By Scott Barancik, editor With Team Israel’s surprising run at the World Baseball Championship behind us, Jewish Baseball News turns to that beloved annual rite: Spring Training. A total of 19 Jewish players were invited to MLB Spring Training camps this year, either as part of their teams’ active roster, 40-man roster, or non-roster invitee…
By Scott Barancik, editor The roster of players set to represent Israel in the World Baseball Classic in South Korea this March is taking shape. Team Israel general manager Peter Kurz, whose squad of former Major League and current minor-league athletes guided Israel to a qualifying-round win in September, said Tuesday that 15 ballplayers had already committed to…
By Sam Brief, Correspondent In September’s qualifying round for the 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Colorado Rockies prospect Scotty Burcham tallied a .455 batting average, the best on Team Israel and among the top 15 for all teams. If not for Facebook, Burcham might never have swung a bat in Brooklyn. Since anyone who is Jewish or has…
By Scott Barancik, Editor A total of 146 seasons have passed since Lip Pike became the first Jewish player to homer. Now, we have a new milestone to celebrate. Joc Pederson‘s game-tying, 2-run blast last night was the 113th Jewish home run of the season, tying the mark set in 2012. Pederson’s home run, his 25th of the year,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor In 1871, Lip Pike was considered a slugger. An outfielder with the Troy Haymakers, the 5’8″ rookie led the National Association that season with four home runs, which also happened to be the first four round-trippers ever hit by a Jewish baseball player. Flash forward 145 years to Sept. 10, 2016 — also…
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 It looks like manager Brad Ausmus’s stay with the Detroit Tigers is coming to an end. Citing an unnamed source with “knowledge of the front office’s plans,” the Detroit Free Press reported this morning that Tigers owner Mike Ilitch will fire Ausmus sometime after the the team’s final game of the regular…
By Scott Barancik, editor Detroit’s Ian Kinsler hit 2 home runs Sunday, and he made sure the second one counted. Seattle was leading the Tigers 4-3 when Kinsler came up with a man on and two outs in the bottom of the 8th inning. Down 1-and-2 in the count to reliever Mark Lowe, who entered the…
By Scott Barancik, editor Matt Holliday’s misfortune has proved opportune for two Jewish ballplayers. Thanks to the Cardinals outfielder’s injury — sorry, Matt — Dodgers rookie Joc Pederson will replace him in the National League’s starting lineup at Tuesday’s All-Star Game (7/14/2015), and Brewers veteran Ryan Braun will replace Holliday as a reserve on the roster. It’s…
By Scott Barancik, editor As baseball fans celebrate Opening Day, Jewish Baseball News is taking a look back at the 21 Jews who participated in MLB Spring Training this year. Fifteen position players and six pitchers saw playing time, some as full-fledged team members, others as non-roster invitees, and several via short-term stints. Their stats are shown…
By Scott Barancik, editor Detroit’s love affair with the late Hank Greenberg may never be matched. But for a day at least, the Tigers again were powered by Jews. Playing under newly-minted manager Brad Ausmus, Detroit crushed the Blue Jays 18-4 thanks partly to contributions from two Jewish players. Three-time All-Star Ian Kinsler led the way, going 2-for-3 with…
By Scott Barancik, editor Ah, the off-season. That time of year when baseball fans and writers have little else to do but speculate about which players will move, and where. Ian Kinsler made a splash recently when the Texas Rangers traded him to the Milwaukee Brewers for slugger Prince Fielder. Who’s next? We at Jewish Baseball News…
By Scott Barancik, editor File this one under the category “Life imitates art.” It came as news to most of us this week that the Texas Rangers were trading Ian Kinsler for Detroit Tigers slugger Prince Fielder. Few could have predicted the swap. But looking back, ESPN seems prescient. In an odd coincidence, a 2010 ad for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball featured…
By Scott Barancik, editor Ian Kinsler, a 32-year-old second baseman who has spent his entire 8-year career with the Texas Rangers, is being traded to the Detroit Tigers for slugger Prince Fielder. Detroit will pay the Rangers an additional $30-million to help cover Fielder’s massive contract. The 29-year-old first baseman “has seven years remaining on his $214-million,…
By Scott Barancik, editor According to research by our friend Ron Kaplan at his excellent Kaplan’s Korner blog, Boston reliever Craig Breslow will be just the 24th Jewish player to appear in a World Series when he appears in the upcoming Red Sox-Cardinals finale. The New Haven, Conn., native is expected to be a key piece of…
By Scott Barancik, editor For some Jewish baseball fans, Yom Kippur isn’t just the holiest day on the calendar. It’s also a litmus test of a ballplayer’s commitment to Judaism. That’s not so true here at Jewish Baseball News, a secular website that holds no grudge against a ballplayer for choosing to swing a bat during the…
By Scott Barancik, editor Ian Kinsler became the career leader in stolen bases among Jewish players Monday night (7/22/2013) with his 163rd theft in 200 attempts (box score). The 31-year-old Texas Ranger drew a first-inning walk off of New York Yankees pitcher Ivan Nova, promptly stole second off of catcher Chris Stewart, and then scored on a single…
By Scott Barancik, editor The Eighth Commandment orders us not to steal. For Ian Kinsler, we make an exception. When the 31-year-old Texas Ranger singled and stole second base uncontested in the 9th inning of Saturday’s win over the Detroit Tigers (see video), it was the 162nd theft of his felonious 8-year career. Rangers number-crunchers celebrated: the…
Help keep Jewish Baseball News free! Use our Amazon.com link ———————————————————————— By Scott Barancik, editor We try to give you the news in bite-sized pieces via Facebook, Twitter, and our new ‘Bunts’ column, shown on the top-left corner of the Jewish Baseball News home page. But sometimes there’s more than a mouthful of news to deliver. Today is…
Going shopping? Please use our Amazon.com link ———————————————————————— By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News With the regular season now underway, we’re taking a quick look back at how Jewish players performed in spring training. The sheer number who played was impressive: a total of at least 24 Jews — 18 position players and six pitchers —…
