JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — A little bit of history was made Thursday (10/15/2010) when Peoria Javelinas C Ryan Lavarnway squatted opposite RP Eric Berger, a fellow Jew, during the 4th inning of a game against the Peoria Saguaros.
Both players made the best of their opportunities. Lavarnway, a Boston Red Sox prospect, hit a two-out, three-run HR that put the Javelinas ahead 4-1, smacked a double, and drew a walk. The Saguaros caught up, however, and the game ended in an 11-inning, 4-4 tie.
Berger, who plays in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ farm system, pitched a scoreless (if not effortless) inning for the Javelinas, scattering 2 hits and a walk while striking out 2.
In another Arizona Fall League game, SP Josh Zeid, a Philadelphia Phillies prospect, earned the win for the Mesa Solar Sox in an 11-6 victory over the Surprise Rafters. Zeid gave up one run on 2 hits over 3 innings, striking out 3. Among his strikeout victims was Detroit Tigers prospect and Surprise OF Ben Guez, another of the 5 Jews playing in Jewish player.
Lavarnway, who hit 22 HRs with 102 RBIs in the minors this year, is playing in the AFL primarily to improve his catching skills (see article). Thursday’s game was mostly a good one on that front. Lavarnway threw-out 2 of 4 baserunners trying to steal but also had his first error of the season.
In an e-mail this morning, Martin Abramowitz — the brains behind the Jewish Major Leaguers baseball-card series — cited several examples of Jewish batterymates in Major League Baseball history:
- Harry Danning and Harry Feldman for the New York Giants in the 40’s.
- Sandy Koufax and Norm Sherry.
- Sol Rogovin and Joe Ginsberg for the Tigers in the early 50’s.
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