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…
By Nate Fish, special to Jewish Baseball News Are you a baseball player? Do you want to come to Israel? The Israel Association of Baseball (IAB), in partnership with Masa Israel and Destination Israel, has created a program for baseball players with high school, college, or professional experience to travel to Israel to play and coach….
By Scott Barancik, editor Of course we wanted Steven Matz to be Jewish. The New York Mets rookie practically threw himself onto our collective doorstep last week with an improbable MLB debut, not only striking out six batters in a 7-2 win but going 3-for-3 with 4 RBIs. He was from New York. His middle…
By Scott Barancik, editor Danny Valencia has seen limited playing time this season, starting just 22 of Toronto’s 75 games through Friday (6/27/2015), and only now reaching 100 at-bats. But research by Jewish Baseball News suggests Toronto manager John Gibbons couldn’t ask for much more from a utility/platoon player. To try to capture the universe…
By Scott Barancik, editor Cody Decker is known for producing funny videos. But according to our research, he deserves at least as much praise for his production at the plate. Through games played Thursday (6/25/2015), the 28-year-old San Diego Padres prospect had 14 HRs and 49 RBIs in just 183 at-bats this season. That sounded pretty…
By Scott Barancik, editor The Washington Nationals picked Vanderbilt slugger Rhett Wiseman on Day 2 of this year’s MLB amateur draft, selecting him in the 3rd round, 103rd overall. A 20-year-old outfielder and teammate of overall #1 pick Dansby Swanson, the Massachusetts native is hitting .318 with 14 HRs, 47 RBIs, 12 stolen bases in 14 tries,…
By Scott Barancik, editor The Houston Astros selected LSU shortstop Alex Bregman No. 2 overall today in the 2015 amateur draft, good enough to earn an expected bonus of $7.4-million. A 21-year-old junior on the top-ranked Tigers, Bregman was expected to go anywhere from No. 2 through No. 7 in the first round. The Albuquerque native has…
By Scott Barancik, editor Cincinnati’s Jon Moscot made his MLB debut against the Padres last night, and while it wasn’t all smooth sailing, the 23-year-old finished strong. Called-up at the last minute to replace the injured Raisel Iglesias (see article), Moscot — who wasn’t even on the Reds’ 40-man roster — struck out the first batter he…
By Scott Barancik, editor Jon Moscot, a 23-year-old starter, will make his MLB debut 7:10pm ET tonight as the Reds face the San Diego Padres in Cincinnati. “Unexpected” may be the best way to describe it. Moscot isn’t on the Reds’ 40-man roster. MLB.com‘s prospect rankings for the Reds list six RHPs ahead of him….
By Scott Barancik, editor Now here’s something you don’t see very often: two Jewish players, both centerfielders, smacking 2 HRs apiece on the same day. Dodgers phenom Joc Pederson and Toronto’s Kevin Pillar accomplished the rare feat Tuesday night. Pederson hit the more prodigious bombs, launching a 477-foot monster in Game 1 of a doubleheader against…
By Scott Barancik, Editor When Ryan Braun launched two home runs Friday (5/15/2015), it left him a dozen short of 250. Only 15 active players, and just 210 of the more than 17,000 who have worn a Major League jersey throughout baseball history, have hit 250 or more HRs. Still not impressed? From 2007 through the present,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Alex Bregman, a junior at No. 1 ranked Louisiana State University and the team’s star shortstop (see bio), is projected to be picked no later than 7th overall in next month’s MLB amateur draft. Four top prognosticators have weighed-in on the draft in recent days, and all of them repeated the…
