Jewish Baseball News

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By Scott Barancik, editor

Cody Decker is many things, but “average” is not one of them. Neither is “normal.” That seems to suit the 26-year-old San Diego Padres prospect just fine.

The southern California native  played a lead role in The Music Man and other productions in high school. A Dr. Who fan, he watches movies around the clock, poses for photos as his favorite characters (see pics below), and tends bar during the off-season. A constant barrage of clever one-liners has earned Decker more than 16,000 Twitter followers, an almost unheard-of number for a Minor League player.

Padres prospect Cody Decker, in superhero pose (photo courtesy Cody Decker)

He also plays a little baseball. Before joining Team Israel for last year’s World Baseball Classic qualifiers, the 5-foot-11-inch, 220-pound slugger hit 29 home runs, the second-most  among all Padres prospects. Twenty-five of them came with the San Antonio Missions (AA), where he and Jewish teammate Nate Freiman (24 HRs) terrorized opposing pitchers.

Jewish Baseball News recently e-mailed Decker a handful of questions. He’re how the UCLA alum responded.

JBN: According to Baseball America, you were the lead in a school play your senior year of high school and had to quickly change into baseball gear after one performance in order to get to a game on time. Is that true? And if so, what was the play?

Decker as Magnum P.I.

Decker: I was in every play in high school. Starred in several. As for getting to the game on time, it was the other way around. Had a crowd of 1,200 at the theater, but my game went into extras. The second the game ended, had to sprint to the theater to get into wardrobe and get into character. The show [The Music Man] opened 45 minutes late.

JBN: Were you the inspiration for High School Musical? 

Decker: Doubtful, but yes….

JBN: True or false: you recently let your Twitter followers pick your walk-up song from a list you’d created, and they chose the theme song from the British television show Dr. Who.

Decker: True.

JBN: Do fans look at you funny when the song comes on?

Decker as Prince

Decker: I’m too busy getting all charged up by the song to notice.

JBN: In your first four seasons of Minor League ball, you played nearly every game either at First Base or in the outfield. Last month (4/21/2013), you played catcher for the first time. Is this something we should expect to see more of?

Decker: Yes. [Editor's note: Padres staff recently decided to try Decker out at catcher after seeing him work a bullpen session.]

JBN: You’re 5-foot-11-inches tall. With the exception of Prince Fielder, who’s also 5’11″, all current Major League first basemen are taller. Is your height a disadvantage at that position?

Decker: So I’m told…. But I’ve yet to see any proof of that.

JBN: Last year, you and San Antonio Missions (AA) teammate Nate Freiman were among Texas League leaders in home runs with 25 and 24, respectively. Did you feel like Jewish superheroes?

Decker: We were Jewish superheroes…..We still are.

JBN: You played for Team Israel in 2012. What was it like to play with a whole team of Jews?

Decker: Best baseball experience of my life. It was a special bond we all had.

JBN: You have more than 16,000 Twitter followers, far above than the average Minor League. Your unique sense of humor has a lot to do with it. Are you just clever, or did someone accidentally swing a bat at your head when you were young?

Decker: Both?

JBN: During the off-season, you’ve been known to tend bar. What’s your favorite drink to make, and your favorite one to imbibe?

Decker: I enjoyed making an Old Fashioned…. The problem was I was the only one that would order it. I hated making shots.

Decker in “Bane” mask

JBN: According to your Tweets, you love watching movies. What is the dumbest baseball movie ever made?

Decker: Toss up between The Slugger’s Wife and The Rookie…. Both unwatchable.

JBN: Of the thousands of websites following Jewish baseball players, which one is the most fabulous?

Decker: There are other websites following Jewish baseball players?

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Nate Freiman hits his first MLB home run, a 3-run shot off Erik Bedard of the Houston Astros (video still courtesy of mlb.com)

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By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News

It took Oakland A’s rookie Nate Freiman just 14 MLB at-bats to smash his first home run (see video), a 3-run shot off Houston Astros starter Erik Bedard that landed in the upper-level left-field bleachers before a cheering hometown crowd on Monday (4/15/2013).

ESPN’s Home Run Tracker estimated the ball traveled 396 feet. The A’s went on to defeat the Astros in a lopsided 11-2 win.

Freiman said hitting the home run was an “amazing feeling” but that the day was “bittersweet,” given the explosions that marred Monday’s running of the Boston Marathon. The 26-year-old first baseman grew up in nearby Wellesley, Mass., where many family members remain.

A’s manager Bob Melvin praised Freiman after the game, according to MLB.com. “He’s produced for us, and it’s in limited action, which is really difficult for a younger player,” Melvin said. “He works really hard. It’s awfully rewarding to see a guy come up with a big hit like that, and against a former club too. To get his first home run and it be the big blow of the game really, I’m sure he’ll go home with a smile on his face tonight.”

After the 2012 season, Jewish Baseball News named Freiman the top minor-league power hitter. The Astros acquired him in December’s Rule 5 draft, months after the 6-foot-8-inch slugger starred with Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic qualifiers. But when the Astros placed Freiman on waivers in March, Oakland grabbed him. He opened the 2013 season on the A’s roster but has seen limited action, serving Monday as designated hitter. Interestingly, the A’s are 6-1 in games where Freiman has played, and 4-3 otherwise.

Freiman’s homer off former teammate Bedard came on a 1-2 count. After seeing three fastballs, he crushed the next pitch, a 73 mph curveball. Security persuaded a fan to give up the home-run ball in exchange for one signed by Freiman (see video).

Oakland is scheduled to play Houston again tonight (4/16/2013) at 10:05 pm ET.

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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 — got on the field for at least one MLB game this spring.

