By Sam Brief, Correspondent Josh Satin forcefully flipped his blue New York Mets helmet to the ground, extended both of his arms outward, and jumped onto an ecstatic Scott Hairston. The rest was lost in a sea of blue-and-white pinstriped uniforms—jubilant Mets teammates mobbing Satin, who just seconds before hit a pinch-hit, walk-off single against closer…
xxxx By Scott Barancik, Editor Detroit 2B Ian Kinsler crushed his 200th career home run today in a 5-1 win over the Rays. The two-run shot, his second in two days, came off P Danny Farquhar in the 9th inning and struck the catwalk high above Tampa Bay’s Tropicana Field. Kinsler is the fifth Jewish player to reach the…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Don’t let the first name fool you. Reliever Ryan Sherriff (St. Louis Cardinals/AAA) is the latest player to join the growing roster of Jewish pro baseball players. The 26-year-old southpaw is enjoying a tremendous season with the Memphis Redbirds. Sherriff is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA — third-best among Pacific Coast League players with at least 30 innings…
By Scott Barancik, Editor At least 16 Jewish players were picked in the annual MLB draft that took place earlier this month. We’re going to tell you a little bit about each one. First, the list: Andy Yerzy (C), D’backs (2nd round, #52 overall) Kenny Rosenberg (P), Rays (8th, #240) Jason Goldstein (C), Mariners (9th, #267) Mitchell…
By Scott Barancik, Editor For the second times in 18 days, the New York Yankees have added a Jewish player to their roster. Ike Davis, a first baseman who began his Major League career with the crosstown New York Mets in 2010 and also played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland A’s, signed with the…
By Ethel Hilsenroth, contributing writer Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun, winner of the 2011 N.L. Most Valuable Player award, is having another MVP-type season, excelling with both bat and glove. Could he win the award again? Statistics-wise, he’s in the mix. What makes this season very different from 2011, of course, is what happened in 2013. That’s the year Braun finally admitted,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor He tossed only three pitches off the mound at Toronto’s Rogers Centre today, but for Yankees rookie Richard Bleier, it probably felt like 300. The 29-year-old southpaw entered the game with one out in the bottom of the 8th inning and quickly put the Blue Jays to bed, forcing Michael Sanders to ground…
By Scott Barancik, Editor After toiling nine years in the minor leagues, Richard Bleier finally got The Call today. A 29-year-old southpaw and Team Israel alum, Bleier was promoted by the New York Yankees. He is a starter by trade but most likely will debut in the bullpen. The Texas Rangers selected Bleier in the sixth round of the 2008 draft….
Your browser does not support iframes. By Scott Barancik, Editor When Oakland 3B Danny Valencia hit a career-best three home runs against the Tampa Bay Rays on May 15, it was by definition something special. After all, only 354 MLB players have hit a trifecta during the course of a 9-inning game since 1913. Heck, Hank Aaron — whose 755 career home…
By Scott Barancik, Editor As we munch matzoh on this sacred holiday of Pesach, some might wonder: Who are the most unleavened Jews in MLB history? We looked into this scholarly question and found two men, each a compact 5-foot-4-inches. Not surprisingly, both played ball in the early 1900s, when men Jewish and not alike struggled to rise….
By Scott Barancik, Editor With the first official pitch of Opening Day just hours away, we’re taking a look back at Spring Training to see which Jewish athletes played at the MLB level, and how they performed. Below is an abbreviated table showing the 13 Jews who took MLB swings this Spring. Click here for more complete…
Stat of the day: Oct. 6-11, 2015 (archive) Powered by Masa Israel Journey Oct. 11, 2015: Sandy Koufax struck out in 49.7% of his at-bats, worst in MLB history Oct. 10, 2015: Reds prospect Zack Weiss had 30 saves this season, #2 among all 4,794 minor-league pitchers Oct. 9, 2015: Kevin Pillar‘s RBI double Thursday was the…
By Scott Barancik, editor Starting today, Jewish Baseball News is introducing two daily features during the October MLB Playoffs: a numbers-driven item called “Stat of the Day,” and “On This Date,” which will recall special moments in Jewish sports history. Both retweetable features are powered by Masa Israel, a joint project of the Jewish Agency…
By Scott Barancik, editor Cody Decker returned to L.A. on Sunday, a day after his El Paso Chihuahuas were knocked out of the Pacific Coast League (AAA) playoffs. His future was uncertain: after seven seasons as a San Diego Padres farmhand, the franchise’s all-time minor-league home run leader (154 HRs) was due to become a…
By Scott Barancik, editor It took 10 days after the horrific events of 9/11/2001 for baseball to resume in New York City. On Sept. 21, the hometown New York Mets’ Bruce Chen faced off against the Atlanta Braves’ Jason Marquis, a 23-year-old righthander from Staten Island. Before the game, Marquis was asked how he felt…
By Scott Barancik, editor On Tuesday, Major League teams can expand their rosters from 25 players to 40, an annual September ritual that allows top prospects a chance to take a swing at the big time. Although there are no guarantees, two Jewish pitchers might make the leap. One is Washington Nationals farmhand Richard Bleier, a…
By Scott Barancik, editor Danny Valencia, who was as shocked as his fans were when the Toronto Blue Jays designated him for assignment on Saturday (8/1/2015), has been claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics. The 30-year-old Florida native was hitting .296 with 7 HRs, 13 doubles, and 29 RBIs in 162 at-bats when the…
By Scott Barancik, editor Israel’s senior national baseball team crushed its “C pool” competition in last year’s European Championship qualifiers. Now it’s cruising through the “B pool” qualifying tournament, which began Monday (7/27/2015) in Vienna and includes national teams from Austria, Belarus, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden. In Game 1, Israel defeated Belarus 13-1 on 13 hits…
By Scott Barancik, editor In one of the strongest Jewish draft classes in years, 11 amateurs were chosen in the first 20 rounds of the 2015 draft, and one of them (the Astros’ Alex Bregman) was selected #2 overall. The total Jewish head count was no fewer than 15. Who signed? And who decided to stay…
By Scott Barancik, editor Richard Bleier pitched 7 shutout innings Wednesday for the Harrisburg Senators (AA), giving up just four hits and not a single walk in a 13-0 win. So what else is new? In 103 Double-A innings this year, the 28-year-old Washington Nationals prospect has walked only nine batters, or 2.2% of those…
