By Nate Fish, special to Jewish Baseball News Are you a baseball player? Do you want to come to Israel? The Israel Association of Baseball (IAB), in partnership with Masa Israel and Destination Israel, has created a program for baseball players with high school, college, or professional experience to travel to Israel to play and coach….
By Scott Barancik, editor Of course we wanted Steven Matz to be Jewish. The New York Mets rookie practically threw himself onto our collective doorstep last week with an improbable MLB debut, not only striking out six batters in a 7-2 win but going 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs. He was from New York. His middle…
The latest news as of July 2, 2015: MLB With voting for the 2015 All-Star game set to end tonight, it’s looking like Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson just might end up in the N.L.’s starting lineup. Though he was 6th among N.L. outfielders in the most recently-announced tally, three of the five players ahead of him are…
What’s going on in baseball as of June 30, 2015? MLB No, Mets rookie Steven Matz is not Jewish, sorry to say *** Speaking of Steven Matz, the young starter had 4 RBIs in his MLB debut Sunday, but he’s got a long way to go before matching MLB active career leader Jason Marquis, who…
By Scott Barancik, editor Danny Valencia has seen limited playing time this season, starting just 22 of Toronto’s 75 games through Friday (6/27/2015), and only now reaching 100 at-bats. But research by Jewish Baseball News suggests Toronto manager John Gibbons couldn’t ask for much more from a utility/platoon player. To try to capture the universe…
What’s going on in baseball? Your 6/27/2015 report: MLB Toronto’s Danny Valencia smashed a pinch-hit home run Friday on the first pitch he faced from Rangers first baseman Adam Rosales as the Blue Jays trounced 12-2. Valencia is hitting .357 in June, with 3 HR and 11 RBI. By and large, though, he’s been far more effective…
By Scott Barancik, editor Cody Decker is known for producing funny videos. But according to our research, he deserves at least as much praise for his production at the plate. Through games played Thursday (6/25/2015), the 28-year-old San Diego Padres prospect had 14 HRs and 49 RBIs in just 183 at-bats this season. That sounded pretty…
Here’s what’s new in baseball as of 6/23/2015: MLB L.A.’s Joc Pederson hit his 19th home run Monday. Less than halfway into the season, he has surpassed his full-year HR projections *** Miami family and friends came to St. Petersburg to see Toronto’s Danny Valencia play the Rays on Monday, and he rose to the occasion, driving…
Here’s what’s going on in the world of baseball as of 6/21/2015. MLB So far today (Sunday), Toronto’s Kevin Pillar has hit his 6th home run, stroked an RBI single, and walked in 3 plate appearances *** L.A.’s Joc Pederson crushed his 18th home run Saturday after a 6-game drought and walked twice *** Boston’s Craig Breslow…
Here’s what’s going on in the world of baseball as of 6/20/2015. MLB Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun launched a 2-run HR and stole his 7th base in a 9-5 win Friday over the Rockies. His 14 HRs are tied for 7th in the N.L. *** Toronto’s Kevin Pillar went 2-for-4 with a double in Friday’s 5-4 win over…
Here’s what’s going on in the world of baseball as of 6/18/2015. MLB Historic: Blue Jays teammates Kevin Pillar and Danny Valencia each homered Wednesday in an 8-0 drubbing of the Mets on Wednesday. Pillar went 3-for-4 with 2 RBIs and a deep solo shot, while Valencia went 1-for-3 with a walk and a 3-run dinger *** Oakland’s Sam Fuld…
Here’s what’s going on in the world of Jewish baseball. MLB Reds rookie Jon Moscot dislocated his shoulder in a freak play Monday. In the first inning of just his 3rd MLB start, Moscot caught Detroit’s Anthony Gose in a rundown and injured himself making a diving tag. No word yet on how long he’ll…
What’s new in the world of baseball? The current tally of Jewish players selected in this week’s MLB draft has reached 15 (see below). The list includes the first Israeli draftee ever, Padres pick Dean Kremer. Click here to see our 2014 interview with him. As we continue receiving tips from readers, the number of draft picks…
By Scott Barancik, editor The Washington Nationals picked Vanderbilt slugger Rhett Wiseman on Day 2 of this year’s MLB amateur draft, selecting him in the 3rd round, 103rd overall. A 20-year-old outfielder and teammate of overall #1 pick Dansby Swanson, the Massachusetts native is hitting .318 with 14 HRs, 47 RBIs, 12 stolen bases in 14 tries,…
By Scott Barancik, editor The Houston Astros selected LSU shortstop Alex Bregman No. 2 overall today in the 2015 amateur draft, good enough to earn an expected bonus of $7.4-million. A 21-year-old junior on the top-ranked Tigers, Bregman was expected to go anywhere from No. 2 through No. 7 in the first round. The Albuquerque native has…
By Scott Barancik, editor Cincinnati’s Jon Moscot made his MLB debut against the Padres last night, and while it wasn’t all smooth sailing, the 23-year-old finished strong. Called-up at the last minute to replace the injured Raisel Iglesias (see article), Moscot — who wasn’t even on the Reds’ 40-man roster — struck out the first batter he…
By Scott Barancik, editor Jon Moscot, a 23-year-old starter, will make his MLB debut 7:10pm ET tonight as the Reds face the San Diego Padres in Cincinnati. “Unexpected” may be the best way to describe it. Moscot isn’t on the Reds’ 40-man roster. MLB.com‘s prospect rankings for the Reds list six RHPs ahead of him….
MLB Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson hit his 17th HR and reached base four times on Wednesday (6/3/2015). It was his fifth straight game with a HR, something only four Dodgers had done before him. One of them was Shawn Green, who accomplished the feat in 2001 *** Toronto’s Kevin Pillar didn’t homer Wednesday, but he did go…
By Scott Barancik, editor Now here’s something you don’t see very often: two Jewish players, both centerfielders, smacking 2 HRs apiece on the same day. Dodgers phenom Joc Pederson and Toronto’s Kevin Pillar accomplished the rare feat Tuesday night. Pederson hit the more prodigious bombs, launching a 477-foot monster in Game 1 of a doubleheader against…
By Scott Barancik, editor We all know Sam Fuld is a superior outfielder who covers ground quickly, throws like a rocket, and regularly puts his body at risk to make a catch. They don’t call him Super Sam for nothing. On Friday, the 33-year-old Athletic outdid himself by tossing out two batters in one game,…
