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Brian Horwitz, born November 7, 1982, in Santa Monica, California, is an American baseball player in the San Francisco Giants organization.

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.

Summer leagues

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

College

As a freshman right fielder for the University of California at Berkeley Bears, in 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 2002 he hit .266.

In 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 As in the June 2003 draft, but did not sign.

As a senior he dropped down to .288, though he kept his obp at .400.

He signed with the San Francisco Giants as a non-drafted free agent in June of 2004.

Minor Leagues

Horwitz won two titles in two years in the minor leagues.

Playing for Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League in 2004, Horwitz won the Northwest League batting title with a .347 average, the second best in Volcanoes history, 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 2005 he hit .349 for Augusta 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. In addition, he had 8 outfield assists. He was also MVP of the 2005 California League Championship Series.

In 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 at AA Connecticut, where he hit .286 with a .365 obp, and ended the season with a handful of at bats at AAA Fresno.

In his minor league career through 2006, Horwitz has a .328 batting average, .400 obp, and in 1230 at bats has 83 doubles, 193 RBIs, 134 walks, and 133 strikeouts.

In 2007 he was a non-roster invitee to the Giants' spring training camp, but the Giants ultimately assigned him to minor league camp in March 2007.

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. He plays hard, and can also steal bases.

He has solid defensive tools, good instincts, a quick first step, and a strong and accurate arm.

Miscellaneous

His parents are Michael and Stephanie Horwitz.

Links

• Baseball Cube stats
• University of California bio
• Baseball America 2006 stats
• Baseball Prospectus
• Cal Leaguers bio
• Giant Prospects, 2/18/06
• "Celebrity Jews, 4/7/06
• "Minor League's Top Jewish Prospects," 5/10/06
• "The Minor Leagues," 6/11//06

• 1982 births
• Living people
• Jewish American sportspeople
• Jewish baseball players
• University of California, Berkeley alumni
• California Bears baseball players
• San Francisco Giants players
• People from Santa Monica, California