Blake Shane Gailen (בלייק גיילין; born March 27, 1985) is an

American-Israeli , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

hitting coach for the

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and left-handed former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

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. He also plays for the

Israel National Baseball Team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

. In high school, Gailen was first-team All-West Valley League in California in his junior and senior seasons. He played baseball for Glendale Community College, where he was All-

Western State Conference The Western State Conference (WSC) is a college athletic conference that is affiliated with the California Community College Athletic Association. The conference was established in 1950, making it the oldest community college conference in Califo ...

as a freshman and All-Southern California Team as a sophomore. He played summer ball, and was a

Coastal Plain League The Coastal Plain League (CPL) is a wood-bat collegiate summer baseball league, featuring college players recruited from throughout the nation. The league takes its name from the Class D level Coastal League which operated in the area from 19 ...

All Star during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In 2011 Gailen won the

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batting title with a .406 batting average, a new league record. In 2012, he was named the Atlantic League Most Valuable Player as well as '' Baseball Americas Independent League Player of the Year, and starting All Star in left field, after batting .338 (winning his second consecutive league batting title) with 22 home runs, 89 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. In 2014, he was named to the Atlantic League's All-Star team. He played in AA for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

organization in 2011 and 2015, and in

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for the

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organization in 2013. Through 2018, Gailen had played 1,226 games over 12 seasons, and batted .306 with 167 home runs in aggregate. Gailen played for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in 2017, and in the

Confederation of European Baseball The World Baseball Softball Confederation Europe, known as WBSC Europe, was established on February 10th, 2018 during a Congress of the Confederation of European Baseball and the European Softball Federation in Val d’Europe, France. the establi ...

2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool was the second tier of Confederation of European Baseball men competition. It featured 14 teams, competing in two groups of 6 and 8 teams in early July 2019. The two group winners, Team Israel and Team ...

in 2019, where he was named the MVP. He signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2017. After finishing the season with the Tulsa Drillers, Gailen was brought back for spring training. He did not make the team out of spring training and played the season out with the Lancaster Barnstormers. In 2018, he became a dual

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. Gailen again signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers in January 2019. Out of spring training, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Oklahoma City Dodgers The Oklahoma City Dodgers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ba ...

. He played for Team Israel at the 2019 European Baseball Championship. He also played for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. In October 2020, Gailen signed a contract with the

Melbourne Aces The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team in the Australian Baseball League based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. History On Friday, 20 August 2010 it was announced that ex ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it ...

. He played center field for Team Israel at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

Early life

Gailen was born in Verdugo Hills, California, to Scott and Charlene ("Char") Gailen, and grew up in West Hills, California."Blake Gailen Stats, Highlights, Bio"
milb.com.
, UNLVRebels.com. He has an older sister named Jenni. Gailen is Jewish. He and major league infielder

Josh Satin Joshua Blake Satin (born December 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball corner infielder. Satin played first base, second base, and third base. During his career, he played for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball, as well a ...

—also a member of the Israeli national baseball team—have been friends since they were children, and Gailen attended Satin's bar mitzvah.Rob Isbitts (November 10, 2016
"Blake Gailen’s long road to Team Israel,"
''Jewish Baseball News'' Asked about his height, Gailen said: "I like to say, 5-8¾." He played baseball in high school for El Camino Real High School in

Woodland Hills, California Woodland Hills is a neighborhood bordering the Santa Monica Mountains in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Geography Woodland Hills is in the southwestern region of the San Fernando Valley, which is located east of Ca ...

, where Gailen pitched (throwing a no-hitter as a senior, and going 19-4 his last two seasons) as well as played outfield and hit, graduating in 2003.J.J. Cooper (October 17, 2012)
"Blake Gailen Earns Independent Leagues Player Of The Year Honors"
''Baseball America'' He was first-team All-West Valley League in his junior and senior seasons. He went un-drafted after high school.Eric Sondheimer (August 25, 2013)

''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

College

Gailen played baseball in college first for Glendale Community College (graduating in 2005), where he was All-

as a freshman and All-Southern California Team as a sophomore. He played summer ball for the Fayetteville SwampDogs during the 2005 and 2006 seasons, both pitching and playing outfield, and was a

All Star both seasons. He then played for the

University of Nevada-Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

Rebels baseball team, where Gailen was named the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...

Player of the Week on February 12, 2007, and graduated with a degree in Communications in 2007.Kyle Franzoni (August 24, 2013)
"Blue Jays Sign Former Atlantic League MVP Blake Gailen"
''Jays Journal'' He went un-drafted after college.

