By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of August 21-27, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Michael Barash C Michael Barash (Angels/High-A) had a career game on August 24, going 5-for-6 with a home run, 4 RBIs and a walk. For the week, he hit .500 (7-for-14) with 2 HRs,…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of July 31-August 6, 2017: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Blake Gailen* LF Blake Gailen* (Dodgers/AA) had a career game on August 5, going 3-for-5 with 2 HRs and 6 RBIs. It was his second two-homer game since being signing with Los Angeles out…
By Scott Barancik, Editor Here are your minor-league highlights from the week of May 29 – June 4, 2017. Members of Team Israel’s 2017 squad are marked with an asterisk: Jewish Baseball News Hitter of the Week: Nick Rickles* C Nick Rickles* (Phillies/AA) hit .385 (5-for-13) in his first full week with the Philadelphia Phillies franchise, highlighted by a two-HR,…
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 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 On September 5, 1927, Lefty Weinert tossed a 6-1, complete-game win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader at Wrigley Field, yielding 5 hits and no earned runs. It wasn’t just the 25-year-old southpaw’s Chicago Cubs premiere. It also marked the very first Jewish appearance in this storied franchise’s history….
By Scott Barancik, editor A Jewish duo keyed Oakland’s 4-3 win yesterday over the Astros (9/18/2015). Danny Valencia supplied the power. Batting cleanup, the mid-season acquisition hit a solo HR in the 4th inning and a two-run shot in the 8th that proved to be the game-winner. Sam Fuld furnished the glove. Houston was up 2-0…
By Scott Barancik, editor Here’s what’s happening in Major League Baseball. Ryan Braun hit his 250th career home run Wednesday. Among Jewish players, only legends Hank Greenberg (331) and Shawn Green (328) have hit more. The homer, Braun’s 20th of the season, came against the Cubs’ Jason Hammel, the same pitcher who gave up Braun’s 249th…
By Scott Barancik, editor Danny Valencia, who was as shocked as his fans were when the Toronto Blue Jays designated him for assignment on Saturday (8/1/2015), has been claimed off waivers by the Oakland Athletics. The 30-year-old Florida native was hitting .296 with 7 HRs, 13 doubles, and 29 RBIs in 162 at-bats when the…
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 Hollywood couldn’t have scripted Ryan Braun‘s return from disgrace any better. In his first at-bat since completing a 65-game suspension, the presumably drug-free Milwaukee Brewer smashed an 0-1 pitch off Oakland A’s pitcher Tommy Milone over the left-field wall (see video). “It’s still the first day of spring training,” Braun told USA Today. “Better to…
By Scott Barancik, editor Sam Fuld is leaving one “Moneyball” team for another. A free agent after three seasons with the Chicago Cubs and another three with the Tampa Bay Rays, Fuld has signed a minor-league contract with the Oakland A’s, where competition for a final outfield roster spot on the Major League club is said to be…
By Scott Barancik, editor San Diego Padres prospect Maxx Tissenbaum was one of five players sent to the Tampa Bay Rays today as part of a 7-player trade headlined by Rays pitcher Alex Torres and Padres infielder Logan Forsythe. A 22-year-old infielder who was chosen in the 11th round of the 2012 amateur draft and hit .277 with the…
By Scott Barancik, editor Free agent Kevin Youkilis has covered a lot of ground the past two seasons, playing for A.L. teams in Boston, Chicago, and New York. This time, he’s moving a little farther afield: Japan. The three-time All-Star, 34, has signed a one-year, $4-million deal to play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, the defending…
By Scott Barancik, editor For Sam Fuld, the Tampa Bay Rays have been the “perfect organization,” a team that appreciated his aggressiveness on the basepaths and competence in the outfield. Had the Chicago Cubs not traded him in 2011, he might never have had enough playing time to achieve legendary status for his diving catches, and to…
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 When defensive replacement Sam Fuld singled to open the 9th inning of Monday night’s tiebreaker against the Texas Rangers, you just knew he wasn’t going to passively run the bases. It was a perfect Fuldian storm. With the Rays up by a slim 4-2 margin and a Wild Card slot on the line,…
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…
