By Ron Kaplan, contributor L’shana tova, y’all. Hope you had an easy fast. Just a quick recap of erev Yom Kippur: Ryan Lavarnway had a walk-off pinch hit single to give the Pittsburgh Pirates a 2-1, 11-inning win over the visiting KC Royals. On the other hand, Ian Kinsler hit into a game-ending 1-4-3 double play for the…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Last night, Joc Pederson stroked two HRs and Kevin Pillar added another, bringing the total number of Jewish home runs this season to 106, led by Alex Bregman’s 30. According to statistical projection services cited by FanGraphs.com, the Jews of 2018 are likely to end the regular season with 112 to…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Interesting game Sunday between the Toronto Blue Jays (67-82, fourth in the AL East) and host New York Yankees. The two Blue MOTS were “responsible” for the come-from-behind, 3-2 win. Trailing 2-1 in the eighth inning with runners on first and third — the former in the person of Kevin Pillar,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Now that the minor-league season has ended, we can ask: who were the top Jewish players? Jewish Baseball News sought input from half a dozen Jewish Insiders, including professional ballplayers, scouts, reporters and front-office staff. The result of their collective wisdom is our 2018 Minor-League Awards. To our 11 winners: Mazel…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Remember when Joc Pederson hit all those home runs in June? Wonder how many he might have had if he played for the LA Dodgers (79-67) every day? Well, he’s back on a pace, homering in his last two games. No. 21 came in the fourth inning against the host Cincinnati Reds…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel tov to the Boston Red Sox, who clinched a playoff berth with their 99th win last night, a 6-2 decision over the visiting Toronto Blue Jays (65-79). Ian Kinsler was 1-for-4, a two-out single off the Monster to give the Sox a 6-2 lead in the eighth inning. Like Kinsler, Toronto’s…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Between the weekend and Rosh Hashana, this is the first chance I’ve had to do any sort of recap. Too much time has passed to do an individual thing, so here are the highlights: Rowdy Tellez continued to shine for the Toronto Blue Jays (65-78, fourth in AL East). He started out…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Howdy, Rowdy! Rowdy Tellez has gotten off to an historic start for the Toronto Blue Jays with doubles in his first three at-bats. The first came as a pinch-hitter on Wednesday. He got the start Thursday, batting sixth behind Kevin Pillar. He doubled in the second inning then doubled again in the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Call-up Rowdy Tellez cracked a pinch-hit double on the first Major League pitch he saw, driving in a run as the Toronto Blue Jays (63-76) crushed the visiting Tampa Bay Rays, 10-3. Tellez got some nice write-ups because of the recent tragic loss of his mother, Lori. Alex Bregman just keeps chugging along: he hit his 47th…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Say hello to your newest JML: Rowdy Tellez, a 6’4″, 225-pound first baseman called up by the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. Ryan John Tellez had 22 doubles and 13 home runs with 50 RBIs in 112 games for AAA Buffalo before being promoted. He did not appear in Tuesday night’s 4-0 loss…
By Scott Barancik, Editor The September expansion of MLB rosters generated two Jewish call-ups today. One was Toronto Blue Jays prospect Rowdy Tellez, a 23-year-old first baseman who has never played in the Majors. Drafted straight out of high school in 2013, the 6-foot-4 California native is hitting .270 with 13 home runs, 50 RBIs…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Hi-ho, boys and girls. Hope you all had a pleasant holiday. In the interest of saving time, I’m just going to cover the games played on Labor Day. Alex Bregman -whose post-homer stares have become a meme — hit a two-out home run (#28) to get the ball rolling for the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel Tov to Robert Stock, who picked up his first Major League win by tossing three shutout innings for the San Diego Padres (53-83) in a 4-3, 13 inning win over the visiting Colorado Rockies. He walked one and allowed one hit. Ian Kinsler reached base four out of five times — three…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 27-September 2, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Zack Kone (Pirates) SS Zack Kone (Pirates/A-short-season), a 2018 draftee, hit .433 (13-for-30) with 4 doubles, one triple, an RBI, 2 stolen bases, and a .514 on-base percentage. Jewish Baseball News…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman hit his AL-leading 43rd double plus a single while walking twice on Wednesday, scoring one run and driving in another as the Houston Astros (82-51) beat the visiting Oakland A’s, 5-4, on a walk-off homer. One of Bregman’s walks came with the bases loaded in the fourth to give the…
By Scott Barancik, Editor On Saturday, Major League teams will have the option to begin expanding their 25-man rosters to up to 40 players as the minor-league season nears an end. No Jewish prospect is a lock for a call-up. But according to responses from our first-ever Jewish Insiders Poll, several players may have a…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler gave the Boston Red Sox (91-42) a 1-0 lead with a single in the bottom of the second inning on Tuesday. He added another hit and scored a run as the Sox beat the visiting Miami Marlins, 8-7. The Marlins scored five times in the eighth to take the lead,…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Limited action, as per usual for a Monday. Alex Bregman was a triple shy of the cycle Monday night: two singles, his 41st double (to lead the American League; he almost had another but was thrown out at second), and his 25th home run made for a nice line in the box…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor MOT of the Weekend honors go to Alex Bregman. The Houston Astros’ All-Star was 4-for-11 with two doubles (putting him at 40, good for a first-place tie in the American League). He walked three times, scored four runs, and drove in one as the ‘Stros (80-50, first in AL West) swept…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 20-26, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Rhett Wiseman RF Rhett Wiseman (Nationals/High-A) hit .526 (10-for-19) with 3 doubles, a triple, 4 RBIs, a stolen base and a .625 on-base percentage. Although he did not appear in the 2017…
