By Ron Kaplan, contributor It’s always a dilemma when a Member of the Tribe plays against my Mets. On the one hand, I want him to do well. On the other hand, I want the Mets to win. I got the best of both worlds on Friday when Ryan Braun hit one out (see video), but his…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Welcome to the first edition of Minor-League Monday for the 2018 season. Here are your highlights from April 5–15, 2018: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Cody Decker 1B Cody Decker* (Diamondbacks/AAA) began the season in Double-A but was wisely promoted. In 26 at-bats at the Triple-A level, he hit .269 with…
2018 archives Games played August 27-September 2, 2018 Games played August 20-26, 2018 Games played August 13-19, 2018 Games played August 6-12, 2018 Games played July 30-August 5, 2018 Games played July 23-29, 2018 Games played July 16-22, 2018 Games played July 9-15, 2018 Games played July 2-8, 2018 Games played June 25-July 1, 2018…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler returned to action in style as the LA Angels (11-3) defeated the host Kansas City Royals, 7-1. Kinsler — who had been on the disabled list with a pulled groin — launched the second pitch he saw into the stands for a lead-off home run, the 47th of his career…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman had his breakout game of the young season, going 4-for-6 with a double, home run, and an RBI (see video below), but the Houston Astros (9-4) nevertheless lost to the host Minnesota Twins, 9-8. Richard Bleier earned his second hold of the season with one shutout inning as the Baltimore Orioles…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Kevin Pillar was 2-for-4 as the Toronto Blue Jays (8-4) beat the host Baltimore Orioles (4-8), 2-1, behind the strong pitching of Aaron Sanchez, who took a no-hitter into the eighth inning. Neither Richard Bleier nor Danny Valencia appeared for the Os. Alex Bregman (see article) singled in three at-bats and walked as the Houston…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun was 1-for-5 as the Milwaukee Brewers beat the host St. Louis Cardinals, 5-4, in 10 innings. He also tossed out a hitter trying to stretch a double into a triple (see below). According to ShepherdExpress.com, “Braun needs five more runs batted in to become the 285th player in MLB history, the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Crazy weekend for the boys. How about Alex Bregman‘s game-winning “hit” on Saturday for the Houston Astros (8-2)? Bregman’s single gave the team a 1-0 win in 10 innings. He had two of the Astros’ six hits, but they were his only ones in 13 at-bats from April 6-8 as Houston…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun had his first double and first stolen base of the season as the Milwaukee Brewers (4-3) lost to the visiting Chicago Cubs, 8-0. He basically walked to second against Jon Lester, who is notoriously bad at holding runners on. But when Braun tried stealing third, Lester threw a well-practiced bounce…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman gave the Houston Astros (6-1) the 3-2 win with his tie-breaking single in the seventh over the visiting Baltimore Orioles (1-5). It was his sole hit in three at-bats (plus a walk). Danny Valencia got the start, playing left field and batting sixth. He was 0-for-2 with a walk and scored a run….
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel Tov of the day goes to Ryan Braun, whose solo home run provided a 5-4 walk-off win for the Milwaukee Brewers (4-1) over the visiting St. Louis Cardinals (2-3), who took a 4-0 lead going into the fifth. The blast — Braun’s second of the season — came with two outs…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Alex Bregman had a double in three at-bats, drove in a run, and walked twice to help the Houston Astros beat the visiting Orioles, 6-1, on April 2. Baltimore reliever Richard Bleier gave up a run on two hits and struck out one in one inning. Fellow Oriole Danny Valencia did not appear in the…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor The first weekend of the season saw an interesting mix of drama. Mostly ups, thank goodness, but a couple of downs. Let’s get the downs out of the way… The Cincinnati Reds demoted pitcher Zack Weiss before he had a chance to make his Major League debut, sending him to the Louisville…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Let the games begin! Richard Bleier picked up the win for the Baltimore Orioles, who beat the visiting Minnesota Twins, 3-2, in 11 innings thanks to a walk-off home run by cleanup hitter Adam Jones. Bleier gave up one hit in his single inning of work. Danny Valencia appeared as a pinch…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Welcome back, faithful readers. The baseball season is upon us. Not only is this the earliest Opening Day in history, it’s the first time all 30 teams have debuted on the same day. So without further ado… The JML (Jewish major leaguer) roster to start the 2018 season includes: Richard Bleier,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Major League Baseball’s 2018 Spring Training ended yesterday. So how did the 19 Jews who were invited to play perform? Here are the batting highlights: A total of 12 Jewish position players collectively hit .272 with 12 HRS and 53 RBIs in 372 at-bats. Alex Bregman’s 12 walks tied for #5 among all MLB players. His…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Braden Bishop, Jewish Baseball News’ 2017 Minor-League MVP, is a player to watch. Selected by the Seattle Mariners in the 3rd round of the 2015 amateur draft, the California native hit .320 in his first season of professional ball. He has continued to impress. In 2017, Bishop was named MVP of…
[updated 3/18/2018] By Scott Barancik, Editor At least 19 Jewish players have been invited to MLB Spring Training camp this year via their club’s active roster, 40-man roster, or as a non-roster invitee. Twelve players with Major League experience are on the list, including 2017 World Series standouts Alex Bregman of the Houston Astros and Joc Pederson of the…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Cory Jones, a 6-foot-5-inch pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles franchise, is the latest athlete to join the ranks of known Jewish ballplayers. The 26-year-old California native was plucked out of junior college by the St. Louis Cardinals in Round 5 of the 2012 amateur draft and given a $220,000 signing bonus….
2017 archives Games played August 28 — September 3, 2017 Games played August 21-27, 2017 Games played August 14-20, 2017 Games played August 7-13, 2017 Games played July 31-August 6, 2017 Games played July 24-30, 2017 Games played July 17-23, 2017 Games played July 10-16, 2017 Games played July 3-9, 2017 Games played June 26-July 2, 2017 Games played June 19-25, 2017 Games played June…
