Rays prospect Maxx Tissenbaum, playing in Australia this summer, went 3-for-3 with a HR and 3 RBIs on Friday for the Brisbane Bandits (11/3/2014) *** Mariners prospect Scott DeCecco is pitching for the Surprise Saguaros of the prestigious Arizona Fall League. Each MLB team sends 6 top prospects to the AFL (11/3/2014) *** Following in…
Guess who’s an analytics intern with the K.C. Royals? Former Pomona College and Israel pitcher Guy Stevens, whose mother is Israeli (10/14/2014) *** Former prison warden Howard Kinsler now works at BBI Sports, the agency that represents son Ian Kinsler (10/14/2014) ***
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) ***
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…
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) ***
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) ***
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)…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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) ***…
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….
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…
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…
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 —…
[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…
