By Zev Ben Avigdor/Jewish Baseball News New York Mets prospect Jeff Kaplan doesn’t have a blazing fastball or any other lights-out pitch. The 26-year-old San Diego native with the 2.98 career E.R.A. just seems to get people out with focus and control. An 11th-round pick out of Cal State Fullerton in 2008, Kaplan was a starting pitcher…
Author: Joshua L. Berkowitz (Website; Facebook) Published: 2012 Pages: 288 Price: $12.07 at Amazon Our rating: 5 stars (out of 5) Reviewed by Stuart M. Katz for Jewish Baseball News Overview In Third Base For Life, author Josh Berkowitz recounts the extraordinary but true journey taken by a rag-tag team of third-graders from a sandlot behind a Jewish day…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News When Philadelphia Phillies prospect B.J. Rosenberg made his Major League debut last week (6/9/2012), Jewish baseball fans around the world dropped us a line to ask: Is he one of ours? We asked the diligent researchers at Jewish Sports Review, and their answer was clear: Absolutely not, despite Rosenberg’s Jewish-sounding…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Dry your Monday-morning tears with these updates: Talk about turnarounds. By the time the Philadelphia Phillies sent Michael Schwimer down to the minors last month, the 6’8″ reliever had lost a game, blown a save, and was nursing a 8.53 ERA. But since returning to the City of Brotherly love this month,…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Getting drafted isn’t easy for NCAA Division III ballplayers. Only 12 were selected in Major League Baseball’s 2012 amateur draft. But Chicago native and Macalester College alum Mitch Glasser beat the odds when the Chicago White Sox, his childhood favorite, chose him in the 39th round, or 1,191st overall. Dubbed…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News And now, mid-week updates from the world of baseball. Kalish, Lavarnway blast Pawtucket Red Sox to victory Boston Red Sox prospects Ryan Kalish and Ryan Lavarnway provided a one-two punch Tuesday (6/4/2012) to power the Pawtucket Red Sox (AAA) to a 13-2 drubbing of the Indianapolis Indians. In his first appearance…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Max Fried, an 18-year-old southpaw from southern California, was the No. 7 pick in the first round of the 2012 amateur draft Monday night (6/4/2012), selected by the San Diego Padres. (See video.) A 6’4″ curveball specialist who modeled his pitch on hero Sandy Koufax‘s, Fried has committed to UCLA…
Authors: Peter Ephross, Martin Abramowitz Published: 2012 Pages: 227 Price: $35 (Amazon.com or McFarland Publishing/800-253-2187) Our rating: 4 stars (out of 5) Reviewed by Stuart M. Katz for Jewish Baseball News Overview In Jewish Major Leaguers in Their Own Words, authors Peter Ephross and Martin Abramowitz present oral histories of 23 of the Jewish players who were on Major…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Is it Monday already? Then sprinkle these tidbits in your morning coffee: Michael Schwimer is back with Philadelphia Phillies after a four-week stint in AAA, and yesterday (6/3/2012) the move paid off. In his second relief stint since returning to the bigs, the gentle giant from Fairfax, Va. (6’8″, 240…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Because Monday was Memorial Day, dontcha know: Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler broke out of a 27-game HR slump on Sunday (5/27/2012) with a HR, double, and four RBIs in a 12-6 triumph over the Texas Rangers. Despite the drought, Kinsler leads the majors with 41 runs scored. Sunday’s two-hit game was…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News The Minnesota Twins designated P Jason Marquis for assignment on Tuesday (5/22/2012), effectively removing him from the club’s active roster as well as its 40-man roster. Marquis, 33, has been largely ineffective in his first season with the Twins, going 2-4 with a 8.47 ERA, 12 strikeouts, and 14 walks…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News It’s been nearly 5 years since Shawn Green hung up his cleats, marking an end to a Major League career in which the tall slugger with the elegant swing hit .283, smashed 328 HRs, and drew a respectful 80 intentional walks. Since then, the two-time All-Star has penned a book,…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Mondays can be painful. For relief, take two of these: Regular readers of this column may not be surprised to learn that San Diego Padres prospect Nate Freiman, a power-hitting 1st baseman with the San Antonio Missions (AA), leads the Texas League with 14 HRs. What may surprise them is that…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News You can’t buy beer or Crackerjacks at the Columbus Baseball Invitational in Ohio. But you can see six high-school teams from five states battle it out in an annual tournament immodestly dubbed the ‘Jewish World Series.’ Beginning today (5/17/2012), the 4-day round robin will feature host Columbus Torah Academy, Ramaz School…
By Zev Ben Avigdor/Jewish Baseball News More than 50 Jews currently play Major- or minor-league ball, but few are generating more raves this season than award-winning Washington Nationals prospect Danny Rosenbaum. The 24-year-old hurler is putting up ridiculous numbers for the Harrisburg Senators (AA), compiling a 5-0 record, league-leading 0.71 ERA, 33 strikeouts, and just…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Mondays blow. So inhale this: Hungering for more Jewish ballplayers? Jewish Sports Review recently uncovered two: Toronto Blue Jays prospect Ian Kadish, and Pittsburgh Pirates prospect Jared Lakind. Kadish, a 23-year-old reliever, debuted last year with the Bluefield Blue Jays (Rookie), going 2-3 with a 2.67 ERA, 7 saves, and 35…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News When Josh Hamilton hit 4 HRs and a double in a single game last week (5/8/2012), it was a rare and spectacular event (see video and box score). The Texas Rangers CF went 5-for-5 with 8 RBIs in the Rangers’ 10-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Only 11 Major Leaguers have hit…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News It’s been a tough week for Jewish baseball fans. Two struggling players have been sent down to the minors, and a third may be on his way. On Wednesday (5/9/2012), the Philadelphia Phillies optioned reliever Michael Schwimer back to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (AAA). Schwimer had struggled since being called up…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News A different kind of Jewish baseball documentary is in the works, and its producers need our help to complete post-production work. Got Balz? is the brainchild of San Francisco filmmakers Ken Schneider and Marcia Jarmel, whose son Mica is the focus of the film. Struck by the poverty of children…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Mondays bite. So feed yourself something pleasing: Add this name to our ever-growing list of players: Los Angeles Dodgers prospect Joc Pederson. Drafted out of high school in 2010, the 20-year-old outfielder wowed the rookie Pioneer League last year by batting .353 with 11 HRs, 64 RBIs, 24 stolen bases,…
