By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of June 26-July 2, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Blake Gailen* In his first week back in the MLB-affiliated minor leagues since 2015, LF Blake Gailen* (Dodgers/AA) hit .333 (5-for-15) with 3 RBIs, highlighted by a two-homer performance on July 1. Jewish Baseball…
By Scott Barancik, editor You had to rise at 4:30pm ET today to watch underdog Team Israel play Korea live in the 2017 World Baseball Classic opener, but seeing Israel triumph 2-1 in 10 innings was worth missing some sleep. There were a few ulcer-inducing moments. Israel — which knocked out 8 hits and drew…
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 Stuart M. Katz, correspondent When centerfielder Sam Fuld and nine other Jewish athletes head to Israel on January 3 for what might be dubbed a ‘Baseball Birthright’ trip, they won’t be alone. Wives, parents, sons, and a fiancée will be traveling with this minyan of Major League players and prospects, all of whom plan to represent…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Israel’s first two wins in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers were fairly close affairs, but the team crushed Great Britain 9-1 in the finals Sunday night to sweep the tournament and earn its first-ever trip to the main WBC event, which will take place in March 2017. Israel dominated equally from the mound…
By Scott Barancik, Editor It took Israel’s bats a while to come alive Thursday at Brooklyn’s MCU Park, but a four-run rally in the 7th inning drove the team to a come-from-behind, 5-2 win over Great Britain. C Ryan Lavarnway led the way with three hits and a walk, and five Team Israel players shared RBI duties, including…
Your browser does not support iframes. By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 22-28, 2016. New additions Jewish Baseball News welcomes two more players to its list of professional ballplayers. The first is P Joey Wagman (Athletics/High-A), a 25-year-old reliever out of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The second is 3B…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league updates from the week of August 8-14, 2016. Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week 1B Cody Decker (Red Sox/AA) hit .333 last week with 3 HRs, 5 RBIs, and 2 walks. The highlight came August 10, when Decker went 3-for-6 with 2 HRs and 3 RBIs. Jewish Baseball News Pitcher of…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league updates from the week of July 18-24, 2016, a period shortened by All-Star games. Jewish Baseball News Player of the Week LF Zach Borenstein (Diamondbacks/AAA) hit .353 last week with a home run, 2 doubles, 5 RBIs, and a stolen base. Debuts P Marc Huberman (Cubs/rookie), an 18th-round pick…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league updates from the week of July 11-17, 2016, a period shortened by All-Star games. Jewish Baseball News Player of the Week For the third time this season — and the second week in a row — our Player of the Week is LF Mike Meyers (Red Sox/High-A). Meyers hit…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league updates from the week of July 4-10, 2016. Jewish Baseball News Player of the Week LF Mike Meyers (Red Sox/High-A) had another strong week, hitting .409 with a HR, double, 3 RBIs, 2 stolen bases, and his sixth triple of the season. He ranks second on the Salem…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league updates from the week of June 27-July 3, 2016. Jewish Baseball News Player of the Week What an incredible week for SS Alex Bregman (Astros). Last year’s #2 overall draft pick homered and went 2-for-3 in the Texas League (AA) All-Star game. He was named to the U.S. roster for…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here they are, your minor-league updates from the week of June 6-12, 2016. Jewish Baseball News Player of the Week SS Alex Bregman (Astros/AA) hit .400, drove in 7 runs, and hit a walk-off HR last week. The second-year prospect ranks among Texas League leaders with a .314 average (2nd), 13 HRs (2nd/tied),…
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 Free agent Scott Feldman has signed a 3-year, $30-million deal with the Houston Astros. The Major Leagues’ youngest (average age: 26) and worst (111 losses) team last season, Houston was looking for a veteran presence. It found that in Scott Feldman, a 30-year-old righthander who made his MLB debut in 2005 and holds…
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…
Going shopping? Please use our Amazon.com link ———————————————————————— By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Here are highlights from minor-league games played on Saturday, April 6: Toronto Blue Jays prospect Kevin Pillar, an outfielder with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (AA), went 4-for-5 with 2 stolen bases. Pillar also tossed out a runner at third base (box score)….
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 —…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News Team Israel defeated South Africa 7-3 on Wednesday night (9/19/2012) to take Game 1 of the World Baseball Classic qualifiers held in Jupiter, Fla. (see video recap and box score). The greatest Jewish team in baseball history earned its victory both at the plate and on the mound, hitting a…
By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News The long wait to see which players will represent Israel at World Baseball Classic qualifiers this week is over. Team Israel’s 28-man roster (see below) includes two former Major Leaguers (player/coaches Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler), three Israelis, and 23 minor-leaguers. Because the MLB season is still underway, no current…