BATTING

Collectively,  position players hit .255 with 14 HRs and 64 RBIs in 384 at-bats (see table below). Several stood out:

• Kevin Youkilis had an eye-popping debut with the New York Yankees. He led all Jewish players (as well as all Yankees) with 6 HRs, 6 doubles and 14 RBIs in just 50 at-bats, along with an .800 slugging percentage and a 1.139 OPS (on-base plus slugging).
• New York Mets prospect Josh Satin made the most of his 16 plate appearances, cobbling together 3 singles, 2 doubles, 5 walks, and 3 RBIs to amass a .455 batting average and .647 on-base percentage.
• Ike Davis, another Met, showed great poise at the plate, hitting .327 with 4 doubles, 1 HR, and 4 RBIs. Davis’s 9 walks boosted his on-base percentage to a healthy .431.
• Danny Valencia lost his fight for a spot on the Baltimore Orioles’ opening-day roster but made a good impression on his new team, hitting .323 with 1 HR, 4 RBIs, and a .417 on-base percentage.
• Maxx Tissenbaum, a 21-year-old San Diego Padres prospect with one minor-league season under his belt, knocked in 3 runs in just 4 at-bats.
• St. Louis Cardinals prospect Adam Ehrlich walked in both of his plate appearances, St. Louis Cardinals prospect Charlie Cutler singled in his only appearance of the spring, and San Diego Padres prospect Cody Decker went 3-for-6 with a double.

Final hitting stats, 2013 MLB Spring Training

PITCHING

Among the six Jewish pitchers who played in at least one spring training game (see below), these ones stood out:

• Houston Astros prospect Josh Zeid went 1-0 with a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances, held opposing players to a .235 batting average, and drew 3.33 times as many groundouts as flyouts.
• San Diego Padres veteran Jason Marquis went 1-1 with a 3.74 ERA in six starts and held opponents to a .239 batting average.
• Toronto Blue Jays prospect Michael Schwimer earned a 3.00 ERA in three relief appearances and limited opposing teams to a .182 batting average.
• Scott Feldman stood out for less desirable reasons. The newly-minted Chicago Cub went 0-3 with an 11.25 ERA, gave up nearly 2 hits per inning, yielded 7 HRs, and got lit up by opposing batters to the tune of a .396 average.

Final pitching stats, 2013 MLB Spring Training

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Nate Freiman (mlb.com)

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By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News

Nate Freiman has made the opening-day roster of the Oakland A’s.

The 26-year-old slugger told the San Francisco Chronicle he was “shaking” when A’s manager Bob Melvin let him know during batting practice. He is expected to platoon at first base along with 7-year MLB veteran Brandon Moss.

The assignment caps a dizzying off-season for Freiman. After starring with Team Israel in September’s World Baseball Classic qualifiers, he was acquired by the Houston Astros in December’s Rule 5 draft after the San Diego Padres left him unprotected. The A’s picked him up last week after Houston placed him on waivers.

Despite hitting .241 with 11 strikeouts and only one walk during a Spring Training split between Houston and Oakland, Freiman was characteristically productive at the plate, driving in 9 runs in 54 at-bats.

That Freiman made the Majors without playing a single game of Triple-A ball is unusual. He hit .298 with 24 HRs, 105 RBIs, and a .370 on-base percentage last season for the San Diego Padres’ double-A team.

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Danny Valencia (mlb.com)

Nate Freiman (mlb.com)

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By Scott Barancik/Jewish Baseball News

A flurry of roster moves is taking place as Spring Training player evaluations near an end.

The Oakland A’s picked up Nate Freiman on Saturday (3/23/2013) after the Houston Astros put him on waivers. The 26-year-old first baseman, who dominated opposing pitchers during Team Israel’s World Baseball Classic bid last year, hit .278 for Houston during Spring Training, with 1 HR, two doubles, no walks and 7 whiffs in 36 at-bats.

According to MLB.com, the A’s are considering Freiman for a potential platoon job at first base. Acquired by the Astros in the Rule 5 postseason draft, the 6-foot-8, 250-pounder hit .298 with 24 HRs and 105 RBIs  for the San Diego Padres’ double-A team in 2012.

As Jewish Baseball News contributor Zev Ben Avigdor points out in his minor-league Twitter feed, Freiman joins a franchise rich in Jewish players, including pitchers Max Perlman and Jeff Urlaub and catcher Nick Rickles.

Danny Valencia‘s bid to start the 2013 season on the Baltimore Orioles’ roster ended Thursday (3/21/2013) when he was reassigned to the Norfolk Tides, the franchise’s triple-A team. The move came despite a strong Spring in which the 28-year-old third baseman hit .323 with 1 HR and 4 RBIs in 31 at-bats and had a .417 on-base percentage. He hit a game-winning HR in Tuesday’s (3/19/2013) 8-7 win over the Boston Red Sox.

According to the Baltimore Sun:

The 28-year-old Valencia entered camp as a possible right-handed designated hitter because of his .316/.359/.472 career batting line against right-handed pitching. He also competed for a utility infield spot this spring, playing both third base and first base.

The Sun also noted that during the offseason, Valencia‘s name ”appeared on a list tied to a Miami-area anti-aging clinic that is being investigated by MLB for supplying major league players with performance-enhancing drugs. Valencia addressed the report on the first day of camp, denying that he’s ever used PEDs.”

Pittsburgh Pirates prospect (and one-time Major Leaguer) Aaron Poreda was released earlier this month by the club’s double-A team, the Altoona Curve. The 26-year-old hurler started three games for the Curve in 2012, going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA. Poreda played briefly in 2009 for the San Diego Padres and the Chicago White Sox.

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