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…
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,…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — When it comes to driving in runs, New York Mets 1B Ike Davis has some pretty elite company this season. Davis, a second-year player, has 11 RBIs so far. He shares the MLB lead with three offensive juggernauts: Milwaukee Brewers 1B Prince Fielder, Philadelphia Phillies 1B Ryan Howard, and Chicago White…
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…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Sam Fuld has made a lot of highlight-reel catches in his career, but the diving nab he made in right field to stop a bases-loaded, two-out rally by the Chicago White Sox on Saturday (4/9/2011) left both teammates and opponents in awe. Here is video of the…
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…
JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The 2011 MLB season opened Thursday (3/31/2011), and Milwaukee Brewers LF Ryan Braun started things off on the right foot. Braun, 27, went 2/3 with a long blast over the center-field fence, two walks, and 3 runs scored in a 7-6 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. In 2010, Braun went 2/4…
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…
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…
