The House That Ruth Built: A New Stadium, the First Yankees Championship, and the Redemption of 1923

Author: Robert Weintraub (web page) Published: 2011 Pages: 421 Price: $17.81 for hardcover (Amazon.com) Our rating: 4 stars (out of 5) Reviewed by Stuart M. Katz for Jewish Baseball News Overview It’s May of 2011, and the New York Yankees lead the major leagues in home runs, having twice hit five in a single game….

The Extra 2%: How Wall Street Strategies Took a Major League Baseball Team from Worst to First

Author: Jonah Keri (web page; agent) Published: 2011 Pages: 272 Price: $15.85 for hardcover (Amazon.com) Our rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5) Reviewed by Jewish Baseball News Overview In the spirit of Michael Lewis’ 2004 classic Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, Jonah Keri asks the question: How can a low-budget team compete…

Turnaround story: Jason Marquis

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Washington Nationals P Jason Marquis continued his remarkable turnaround Friday (4/29/2011) with a complete-game shutout against the San Francisco Giants. It was a win to savor: Marquis, 32, gave up no walks and just 5 hits while striking out 7 batters. The 3-0 victory came against two-time Cy Young Award winner…

Come celebrate Israel’s b’day at Tropicana Field

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Baseball fans will be able to cheer Israel, Sam Fuld, and the Tampa Bay Rays all at once on Sun., May 15. Thanks to the Rays and the JCC Suncoast JCC, Tropicana Field will host the team’s first-ever Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration, honoring Israel’s 62nd birthday. But time is running out to…

On Passover, Jews bat .650

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — On the first night of Passover (4/18/2011), five Jewish batters split the defense like the Red Sea, batting a collective .650. Every player had at least 2 hits, and each one saw his team win. Tampa Bay Rays OF Sam Fuld vaulted to first place in batting average among American Leaguers….

Sam Fuld, by the numbers

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Tampa Bay Rays CF Sam Fuld has become one of baseball’s most unlikely stars this season. Thanks to jaw-dropping catches, a rifle of an arm, and clutch hitting, he has captured the imagination of fans both Jewish and not. Statistics gathered by Jewish Baseball News reader Jack W. provide hard evidence…

A salute to Sam Fuld

Note: This article by Jewish Baseball News editor Scott Barancik appeared in the April 17, 2011 edition of the St. Petersburg Times. All last season, my friend Jessica sent me updates about a Chicago Cubs prospect named Sam Fuld. Sam ran into a wall chasing a pop fly, she wrote. Sam threw out two runners….

Valencia and Fuld do battle in St. Pete

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The Tampa Bay Rays played the Minnesota Twins on Friday night (4/15/2011), but for Jewish baseball fans, the game had a subplot: which team’s Jewish player would perform better? Both contributed. Twins 3B Danny Valencia, off to a slow start this season after finishing 3rd in last year’s A.L. Rookie of…

The Fuld Fhenomenon

FULD BASEBALL NEWS — Just 11 games into his first season with the Tampa Bay Rays, CF Sam Fuld has become an Internet icon. Thanks to his superhuman catch in Chicago, his extra-base barrage in Boston, and a yearning for legitimate heroes in the age of steroids, the 29-year-old Fuld is seemingly everywhere. On Twitter,…

Sam Fuld has career night

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Only one player in Tampa Bay Rays history, B.J. Upton, has hit for the cycle in a single game. On Monday (4/11/2011), outfielder Sam Fuld gave up a chance at becoming the second such player to do something even greater. Fuld, 29, had already hit a double, triple, and 3-run home…

Jews going homer crazy

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Three games into the 2011 season, Jewish players are aiming for the seats. On Sunday alone (4/3/2011) they hit four, raising the season total to 7 in 54 at-bats, or roughly one HR every 8 at-bats. For comparison’s sake, in 2010 players across all of major-league baseball hit 4,613 HRs in…