JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A new film wending its way through the film-festival circuit explores our love affair with baseball. Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story features interviews and footage of players from Sandy Koufax to Kevin Youkilis. New York Times sports writer Ira Berkow penned the script, while actor Dustin Hoffman provides the…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Florida International University has produced an 8-minute video commemorating sophomore Garrett Wittels‘ 56-game hitting streak. The video is full of details large and small, from the dimensions of the 20-year-old infielder’s bat (33 inches, 30 ounces) to his many superstitions (such as the Bubblicious watermelon bubble gum his younger brother and…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun and Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler will participate in the 2010 All-Star Game, Major League Baseball announced this weekend. Braun,who led all AL outfielders with 2.97-million votes, will be the lone Jewish player in either league’s starting lineup. Kinsler, who finished third among AL second basemen…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — I was watching my beloved (but struggling) Tampa Bay Rays play the Minnesota Twins last night (7/2/2010) when Twins 3B Danny Valencia came to the plate in the 7th inning with the score tied 1-1. That’s the same Danny Valencia whom Jewish Baseball News recently identified as a fellow Member of…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Congratulations to Lisa Robbins, winner of the Jewish Baseball News bumper-sticker contest. Robbins, Jewess extraordinaire of Tampa, Fla., harangued ten Facebook friends into ‘like’-ing JBN’s Faceboook page. For her effort, Robbins will receive a free JBN bumper sticker (and a date with any JBN hunk who can handle her). Great job,…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Minnesota Twins rookie Danny Valencia is the 13th Jewish athlete to play major-league ball this season. Valencia, a 25-year-old third baseman from Boca Raton, Fla., made his MLB debut on June 3 after more than three years in the Twins’ farm system, where he was a three-time all-star. He is batting…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Today is the final day of our bumper-sticker contest. To all contestants: Before midnight tonight, e-mail us (sbarancik@jewishbaseballnews.com) a list of all the Facebook friends you urged to ‘like” the Jewish Baseball News Facebook page. Tomorrow, we’ll determine how many of your friends followed your advice. The five best-recruiting contestants will…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — If you want to win a free Jewish Baseball News bumper sticker, you still have three days left to compete in our contest. All you need to do is shame/harass/extort a bunch of your Facebook friends into clicking ‘like’ on our Facebook page. The five best recruiters as of 11:59pm on…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Florida International University infielder Garrett Wittels is one of five NCAA athletes nominated for ESPN’s 2010 ‘Best male college athlete’ award. Fan voting will determine the winner. Wittels, 20, garnered national press by finishing the 2010 baseball season with a 56-game hitting streak, second-longest in Division 1 history. He will have…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The running count of Jews chosen in this month’s MLB amateur draft has reached six. Harrison Fanaroff, a high-school pitcher out of Potomac, Md., was selected by the Washington Nationals in the draft’s 50th and final round (1,496th overall). According to Washington Jewish Week, Fanaroff was thrilled to be picked but,…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — It’s only natural: flame-throwing pitcher is called up from the minors with great fanfare. First four outings exceed almost any rational expectation of what a 21-year-old rookie might accomplish. And baseball fans everywhere begin checking Google to find out his religion. Who wouldn’t want to claim Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — “Exceedingly tall” is not a common stereotype of the Jewish people. But nobody told the Monsters of the Mound. Of the 19 Jews currently pitching in baseball’s minor leagues, eight are at least 6-foot 5-inches tall, six are at least 6-foot-6, and five are 6-foot-7 or taller. Closest to the upper-deck…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The Jewish Press of Tampa published an article this week about Jewish Baseball News. Click here to see it. Warning: geeky photo included. Shield your eyes. — Scott Barancik # # #
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are the latest developments among Jewish professional baseball players: MLB Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis is having a remarkable season. After 68 games, the “Greek god of walks” is hitting home runs and RBIs at the same pace he did last year, walking more, and striking out less. Far…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — University of Tampa 1B Mike Schwartz has signed with the Chicago White Sox and will play for the team’s Appalachian Rookie League squad this summer. A 23-year-old power hitter, Schwartz had a breakout season during his senior year at the University of Tampa, where he was named 2010 Sunshine State Conference…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — It’s the bling everybody’s talking about: Jewish Baseball News’ new bumper sticker. How can you get yours? Soon, you’ll be able to buy one. But in the meantime, you can get one for free — or, more accurately, without submitting cash. Because to win our Bumper Sticker Contest, you will have…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — At least five Jewish players were selected in this week’s MLB amateur draft, two of them out of Duke University. They include: Jake Lemmerman (Los Angeles Dodgers: 5th round, 172th overall pick). A 6’2″ shortstop who just completed his junior year at Duke (Div. I), Lemmerman led his team in eight…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — New York Mets rookie Ike Davis hit a game-winning home run against the San Diego Padres on Tuesday (6/8/2010), an 11th-inning, upper-deck blast that gave the Mets their ninth straight home victory. The home run was Davis’ 7th of the season. See a video of the blast here. And a video…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Syracuse Chiefs 1B Josh Whitesell is leaving the team mid-season to play for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Whitesell, who batted cleanup for the Chiefs (AAA/Washington Nationals) and led the team with 34 RBIs and 29 walks, reportedly will be paid 30-million yen for the remainder of the Swallows’ season, or roughly…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Kudos to Yuri Foreman, a 29-year-old boxer and Rabbinical student who lost a title fight Sunday before 20,000 fans at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Foreman, who was born in Belarus and emigrated to Israel at age 9, lost by technical knockout in the 9th round to Miguel Cotto. With the…
