By Ron Kaplan, contributor First of all, welcome back Richard Bleier. The Baltimore Orioles promoted him on Sunday. According to CBS Sports, “Bleier will likely be in line for lower-leverage work in the middle innings. Bleier, 30, had given up one run over nine innings in five relief appearances at Norfolk this season.” Bleier did…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor The Toronto Blue Jays (6-16) played two games yesterday against the host St. Louis Cardinals following their rainout the day before. The Jays probably wish the rain had continued. They lost both ends of their doubleheader: 8-4 in the first game on a walk-off grand slam in the 11th inning, and…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ryan Braun singled and doubled in five trips to the plate, driving in two runs (16 on the year) as the Milwaukee Brewers (12-11) beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds, 9-4. Scott Feldman did not appear in the game for the Reds (10-12). Reporters are still talking about the possibility that Milwaukee…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Day: Ian Kinsler went 4-for-5 with a double, four runs scored (including one on a wild pitch), and two RBIs as the Detroit Tigers (11-8) scored nine times in the fifth en route to crushing the visiting Seattle Mariners, 19-9. The teams combined for 40 hits, two of those…
By Scott Barancik, editor Jewish Baseball News recently updated its page devoted to all-time Jewish batting leaders. Following are some highlights from the stats, which are current through the end of the 2016 season: It’s been nearly 70 years since Hank Greenberg last swung a bat in the major leagues, but he remains the most dominant player…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mixed Mazel of the Day: Ryan Braun doubled (#4) in three at-bats, scoring one run and driving in another as the Milwaukee Brewers (10-11) beat the visiting Cincinnati Reds (10-10), 11-4. From MLB.com: Ryan Braun played part of the game in pain after fouling three pitches off his left foot during…
(Note to readers: Jewish Baseball News invited author and JBN contributor Ron Kaplan to write about his new book on Hank Greenberg and how it came together.) By Ron Kaplan, contributor When I first began work on my new book, Hank Greenberg in 1938: Hatred and Home Runs in the Shadow of War, it was…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of April 17-23, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Braden Bishop CF Braden Bishop (Mariners/High-A), Seattle’s No. 16 prospect, is Hitter of the Week for the second consecutive week. (Does that make him the Hitter of the Fortnight?) A third-round pick in the 2015…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Weekend: Kevin Pillar continues to produce in the leadoff spot for the Toronto Blue Jays. Although he was just 3-for-14 this weekend, two of those hits went for his second and third home runs of the year. He drove in three and scored a total of three runs…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the day goes to Ian Kinsler, who led off a game with a home run for the 51st time in his 12-year career. It was downhill from there for the Detroit Tigers (8-7), who lost to the host Tampa Bay Rays, 8-1. It was Kinsler’s only hit in three…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Day: Kevin Pillar, one more time. Once again batting in the lead-off spot, he lashed three hits and stole his first two bases of the year — both following his single in the seventh inning — as the Toronto Blue Jays (3-11) shut out the visiting Boston Red…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor What the “L”? None of the boys who played last night ended up on a winning team. Mazel of the day: Kevin Pillar led off the game with a double and added two more as the Toronto Blue Jays (2-11) battled back but just came up a run short in an…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the day: Ryan Braun started the scoring for the Milwaukee Brewers (8-6) against the host Chicago Cubs with a two-run homer in the first inning. He drove in another run in the top of the eighth on a double, then came around to score from third when his stolen…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of April 10-16, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week CF Braden Bishop (Mariners/High-A), Seattle’s No. 16 prospect, was on fire last week. A third-round pick in the 2015 draft, he hit .571 (12-for-21) with 2 doubles, 6 RBIs, and 6 walks. Jewish Baseball…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Weekend goes to Kevin Pillar. The Toronto Blue Jays are still struggling — they have the worst record ion the Majors at 2-10 — but Pillar, now batting in the leadoff spot, looked good this weekend (Friday thru Sunday), going 5-for-13 with a double and his first home…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Day: Ryan Braun hit a two-run homer in the third inning to help the Milwaukee Brewers (5-5) to a 5-1 win over the host Cincinnati Reds. It’s the third home run of the season for Braun and the 288th of his career. Scott Feldman did not appear in…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Ian Kinsler was 0-for-3 with a walk as the Detroit Tigers (6-2) beat the visiting Minnesota Twins, 5-3. But Kinsler did make a nice grab of this line drive. Prior to the game, he received his Gold Glove Award. Mazel of the day goes to Craig Breslow, who pitched a perfect…
2017 games Games played September 29-October 1, 2017 Games played September 28, 2017 Games played September 27, 2017 Games played September 26, 2017 Games played September 25, 2017 Games played September 22-24, 2017 Games played September 20-21, 2017 — no summaries (Rosh Hashanah) Games played September 19, 2017 Games played September 18, 2017 Games played…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor A lot of MOT-on-MOT action last night. Alex Bregman singled twice in five at-bats, striking out the other three times. He drove in the sixth run of the game for the Houston Astros (5-2), who beat the host Seattle Mariners, 7-3. Danny Valencia was 1-for-4 for Seattle with two strikeouts. Ryan…
By Ron Kaplan, contributor Mazel of the Day: Ian Kinsler hit his second home run of the young season to tie the Detroit Tigers’ game against the visiting Boston Red Sox at 1-1. The blow came in the six inning of the Tigers’ 2-1 victory and was his only hit in three official at-bats; he…
