Saturday, 10/11/2014 @ 11:26am
Justin Klipp is pitching again after twice breaking his back. He talks to us about Jewish day school, independent ball, Mexican drug cartels, and baseball shrinks (10/11/2014) ***
Justin Klipp: independent-league pitcher
By Zev Ben Avigdor, correspondent One reason we love baseball is because baseball players have great stories. Often those tales make us fans of particular players, regardless of their statistical accomplishments or which uniforms they wear. Here is one of them, a story of setbacks and adversity, of failure and loss of confidence, and ultimately of…
Friday, 10/10/2014 @ 9:19am
Jewish journeyman Danny Valencia has played for two of the four remaining playoff teams: the Royals in 2014, and Baltimore in 2013 (10/10/2014) ***
Tuesday, 10/7/2014 @ 9:11am
When the O’s face K.C. later this week, replay coordinator Adam Gladstone will advise manager Buck Showalter on which calls to challenge (10/7/2014) *** GM Dan Duquette of the pennant-chasing Orioles isn’t Jewish. But in 2007, he headed player personnel for the Israel Baseball League (10/7/2014) ***
Monday, 10/6/2014 @ 8:56pm
Ike Davis made big strides on Ks and BBs in 2014. His K/BB ratio was a career-best 1.24, and his walk frequency — one in every 6.77 PAs — was 4th best in MLB (10/6/2014) *** LeBron, Cavs beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 107-80 on Sunday behind ex-Maccabi coach David Blatt before sellout crowd in Cleveland (10/6/2014)…
Friday, 10/3/2014 @ 9:09am
Up tonight: the Dodgers and rookie Joc Pederson face the Cardinals at 6:30pm EST on Fox Sports 1 (10/3/2014) *** Up today: manager Brad Ausmus‘s Detroit Tigers (and 2B Ian Kinsler) face the Baltimore Orioles in Game 2 at Noon EST on TBS (10/3/2014) *** A record-tying 15 Jews played in the MLB this season. How’d they do…
MLB Batting Leaders, 2014
By Scott Barancik, editor A record-tying 15 Jews got MLB playing time in 2014, and 13 had the chance to swing a bat. Collectively they hit .253, a shade above the MLB average of .251. To see their detailed individual stats, you can download this Excel file. Or you can look below, where you’ll find a…
Thursday, 10/2/2014 @ 10:50pm
Ian Kinsler did his best to soften up Orioles pitching tonight, drawing 7, 14, and 9 pitches in his first three at-bats, but it was Detroit’s pitchers who gave up 8 runs in the 8th en route to a loss (10/2/2014) *** Up tonight: manager Brad Ausmus‘s Detroit Tigers (and 2B Ian Kinsler) face the Baltimore…
Wednesday, 10/1/2014 @ 9:27am
Up tonight: Pittsburgh and Ike Davis vs. San Francisco, 8pm EST on ESPN (10/1/2014) *** Watch how fast Sam Fuld was chasing down this 12th-inning triple. Too bad teammate Jonny Gomes got there at the same time (10/1/2014) *** Oakland’s Sam Fuld did everything he could to win Tuesday, singling twice, walking once and, according to Gabe Kapler,…
Tuesday, 9/30/2014 @ 9:30am
After the worst season in his 8-year career, Ryan Braun will “undergo surgery this week to fix a nagging nerve problem near his right thumb” (9/30/2014) *** Clutch: in the 10 last games of the regular season, Pittsburgh’s Ike Davis hit .280 with 1 HR, 4 doubles, 5 RBIs, and 2 walks (9/30/2014) *** Clutch: in the 10…
Dean Kremer: 18-year-old ace with Israeli roots
By Stuart M. Katz, correspondent Dean Kremer spent this past Summer like many other college students, traveling and meeting new people. But unlike his peers, Kremer returned home with an award: Best Pitcher in the European Pool C Championships in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Playing for tourney champ Israel, the 18-year-old Californian started two games and went 2-0 with…
