For the season, Sherriff was 1-0 with one save and a 0.00 ERA across 9.2 innings, yielding 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2.
- Richard Bleier (Marlins) tossed 1.1 perfect innings across 2 games, striking out one and earning a hold. For the season, Bleier — who split his time between Baltimore and Miami — was 1-1 with a 2.16 ERA across 16.2 innings, yielding 14 hits and 4 walks while striking out 11.
- Max Fried (Braves) was pulled after one inning with an ankle injury on September 23, having yielded 2 earned runs on 2 HRs, his first and only HRs allowed in 2020. For the season, Fried was 7-0 with a 2.25 ERA over 56 innings, yielding 42 hits and 19 walks while striking out 50.
- Dean Kremer (Orioles) had a tough start against the Red Sox on September 23, yielding 7 earned runs over 2.2 innings on 7 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts, thus ballooning his 2020 ERA from 1.69 to 4.82. For the season, the rookie starter was 1-1 with a 4.82 ERA across 18.2 innings, yielding 15 hits and 12 walks while striking out 22.
- Rob Kaminsky (Cardinals) spent last week off of his team’s active roster. For the season, the rookie reliever was 0-0 with a 1.95 ERA across 4.2 innings, yielding 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3.
- Robert Stock (Red Sox) spent last week off of his team’s active roster.. For the season, Stock was 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA across 13.1 innings, yielding 16 hits and 10 walks while striking out 14.
Miscellanea
- Two Jewish starters — Dean Kremer (Orioles) and Max Fried (Braves) — pitched on the same day last week, September 23. Though a rare event, it was not unprecedented. Perhaps the most famous example came on September 25, 1966, when Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax faced off against Ken Holtzman of the Cubs. Holtzman took a no-hitter through 8 innings before prevailing 2-1 (see box score).
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