By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 30-October 6, 2019, the first week of the playoffs: Mazel tov Kevin Pillar is San Francisco’s nominee for the 2019 Hank Aaron Award, given annually to the outstanding offensive player in each league (see article). Stats to share By one measure, Max…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 23-29, 2019, the final week of the regular season: Mazel tov CF Kevin Pillar, playing in his first season with San Francisco, won the 2019 Willie Mac award. The honor is given to the Giants’ most inspirational player, as voted by…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 16-22, 2019: Mazel tov Led by 1B Danny Valencia and P Joey Wagman, Israel’s national baseball team won an Olympic qualifying tournament in Italy last week, earning it a berth in the 2020 games in Tokyo (see article). The last time…
By Scott Barancik, Editor A veteran oddsmaker wouldn’t have taken the bet. A Hollywood producer wouldn’t have entertained such a preposterous plot line. No one — except perhaps Israel Association of Baseball president Peter Kurz, the eternally optimistic uncle you might dismiss as delusional — would have believed the Israeli national baseball team could earn…
By Scott Barancik, Editor After finishing 4th in the 12-team European Championship in Germany last week, the Israeli baseball team is moving on to Italy. Starting today (9/18/2019), Israel will compete with five other countries — Netherlands, Italy, Czech Republic, South Africa and Spain — for the right to represent Europe and Africa at the…
By Scott Barancik, Editor The 2019 minor-league season is all but over. Here are all the playoff stats — good and bad — for the week of September 9-15, 2019: Mazel tov Israel’s national baseball team finished 4th in the 12-team European Championship that ended Sunday (9/15/2019), good enough to advance to the Olympic qualifiers…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 9-15, 2019: Mazel tov Israel’s national baseball team finished 4th in the 12-team European Championship that ended Sunday (9/15/2019), good enough to advance to the Olympic qualifiers taking place in Italy from September 18-22. Stats to share Two players — rookie…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Israel’s national baseball team, buoyed by American players who obtained dual citizenship this year, dominated France 8-2 today in the European Championships to guarantee a spot in the upcoming Olympic qualifying tournament. Israel never trailed, scoring three runs in the first inning and going ahead 7-0 before France scored its two…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of September 2-8, 2019. Since most leagues completed their regular season on September 2, the stats include playoff performances: Hitter of the Week: Andy Yerzy (Diamondbacks) 1B Andy Yerzy (Diamondbacks/A-short-season/Hillsboro Hops) went 1-for-3 with a double, walk, and 3 RBIs in the team’s…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of September 2-8, 2019: Mazel tov Danny Valencia, a 34-year-old infielder who spent nine years in the Major Leagues and last played in 2018, obtained Israeli citizenship last week and is playing for Israel in the European Championships held in Germany. Valencia manned third…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Israel’s bid to play baseball in the 2020 Olympics just grew a little more believable. Danny Valencia, a 34-year-old infielder who spent nine years in the Major Leagues, obtained Israeli citizenship today and is headed to Germany to play in the European Championships later this week. The top 5 finishers in that…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of August 26-September 1, 2019. Because there were no standout performances at the plate, Jewish Baseball News is skipping its regular Hitter of the Week award. Pitcher of the Week: Sam Delaplane (Mariners) Sam Delaplane (Mariners/AA/Arkansas Travelers) pitched 3.1 hitless innings over 3 games…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of August 26-September 1, 2019: Mazel tov LF Joc Pederson set a career high with his 27th and 28th home runs last week. The latter was special: a pinch-hit, 11th-inning home run on September 1 that traveled 454 feet and proved the game-winner…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Baseball journeyman Ty Kelly announced his retirement last weekend with characteristic humor, accusing retiring Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck of stealing his thunder. “Let me have my moment, Andrew,” he wrote. It turns out Kelly’s not quitting baseball entirely. The 31-year-old second baseman recently obtained Israeli citizenship and will be joining Israel’s…
In other sports Hockey: Florida Panthers rookie Chase Priskie made his NHL debut tonight against the Washington Capitals (11/4/2021) MMA: On Oct. 26, Israel’s Oron Kahlon (16-0) will face Afghanistan’s Javid Basharat (10-0) on Dana White’s Contender Series, a UFC program on ESPN+. Betting lines favor Basharat (10/25/2021) Hockey: The Canucks’ Quinn Hughes (#2) and…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of August 19-25, 2019: Hitter of the Week: CJ Stubbs (Astros) C CJ Stubbs* (Astros/A/Quad Cities River Bandits) hit .304 (7-for-23) with 2 HRs, 3 doubles, and 7 RBIs. The highlight came on August 23, when Stubbs went 4-for-4 with 2 HRs and…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of August 19-25, 2019: Mazel tov Alex Bregman’s 2-run HR on August 22 marked the 119th Jewish home run of 2019, surpassing the 118 hit in 2018. Like the Majors as a whole, Jewish ballplayers are seeing a surge in HRs. Alex Bregman (32)…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of August 12-18, 2019: Hitter of the Week: Scott Manea (Astros) C Scott Manea (Astros/High-A/Fayetteville Woodpeckers) hit .286 (4-for-14) with 3 HRs, 3 RBIs, and 7 walks last week, good enough for a .524 on-base percentage. The highlight was a 2-HR game on…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of August 12-18, 2019: Mazel tov 2B Ian Kinsler (Padres), who joined the injured list on August 16 with a herniated cervical disk, played just one game last week, on August 12. It was a memorable one. Entering the game in the top…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of August 5-11, 2019: Hitter of the Week: Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays/AAA/Buffalo Bisons) hit .478 (11-for-23) with 7 doubles, a HR, 2 RBIs and a .520 OBP. Since Toronto sent him to the minors on July 15, Tellez…