Monday, 9/29/2014 @ 8:46am
Check out our interview with Dean Kremer, a Hebrew-speaking 18-year-old who was named “Best Pitcher” at the recent European Pool C Championships (9/29/2014) *** Detroit’s Brad Ausmus won a division title in his managerial debut. How many others have done this? Stat heads, we need your help (9/29/2014) *** A total of 15 Jews played in…
Sunday, 9/28/14 @ 7:15pm
Ian Kinsler‘s 17th HR, RBI single, and backhanded grab helped Detroit — and rookie manager Brad Ausmus — clinch the A.L. Central title Sunday (9/28/2014) *** Ian Kinsler hit a 3rd-inning HR today to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead over Minnesota. A win today will guarantee Detroit 1st place in the A.L. Central (9/28/2014) ***…
Saturday, 9/27/2014 @ 10:02am
Danny Moskovits, who played for Les Capitales de Quebec with Jewish teammates Aaron Brill and Ari Ronick, was 2-2 with a 3.03 ERA (9/27/2014) *** Great news out of Quebec: CanAm League pitcher Danny Moskovits, a 23-year-old Harvard alum, has been signed by the Arizona Diamondbacks (9/27/2014) *** Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun reached base three times Friday….
Friday, 9/26/2014 @ 9:16am
It was 2 doubles in 2 at-bats for Pittsburgh’s Ike Davis in a 9-1 win over the Braves on Thursday (9/26/2014) *** First teammate to congratulate Kevin Pillar after his HR Thursday? Danny Valencia, who’d singled and scored earlier (9/26/2014) *** Until Kevin Pillar homered off him Thursday, Fernando Rodney was one of only four A.L. relievers who’d…
Wednesday, 9/24/2014 @ 9:20am
The NYTimes says rookie Joc Pederson is the best defenseman among L.A.’s 6 outfielders and has a chance to start in centerfield in 2015 (9/24/2014) *** Did Kevin Youkilis perform better on the Sabbath, or off? Check out Diane Firstman’s ‘Sabbathmetrics‘ blog for the answer (9/24/2014) *** Speedy pinch-hitter Ryan Kalish legged-out an infield single…
Tuesday, 9/23/2014 @ 9:11am
How a Jewish roommate at U. of Florida led 6’9″ power forward Alex Tyrus to convert to Judaism, play ball in Israel (9/23/2014) *** Maxx Tissenbaum is one of 4 Rays prospects who will play in Australia for the Brisbane Bandits this Fall (9/23/2014) *** In limited play — 30 ABs in 15 games —…
‘Chasing Dreams’ exhibition is worth the trip
[Editor’s note: Jewish Baseball News correspondent Stuart M. Katz recently visited Chasing Dreams, a baseball-themed exhibition currently at the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia. He offered to share his thoughts.] By Stuart M. Katz, correspondent Chasing Dreams: Baseball and Becoming American, a wonderful exhibition highlighting the deep and historic connection between American Jews…
Saturday, 9/20/2014 @ 10:55am
Best news of all? Ryan Lashley and Adam Kam have a Jewish teammate: Ben Ruff, who led the United League in relief appearances. Welcome, Ben! (9/20/2014) *** In fact, Ryan Lashley just missed winning the United League triple crown: .369 B.A. (1st), 6 HRs (1st/tie), 45 RBIs (2nd)…(9/20/2014) *** Amazing season for two Jews on the independent Fort…
Friday, 9/19/2014 @ 3:35pm
Cardinals “rookie-league” prospect Adam Ehrlich went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs last week as the State College Spikes won the New York-Penn League championship (9/19/2014) *** With the “AAA” finals over now — his team came in 2nd — Ryan Lavarnway is back with the Boston Red Sox (9/19/2014) *** Every so often, Diane Firstman (@dianagram) picks…