Rookies, returnees, retirees and renegades

By Scott Barancik, editor Spring Training has only just begun, but there’s plenty going on in the baseball world. Tyler Kolodny didn’t give up on sports when the Baltimore Orioles released him after six seasons in the minors. He just picked a new one. Although the 6-foot-5-inch, 245-pound Kolodny had never played football at any level, he arranged…

Tally of minor-leaguers invited to MLB spring training reaches 9

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The number of Jewish minor-leaguers who will be attending a Major-League spring training this year has reached nine. According to MLB.com, the invitees include: Sam Fuld (Tampa Bay Rays) Ben Guez (Detroit Tigers) Jason Hirsh (New York Yankees) Gabe Kapler (Los Angeles Dodgers) Jason Kipnis (Cleveland Indians) David Kopp (St. Louis…

At least 4 Jewish minor leaguers will attend MLB spring training

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — So far, at least four Jewish minor-leaguers have been invited to attend Major League spring training camps in 2011. According to MLB team web sites, four ballplayers have been identified as “non-roster invitees” — that is, they have been invited to attend spring training even though they are not on their…

POTD: Braun, Hirsh, Cutler, Freiman, Rubinstein, Schwartz

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Here are your Players of the Day for Saturday (8/28/2010): LF Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers went 2/4 with two doubles and scored the winning run in an 11-inning, 8-7 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 2007 NL Rookie of the Year is hitting .395 in August after batting just…

Players of the day

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS –The best performances of Thurs., July 29, 2010: New York Mets 1B Ike Davis smashed a three-run home run in a 4-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals (see video). Davis, a rookie, is tied for the team lead in home runs (15) and ranked second in RBIs (52). “AAA” Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees…

Mid-season minor-league leaders

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Midway through the 2010 season, Jewish minor leaguers are performing well. The 20 Jewish pitchers have a collective won-loss record of 59-52, a 3.85 ERA and a 2.17 strikeout-to-walk ratio through games played July 14. The 28 position players have a combined batting average of .274 and a walk-to-strikeout ratio of…

Monsters of the Mound

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS —  “Exceedingly tall” is not a common stereotype of the Jewish people. But nobody told the Monsters of the Mound. Of the 19 Jews currently pitching in baseball’s minor leagues, eight are at least 6-foot 5-inches tall, six are at least 6-foot-6, and five are 6-foot-7 or taller. Closest to the upper-deck…

Minor-league roundup

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The latest news on minor-league players: Trenton Thunder (AA/New York Yankees) SP Jeremy Bleich is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Bleich finished the season with a 3-2 record and 4.79 ERA, holding opposing batters to a .236 average. Springfield Cardinals (AA/St. Louis Cardinals) SP David Kopp continues to…

Friday roundup: Ike Davis bats cleanup, Scott Schoeneweis gets dumped

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The latest info on Jews with bats: New York Mets 1B Ike Davis, brought up from AAA two weeks after the 2010 season began, is now batting cleanup. The move to 4th in the batting order paid off for the Mets on Thursday (5/20/2010) as Davis went 3-for-5 with 2 doubles…

Morning Roundup

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — The latest developments among Jews with bats: Jason Hirsh, starting pitcher for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees (AAA), continued his  turnaround Thursday (5/13/2010) with a 7-3 victory against the Columbus Clippers. A 6’8″, 250-pound former major leaguer who began the season with three consecutive losses, Hirsh pitched six innings against Columbus, giving up…

Once and future prospect Jason Hirsh takes no-hitter into 8th inning

JEWISH BASEBALL NEWS — Jason Hirsh hasn’t pitched in the major leagues since 2008. He lost his first three games of the 2010 season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, the New York Yankees’ AAA team. His fourth game of the year was a different story. Hirsh, a towering right-hander who stands 6’8″ and weighs 250 pounds,…