Professional career

Gailen was signed in 2011 and 2015 by the

. He has also played in the

organization (which signed him in 2013), the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

organization (which signed him in 2017 and 2019), on independent league teams, and in Mexico and Venezuela.

Anderson Joes

Gailen began his professional career in 2007 with the minor league baseball independent team the

Anderson Joes The Anderson Joes were a minor league baseball club that existed in 2007. The team was based in Anderson, South Carolina and was named after outfielder Shoeless Joe Jackson, who grew up in the local area. The team played as a member of the indepe ...

of the

South Coast League The South Coast League of Professional Baseball (SCL), based in Conyers, Georgia, was a professional, independent baseball organization located in the Southeastern United States. It operated in cities not served by Major or Minor League Baseba ...

, batting .368/.455/.526 in 42 games."Gailen Signs up for Fourth Barnstormers Season"
OurSports Central, March 12, 2015.

Wichita Wingnuts

On July 28, 2008, playing for the

Wichita Wingnuts The Wichita Wingnuts were an independent baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas, in the United States. The Wingnuts were members of the South Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball. An expansion franchise in the 2008 seas ...

, he was named the

Batter of the Week.

Chico Outlaws

In 2009, Gailen batted .355 with the

Chico Outlaws The Chico Outlaws were a professional baseball team based in Chico, California, in the United States. The Outlaws were a member of the Northern Division of the independent North American League, which is not affiliated with either Major League Ba ...

of the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the western United States, western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the orga ...

, and was the youngest batter in the top 10 in batting in the league. In 2010, he batted .387. (finishing 2nd in the league to

Larry Bigbie Larry Robert Bigbie (born November 4, 1977) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball from 2001 through 2006 for the Baltimore Orioles, Colorado Rockies, and St. Louis Cardinals. ...

in batting average)/.480 (3rd in the league)/.603 for Chico, and was a league All Star.

Lincoln Saltdogs

In 2011, he won the

batting title with a league-leading .406 batting average, a new league record, while playing for the

Lincoln Saltdogs The Lincoln Saltdogs are a professional baseball team based in Lincoln, Nebraska, in the United States. The Saltdogs are in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. Since the 2001 sea ...

. He played center field and batted leadoff for the Saltdogs, and also led the league in on-base percentage (.479) and slugging percentage (.622).

Los Angeles Angels

Gailen was then signed to a minor league contract by the

in July 2011, and played for the AA

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

of the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, replacing Mike Trout who had just been called up."Blake Gailen Independent, Winter, Minor & Mexican Leagues Statistics & History,
Baseball-Reference.com In 29 games, playing right field primarily, he batted .208.

Lancaster Barnstormers

In 2012 Gailen was named the Atlantic League Most Valuable Player as well as '' Baseball Americas Independent League Player of the Year, and starting All Star in left field, after batting .338 (winning his second consecutive league batting title, and setting a team record)/.415 (leading the league)/.534 with 22 home runs, 89 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases for the

Lancaster Barnstormers The Lancaster Barnstormers (colloquially known as the Stormers) are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a ...

."Blue Jays sign OF Blake Gailen; Former Atlantic League MVP joins Bisons"
milb.com, August 24, 2013.

Toronto Blue Jays

In August 2013, he was signed to a minor league contract by the

, as Gailen was leading the Atlantic League in doubles and walks while playing in 113 games for the Lancaster Barnstormers. He played in eight games for Toronto’s Triple-A affiliate, the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

, batting .286. He then played in 46 games for the Venados de Mazatlan in the

Mexican Pacific Winter League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

Lancaster Barnstormers (second stint)

In 2014, playing again for the Lancaster Barnstormers, Gailen was named to the Atlantic League's All-Star team, and for the season batted .350/.460/.646 with 18 homers, 52 RBIs, and a 1.107 OPS. Manager

Butch Hobson Clell Lavern "Butch" Hobson Jr. (born August 17, 1951) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. He is the current manager for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Hobson played in ...

said: "This guy is one of the best, if not the best, players in the league." He also played 51 games for

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, batting .271/.385/.537 with 11 home runs. He then played 22 games for

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

of the

Venezuelan Winter League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, and 19 games for the Venados de Mazatlan in the Mexican Pacific Winter League.

Los Angeles Angels (second stint)

In 2015, he started the season again playing for the Lancaster Barnstormers, and in June after 44 games was again signed to a minor league contract by the Los Angeles Angels. The Angels assigned him to the AA Arkansas Travelers, and that month he was Player of the Month for the Travelers, for whom he played in 76 games during the season.

