Brian Horwitz

Infobox MLB player
name = Brian Horwitz


width =150
caption =
team = San Francisco Giants
number = 49
position = Outfielder
birthdate = birth date and age|1982|11|7
birthplace = city-state|Santa Monica|California
bats = Right
throws = Right
debutdate = May 30
debutyear = 2008
debutteam = San Francisco Giants
statyear = September 22, 2008
stat1label = Batting average
stat1value = .222
stat2label = Home runs
stat2value = 2
stat3label = Runs batted in
stat3value = 4
awards =
teams =
*San Francisco Giants (by|2008):"This article is about the baseball player, for the hockey player, see Brian Horwitz (hockey)

Brian Jeffery Horwitz, nicknamed "The Rabbi," [http://www.forward.com/articles/13526/] (born November 7, 1982 in city-state|Santa Monica|California) is a Jewish American baseball outfielder who plays for the San Francisco Giants.

Jewish heritage

According to Baseball Almanac, Horwitz is the 159th Jewish player to make the majors. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/20/SP8U11C30G.DTL] Horwitz is the first Jewish player on the Giants since the mlby|1995-mlby|1996 tenure of pitcher Jose Bautista, and the eighth since they moved to San Francisco. [http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/062608/sptRookieRabbi.html] In mlby|1923, the New York Giants tried to trump up publicity by advertising Mose Solomon as "The Rabbi of Swat," playing across town from Babe Ruth, "The Sultan of Swat." [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/20/SP8U11C30G.DTL] He joined, among other Jewish major leaguers, Brad Ausmus, Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun, Gabe Kapler, Jason Marquis, Jason Hirsh, John Grabow, Craig Breslow, and Scott Schoeneweis.

He credited one set of grandparents for “instilling a lot of Jewish traits in our family.” “I still love my religion,” said Horwitz. He played in the JCC Maccabi Games when he was 15 and 16, leading his LA-area team to national titles in 1996 and 1997. [http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/062608/sptRookieRabbi.html]

Baseball career

High school

At Crespi High School in Encino, California, Horwitz was Mission League MVP, All-Valley, and first team All-CIF Division I as a senior, batting .415. He helped lead his team to three straight league titles.

ummer leagues

In the summer of 2001, he played for the Peninsula Oilers in the Alaska Baseball League, and in the summer of 2002 he played for the Hyannis Mets in the Cape Cod League.

College (2001-04)

As a freshman right fielder for the University of California at Berkeley Bears, where he majored in American History, in by|2001 he batted .310, and had a team-best 11 stolen bases. He had a school record 23-game hitting streak. He had 6 outfield assists on the season. He was an honorable mention Freshman All-American in Collegiate Baseball. As a sophomore in by|2002, he hit .266.

In by|2003 as a junior, he hit .347 with a team-leading 47 RBI and a .405 OBP and a .535 slugging percentage. He batted .400 with runners in scoring position, and was Pac-10 honorable mention and honorable mention Pac-10 All-Academic.

He was drafted in the 26th round by the Oakland Athletics in the June by|2003 draft, but did not sign.

As a senior he dropped down to .288 and though he kept his OBP at .400, he wasn't drafted. "The two days of the draft were probably the worst two days of my life," he said. "I've kind of been doubted my whole career, and that's fine with me. It fuels the fire." [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/20/SP8U11C30G.DTL]

He had all the forms ready for chiropractic school, but he wanted the experience of playing pro ball for a half-summer, so he took the San Francisco Giants' offer of a uniform and $1,000 and signed as a non-drafted free agent in June of by|2004. "I used it to pay my phone bill," he said. [http://origin.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_9462722]

Minor leagues (2004-08)

Horwitz won two titles in two years in the minor leagues. [http://sfgiants.scout.com/2/517305.html]

In 2004, Horwitz won the Northwest League batting title with a .347 average, the second-best in team history, playing for the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes in the Northwest League, and had a .407 OBP. He also earned a spot on the league All-Star team, led the league in hits (93), and set a franchise mark with 24 doubles.

In by|2005, he hit .349 for the Augusta GreenJackets in the South Atlantic League, and won his second consecutive batting title, while sporting a .415 OBP. He had 50 walks, while striking out only 39 times in 470 at-bats, and also led the league with 38 doubles. In addition, he had 8 outfield assists. He was also MVP of the 2005 California League Championship Series. Baseball America dubbed him the player with the best strike-zone discipline in the Giants' organization. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/20/SP8U11C30G.DTL]

In by|2006, he spent nearly half the season at San Jose of the California League, where he hit .324 with a .414 OBP. He spent most of the rest of the season with the Double-A Connecticut Defenders, where he hit .286 with a .365 OBP, and ended the season with a handful of at-bats with the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies.

