JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The 2010 season is barely one-quarter done, but if it ended today, Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis would be in the running for Most Valuable Player. Thanks in part to a recent tear, Youk is among the American League leaders in multiple hitting categories, including: 1st in runs (37) 1st/tie…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A profile of Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun in Monday’s (5/24/2010) edition of USA Today details the 26-year-old’s growing baseball and entrepreneurial success. Among the article’s dominant themes is the Braun’s considerable self-confidence: “He got definite swag,” Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Matt Kemp, 25, says. “I love watching him play.”…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The latest info on Jews with bats: New York Mets 1B Ike Davis, brought up from AAA two weeks after the 2010 season began, is now batting cleanup. The move to 4th in the batting order paid off for the Mets on Thursday (5/20/2010) as Davis went 3-for-5 with 2 doubles…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Tuesday (5/18/2010) saw a show of strength by Jewish major leaguers. Four men– Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun, New York Mets 1B Ike Davis, Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis, and Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler — hit home runs. The Day of Power boosted the Jewish home run total for…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — And now, news that enthralls about Jews with balls: Florida International University sophomore Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak to 45 games Sunday (5/16/2010) in a 5-0 win over the University of South Alabama. The 20-year-old infielder went 1-for-4 with a single and an RBI. At 45 games, he is tied…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis had five walks Saturday (5/15/2010) in an 11-inning loss to the Detroit Tigers. Though the feat fell short of a major-league record, it marked a personal best for Youkilis, whose previous single-game high, four walks, came in a 19-inning loss to the Chicago White Sox…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The latest developments among Jews with bats: Jason Hirsh, starting pitcher for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (AAA), continued his turnaround Thursday (5/13/2010) with a 7-3 victory against the Columbus Clippers. A 6’8″, 250-pound former major leaguer who began the season with three consecutive losses, Hirsh pitched six innings against Columbus, giving up…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Florida International University sophomore Garrett Wittels extended his hitting streak to 43 games Friday (5/14/2010) in a 6-5 win over the University of South Alabama. Wittels hit an RBI single in the first inning but went hitless the rest of the game. Eric Berkowitz, a senior closer and fellow Jew, pitched…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Talk about consistency. Florida International University sophomore Garrett Wittels has played in 42 games this season, and he’s had a base hit in every one. The 42-game streak is tied for 4th-highest in Division I history and has earned Wittels a bushel of media attention recently, including a Miami Herald profile…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — An update from the world of Jewish baseball players: Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis recently was hit by a pitch for the 63rd time in his career, leading one Beantown reporter to dub him the Prince of Plunk. The bruise leaves him eight behind Red Sox career leader Mo Vaughn…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The Milwaukee Brewers are putting injured CF Carlos Gomez on the disabled list and calling up CF Adam Stern from AAA to replace him, says the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Stern, a 30-year-old from Ontario, will be the 12th Jew to play for a Major League Baseball team this year. Through 12 games…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Sunday’s (5/9/2010) perfect game by Oakland A’s pitcher Dallas Braden naturally made me think about Jews and their historical involvement in one of baseball’s most unusual spectacles. It’s no secret to Jewish baseball fans that Los Angeles Dodger Sandy Koufax tossed one of the 19 perfect games in major-league history, a…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Jews are having another great year at the plate. Through this morning (5/9/2010), Major League Baseball’s six Jewish position players were batting a combined .320 versus .259 for the entire league. The Jewish slugging percentage stood at .532, versus .414 for everyone. Let’s be clear, though. Much of the credit goes…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Pardon me if you’ve already seen this classic 2006 video, in which comedians Denis Leary and Lenny Clarke discover during a Boston Red Sox broadcast that 1B Kevin Youkilis and outfielder Gabe Kapler are Jewish. Actor Mel Gibson, whose anti-Semitic remarks during a 2006 DUI arrest were a national story at…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Rookie 1B Ike Davis hit two HRs Friday night to help the New York Mets defeat the San Francisco Giants 6-4. Davis, 23, hit solo home runs in the 2nd (vide0) and 4th (video) innings. His 9th-inning walk turned into a run when Rod Barajas followed with a walk-off HR to…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — New York Mets 1B Ike Davis was the first Jewish player called up from AAA this season. Who will be the second? You’d have to know a lot more about MLB depth charts than I do to make a truly educated guess. Being psychic helps, too; unexpected injuries often are the…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — As we reported earlier this morning, Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis was scratched from Sunday’s game (5/2/2010) due to a condition the local news media alternately described as a “sore left groin,” “strained left groin” or “groin pull,” none of which sounded particularly fun. (Especially “groin pull,” which sounds a…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — What’s new in the world of Jewish baseball players: Scott Schoeneweis retained his tenuous hold on a roster spot last week when the Boston Red Sox chose to release fellow lefty reliever Alan Embree in order to make way for starter Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was returning from an injury. Red Sox…
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JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — After missing the first 22 games of the season with a sprained right ankle, Texas Rangers 2B Ian Kinsler returned to the lineup Friday (4/30/10) and made a key contribution in the Rangers’ 2-0 win over the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom…
