Newman grad Jeremy Bleich gets long-awaited call to majors
After a decade toiling through every level of minor league baseball, New Orleans native Jeremy Bleich got the call he’s waited for his entire career.
Bleich had his contract purchased Friday by the Oakland Athletics and will join the A’s for their weekend series with the San Francisco Giants.
With Triple-A Nashville, Bleich had a 1-1 record, one save and a 3.00 ERA in 27 appearances.
Bleich, a 31-year-old left-handed pitcher who starred at Isidore Newman School before signing with Stanford University, was the 44th pick in the 2008 MLB Draft by the New York Yankees.
He remained in the Yankees organization, reaching as high as Class AAA, through 2014. A torn labrum sidelined him for the entire 2011 campaign.
Since being released by the Yankees, Bleich has bounced around with minor league affiliates of the Pirates, Phillies, Dodgers and A’s and even a stint in the independent Atlantic League and an appearance for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic. He’s been at the Triple-A level for parts of the last five seasons but never made it to “the show.”
Until now.
Bleich will wear No. 56 for Oakland.
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Lenny Vangilder
Sales/Content/Production
Lenny was involved in college athletics starting in the early 1980s, when he began working Tulane University sporting events while still attending Archbishop Rummel High School. He continued that relationship as a student at Loyola University, where he graduated in 1987. For the next 11 years, Vangilder worked in the sports information offices at Southwestern Louisiana (now UL-Lafayette) and Tulane;…