In by|2007, he was a non-roster invitee to the Giants' spring training, [http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/team/roster_nri.jsp?c_id=sf] but the Giants ultimately assigned him to the Connecticut Defenders. [http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/SPORTS/704030336/1006] In 35 games for the team, he hit .309 with a .371 on base percentage. [http://www.ctdefenders.com/roster/stats/index.html?autoload=leaders&team_id=514] In late May, he was promoted to the Triple-A Fresno Grizzlies. [http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070521/SPORTS/705210322/1006] He hit .326 for the Grizzlies with a .383 on base percentage in 84 games. [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/stats/player.php?id=447849]

In his minor league career through 2007, Horwitz had a .326 batting average, .395 OBP, and in 1,630 at-bats has 109 doubles, 224 RBI, 168 walks, and 165 strikeouts.

Horwitz started by|2008 with Fresno, and was hitting .294 with a .351 OBP in 44 games when he was called up to the major leagues.

Major leagues (2008)

Horwitz was a non-roster invitee to 2008 Giants spring training. [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3579698] In March, the Giants re-assigned him to their minor league camp. [http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_8443063]

On May 30, mlby|2008, the Giants purchased his contract from Triple-A when Dan Ortmeier went on the DL with a broken finger. [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080530&content_id=2803634&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb&partnered=rss_mlb]

Horwitz hit his first major league home run on June 2, 2008, off New York Mets starting pitcher Óliver Pérez. He was mobbed in the dugout afterward. "There was a lot of love in that dugout," Horwitz said. "It adds to the experience. That's a great group of guys here and I just love being a part of this team." [http://origin.mercurynews.com/athletics/ci_9462722]

"Unbelievable," Horwitz said of his Major League experience so far. "It’s extraordinary, surreal. It’s an out-of-body experience. I’m really enjoying being here. How could you complain?" [http://www.forward.com/articles/13526/]

After hitting .304 in his first 21 at-bats, Horwitz went 1-for-15 and was sent down to Fresno for more playing time on July 6, 2008.

Tools

Horwitz is a pure hitter with excellent hand eye coordination, the ability to hit well for average, and doubles power. In 2007, "Baseball America" voted him as having the best strike zone discipline in the Giants minor league organization. [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:eogBuPxJCesJ:www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/features/263377.html+%22Brian+Horwitz%22+california+san&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=14&gl=us] He has solid defensive tools, good instincts, a quick first step, and a strong and accurate arm.

Awards

* 2004 - Northwest League Post-Season All-Star OF
* 2005 - South Atlantic League Player of the Week (4/17)
* 2005 - SAL All-Star OF
* 2005 - SAL Player of the Week (8/7)
* 2005 - Topps SAL Player of the Month (8/31)
* 2005 - SAL Post-Season All-Star OF

External links

* [http://www.ctdefenders.com/roster/players/index.html?player_id=17 Connecticut Defenders bio]
* [http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/H/Brian-Horwitz.shtml Baseball Cube stats]
* [http://calbears.cstv.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/horwitz_brian00.html University of California bio]
* [http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/stats/player.php?id=447849 Baseball America stats]
* [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:r2TGwcAKygoJ:www.baseballprospectus.com/pecota/HORWITZ19821107A.php+Brian+Horwitz&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=16&gl=us Baseball Prospectus]
* [http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=$07388&position=OF Fangraphs stats]
* [http://www.calleaguers.com/HorwitzBrian05.html Cal Leaguers bio]
* [http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:cVoGE5WChoAJ:giantprospects.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_giantprospects_archive.html+Brian+Horwitz&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=44&gl=us Giant Prospects, 2/18/06]
* [http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/28881/edition_id/547/format/html/displaystory.html "Celebrity Jews, 4/7/06]
* [http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/gen/articles/printer_friendly/milb/y2006/m05/d10/c69468.jsp "Minor League's Top Jewish Prospects," 5/10/06]
* [http://www.sjgiants.com/ArDisplay.aspx?ID=309&SecID=27 "The Minor Leagues," 6/11//06]
* [http://www.forward.com/articles/13526/ "Baseball’s New ‘Rabbi,’" 6/5/08]
* [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/20/SP8U11C30G.DTL "'Rabbi' wants to be known for his talent," 6/20/08]
* [http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080706&content_id=3083114&vkey=news_sf&fext=.jsp&c_id=sf "Giants send Horwitz to Triple-A Fresno" 7/6/08]