Lancaster Barnstormers (third stint)

In 2016, after off-season surgery he played in 48 games for the Lancaster Barnstormers."Blake Gailen returning to Barnstormers,"
''Lancaster Online''. In 2017, Gailen began the season back with the Lancaster Barnstormers. In 54 games he batted .323/.408/.521, raising his career records with the Barnstormers to first all-time in home runs (72), runs scored (309), hits (524), and doubles (108), and tied for first in RBIs (273), while tied for second in steals (75 steals).

Los Angeles Dodgers

Gailen signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 25, 2017, and was assigned to the AA Tulsa Drillers in the

. In 49 games for Tulsa, he hit .300/.369/.500. He was released by the organization on March 22, 2018.

Lancaster Barnstormers (fourth stint)

On March 30, 2018, Gailen re-signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers. In 126 games he batted .282/.378/.511 and led the Atlantic League in home runs (28; one short of the franchise record) and RBIs (91), while coming in second in walks (72).">"Barnstormers' Blake Gailen signs with Dodgers,"
''Lancaster Online'', January 22, 2019. He was named an All Star for the third time. His 99 career home runs in the Atlantic League were 10th-most in league history. He became a free agent following the 2018 season. On October 31, 2018, Gailen signed with the

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán ( en, Culiacán Tomato Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league titles and two Caribbean World Series in and . The ...

of the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule ru ...

Los Angeles Dodgers (second stint)

On January 22, 2019, Gailen signed a minor league deal with the

. Playing for the Triple-A

, in 2019 he batted .250/.321/.396in 48 at bats with one home run and six RBIs. He re-signed with the Dodgers on a minor league deal for the 2020 season. Gailen was released by the Dodgers organization on July 1, 2020, as the minor league season was cancelled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Melbourne Aces

On October 3, 2020, Gailen signed a contract with the

of the

for the 2020-21 season.

Lancaster Barnstormers (fifth stint)

On March 24, 2021, Gailen signed with the

of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball for the 2021 season. In 2021 he batted .279/.421/.519 with 18 home runs, 72 RBIs, and 68 walks (7th in the league) in 287 at bats for Lancaster. He became a free agent following the season.

Coaching career

On December 23, 2021, Gailen announced that he would be joining the

organization as a coach in the hitting department and retire as an active player. In 2022, he was the hitting coach for the Arizona League Dodgers.

Team Israel

Gailen played for

Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tourname ...

qualifier. After not playing in the first game, he was a late-inning defensive replacement in the second game, but did not bat. Gailen started the third game in center field, and hit a two-run home run in the 5th inning, while walking twice and scoring an additional run. Gailen played left field for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic main tournament, in March 2017."MLB Players Ty Kelly, Sam Fuld Commit to World Baseball Classic Roster; Team Israel stated that it is finalizing its roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March in South Korea."
'' Haaretz'', January 20, 2017. He said: "it was the best experience of my life, there’s not even a question." In October 2018 he became a dual Israeli citizen, partly to help Israel’s baseball team make the 2020 Olympics. He played for Team Israel in the

in early July 2019 in

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, as it won all six of its games and advanced to the playoffs against Team Lithuania in the 2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the 2019 European Baseball Championship. He was named the MVP of the tournament, as he batted .571 (2nd in the tournament)/.654 (leading the tournament)/1.048 (2nd). He played for Team Israel at the 2019 European Baseball Championship, where he batted .355/.412/.742 with 3 home runs and 8 RBIs in 31 at bats in seven games and was tied for second among all Championship batters in doubles (3), fifth in total bases (23), and tied for sixth in hits (11). He also played for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He played center field and batted .286/.375/.333 in the tournament. Gailen said that as the last game of the tournament ended, with Israel qualifying for the 2020 Olympics: "I don't remember ever crying during a game... But I was super emotional. This is the Olympics. It hit me so hard. And I saw how hard it was hitting the guys around me." He played center field for Team Israel at the

in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

Awards

*2012 Baseball America Independent League Player of the Year *

All-Star (2010) *

champion (2010) * Atlantic League Player of the Year (2012) * Atlantic League All-Star (2012, 2014, 2018) *

All-Time Hits Leader *

champion (

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

)

References

External links

*
2020 Olympic Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gailen, Blake 1985 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Anderson Joes players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from California Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Chico Outlaws players El Camino Real High School alumni Glendale Vaqueros baseball players Israeli American Israeli baseball players Jewish American baseball players Lancaster Barnstormers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Lincoln Saltdogs players Mexican League baseball outfielders Seminole County Naturals players Tomateros de Culiacán players Toros de Tijuana players Tulsa Drillers players UNLV Rebels baseball players Venados de Mazatlán players Wichita Wingnuts players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Oklahoma City Dodgers players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Melbourne Aces players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players of Israel 21st-century American Jews