JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — At least 19 Jews got playing time during Spring Training 2011, including five pitchers and 14 position players. Here are our awards honoring the best, worst, and most surprising performances: Best All-Around Offense: Ian Kinsler. The Texas Rangers 2B didn’t look like the same player who sat out nearly 100 games…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Scot Drucker has an MLB.com blog, a spirited Twitter feed, and a lot of personality. But there’s one thing the 28-year-old Toledo Mud Hens (AAA) pitcher doesn’t have anymore: a job. Drucker reported Monday (3/28/2011) that the Detroit Tigers, the Mud Hens’ parent team, had let him go. With spring training…
Scott Barancik, Editor The Boston Red Sox were already one of baseball’s more Jewish franchises when the team signed P Matt Kramer to a minor-league contract last month. But Kramer’s arrival in Bean Town was far less likely than it was for landsmen like 3B Kevin Youkilis, CF Ryan Kalish, and minor-league standout Ryan…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Early on in spring training, Sam Fuld‘s chances of making the Tampa Bay Rays’ opening-day roster didn’t look good. In fact, it was looking a lot like Fuld’s 2010 spring training with the Chicago Cubs, when the scrappy centerfielder hit a meek .143 with just 2 RBIs in 35 at-bats, earning…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Last season, Oakland A’s reliever Craig Breslow was the ace, and Chicago Cubs reliever John Grabow lost face. Breslow went 4-4 with a 3.01 ERA, 71 strikeouts and 29 walks in 75 appearances. At a salary of only $425,000, the Yale University alum was a bargain. Grabow , who cost the…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Michael Schlact, a 6’7″ pitcher who played in the Texas Rangers’ farm system from 2005-10, has signed a contract with the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. “I’m very blessed and excited for the opportunity to play ball in the (independent) Atlantic League,” Schlact wrote on his popular Twitter feed. The Atlantic League…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Justine Siegal, a Jewish woman who recently made history by pitching batting practice to several MLB teams, has her own baseball card. According to Jewish Sports Collectibles, a 2009 card depicts Siegal in her role as a coach of the Brockton Rox, a team in the independent CanAm League. The card…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Daily Highlights for Thursday (3/17/2011): The odds may not be in his favor, but 35-year-old RF Gabe Kapler is doing what he can to earn a spot on the Los Angeles Dodgers’ opening-day roster. On Thursday, his pinch-hit HR (see video) was part of a four-run 8th inning…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Daily Highlights for Wednesday (3/16/2011): It took Tampa Bay Rays CF Sam Fuld just one game to more than double his spring batting average. In a 6-3 win over the Florida Marlins, the “defensive specialist” went 3/3 with a double, 2 RBIs, and a stolen base, boosting his…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Daily Highlights for Tuesday (3/15/2011): New York Mets 1B Ike Davis went 2/3 with 3 RBIs in a 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals, stroking a two-run double and an RBI single. Davis, who finished 7th in last year’s N.L. Rookie of the Year voting, is batting .360…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Daily Highlights for Monday (3/14/2011): Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler continued his sizzling spring, smacking a single and a double in a 5-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 34 at-bats, the sixth-year pro is batting .382 with a league-leading 5 HRs and a team-high 9 RBIs…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Garrett Wittels‘ 56-game hitting streak ended with a thunk in the first game of Florida International University’s 2011 season, but the junior infielder has been hitting well ever since. The Golden Panthers are 12-5 so far, and Wittels has played a key role. The 20-year-old leads the team with 16 RBIs…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS –Here are your highlights for Wednesday, March 9: For the second day in a row, Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Lavarnway helped earn his team to victory. Pinch-hitting for DH David Ortiz, Lavarnway led off the bottom of the 9th inning with a rally-starting single that culminated in a 2-1 victory over…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS –Here are your highlights for Tues., March 8: Boston Red Sox prospect Ryan Lavarnway didn’t start Tuesday’s split-squad game against the St. Louis Cardinals, but he sure helped finish it. Lavarnway, a catcher who led all Red Sox farmhands with 102 RBIs in 2010, entered the game as a pinch-hitter for DH…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Spring Training 2011 is just two weeks old. Many players are still shedding their off-season rust. But a couple Jewish players are already tearing the stitching off the ball. Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler, who was hobbled by injuries last season, leads all MLB players with 4 HRs, is tied for…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A reader in California wrote Jewish Baseball News with an interesting question: are there any scholarships out there to help Jewish baseball players attend college? Our educated guess would be “No.” Certainly no public universities would offer Jewish baseball scholarships. We suspect even private colleges would be careful about directing athletic…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Israel’s national baseball team is looking for a few good men. Peter Kurz, secretary general of the Israel Association of Baseball, told Jewish Baseball News he’s on the hunt for skilled guys (college varsity experience or better) who are eligible for citizenship or already have an Israeli passport. Both current and…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — If you follow baseball news closely, you probably read this week about the woman who made history by pitching batting practice to an MLB team, the Cleveland Indians (see video). Ohio native Justine Siegal isn’t just a fan of the Tribe, though. She’s a Member of the Tribe, too. In an…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Florida International University star Garrett Wittels went 0-4 in Friday’s season opener against Southeastern Louisiana, putting an abrupt end to the 56-game hitting streak he established last year. Wittels’ streak is the second-longest in NCAA Division 1 history, behind Robin Ventura’s 58-game record in 1987. # # #
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Last summer, catcher Matt Kramer‘s brief minor-league career looked pretty much finished. After batting just .178 with the “Class A” Rome Braves (Atlanta Braves) in 2010, he was released. Kramer spent the rest of the season with the Sioux City Explorers of the independent American Association, where the Harvard alum batted…
