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 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 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 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 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…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of August 5-11, 2019: Mazel tov CF Kevin Pillar (Giants) recently talked to the Jewish News of Northern California about his bar mitzvah, a religious studies course he took in high school, and being one of the few Jewish players in the Major…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of July 29-August 4, 2019: Hitter of the Week: Zane Gurwitz (Angels) 2B Zane Gurwitz (Angels/High-A/Inland Empire 66ers) hit .391 (9-for-23) with a home run, triple, 2 doubles, 7 RBIs, and a .462 OBP. The highlight: going 4-for-5 with a HR on August…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of July 29-August 4, 2019: Mazel tov C Garrett Stubbs (Astros) was called-up from Triple-A on August 2 to provide back-up for starter Robinson Chirinos, who reported soreness in his left shoulder. In an earlier stint with Houston this season, Stubbs hit .160…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of July 22-28, 2019: Hitter of the Week: Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays) 1B Rowdy Tellez (Blue Jays/Triple-A/Buffalo Bisons), who was sent down to Triple-A on July 15, made a strong case last week for returning to Toronto, hitting .429 (9-for-21) with 4 HRs, a…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of July 22-28, 2019: Mazel tov Israel’s baseball team took another step toward qualifying for the 2020 Olympics last week when it crushed Lithuania in a battle of B-Pool champions at the European Championships. Israel beat Lithuania 12-2 and 15-0 in the best-of-three…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights for the week of July 15-21, 2019: Hitter of the Week: Ryan Lavarnway (Reds) C Ryan Lavarnway signed a one-year Major League contract with Cincinnati on July 18 and wasted no time contributing. In his Reds debut the following day — his first Major League start…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the week of July 15-21, 2019: Mazel tov C Ryan Lavarnway signed a one-year Major League contract with Cincinnati on July 18 and wasted no time contributing. In his Reds debut the following day — his first Major League start since July 29, 2017 —…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your MLB highlights for the three weeks beginning June 24, 2019 and ending July 14, 2019: Mazel tov The 2019 Home Run Derby was 25% Jewish, with Joc Pederson (Dodgers) and Alex Bregman (Astros) filling 2 of 8 slots. After beating Bregman 21-14 in the first round, Pederson faced…
