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 in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, as well as in the Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres organizations.

He was a first-team college All-American at the University of California, Berkeley. The Mets drafted him in the sixth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft. Satin batted .303 in 2008 in the minor leagues, and .288 in 2009 while being voted a South Atlantic League All-Star. He hit .311 and was a Florida State League All-Star in 2010. In 2011, he batted .325 for Binghamton while leading the league in on-base percentage (.423) and OPS (.962), as he was voted an Eastern League All-Star. He also played in Triple-A, batting .347 with a .410 on-base percentage with the Buffalo Bisons.

He made his MLB debut for the Mets on September 4, 2011, and played in 15 games. In June 2012 Satin rejoined the Mets, but he was designated for assignment three days later. In June 2013, he was again called up to the Mets, after batting .305 in Triple-A. He tied a Mets rookie record set in 1977, by reaching base in 29 consecutive games that he started, and for the season batted .279 (.317 against left-handers). Satin twice played third base for the Israeli national baseball team during the World Baseball Classic.

Early and personal life Satin is Jewish, and was born in Hidden Hills, California. His parents are David and Gail Satin. He also has two younger brothers, Danny and Dylan Satin. His mother at one time co-owned a clothing store with the wife of comedian Howie Mandel. He and outfielder Blake Gailen—also a member of the Israeli national baseball team—have been friends since they were children, and Gailen attended Satin's bar mitzvah.

For grade school he went to Abraham Joshua Heschel Day School. In high school, playing for the Harvard-Westlake School Wolverines in Studio City, Los Angeles, Satin was a three-time all-league selection and the MVP of the 2002 Los Angeles Daily News Tournament. In 2002, he played shortstop and batted .500 with 11 homers. As a senior, he batted .478 with 10 home runs, was first-team All-CIF Southern Section, and was Los Angeles Times All-Region. He was inducted into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.

On November 9, 2013, Satin married Allyson Murrow.

After retiring from baseball, Satin became the director of acquisitions for Gelt, a real estate investment company.

College

Satin attended the University of California, Berkeley. He batted .348 (7th in the Pac-10) with 77 hits (8th in the Pac-10), and led the team with 26 multiple-hit games. As a junior in 2007 he batted .287.

Satin was a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American in 2005, and first-team All-Pac-10. Jewish Sports Review named Satin to its All-America First Team, NCAA Division 1, of the best Jewish college players in the U.S. in both 2005 (along with Ryan Braun) and in 2007 (along with Ike Davis, Ryan Lavarnway, and Michael Schwimer).

In 2008, his final year, he batted .379/.500/.723, with 18 home runs in 195 at-bats. He also set the school hitting streak record, with 27. He was also a Rivals.com second team All American, Collegiate Baseball Louisville Slugger third-team All-American, and first-team All-Pac-10. He is 5th all-time for the school in career hits (246) and total bases (381), 6th in RBIs (153), 8th in career walks (119), 9th in career home runs (29; tied with Jerry Goff), and 3rd for the school in season-best slugging percentage (.723; 2008) and home runs (18; 2008). He graduated with a degree in political science.

In 2009, Satin hit .284/.385/.418 for the Savannah Sand Gnats in the Low-A South Atlantic League, with 38 doubles and 73 walks. Still, he recalled years later, "You just look around and you're like, 'I'm really far from the big leagues.' I used to tell myself in Low A, 'Well, I'll just go to law school.'" He closed out the season by playing seven games for the St. Lucie Mets in the High-A Florida State League, batting .364/.464/.591. He led the league in on-base percentage (.423) and OPS (.962), and was 7th in Double-A in batting average and 10th in slugging percentage. . He became the first player in Binghamton's 20-year history to hit for the cycle, on June 24. In April 2011 he won an Eastern League Player of the Week Award, and he was both an Eastern League Mid-Season and Post-Season All Star. Through 2013, Satin's career minor league batting statistics were .301/.397/.461, with 413 walks and 618 strikeouts in 2,630 at-bats. In his debut on September 4, Satin singled in his first at-bat.

Satin was recalled to the Mets on June 3, 2012, to fill the roster slot vacated when Mike Baxter was placed on the disabled list. He struck out in his only major league at-bat for the year.

In spring training in 2013, Satin batted .455 with a .647 on-base percentage in 16 plate appearances, but was sent to Triple-A to start the season. On June 9, 2013, Satin was promoted to the Mets as Ike Davis was demoted. He tied a Mets rookie record set by Steve Henderson in 1977, by reaching base in 29 consecutive games that he started. For the season, he batted .279 (.317 against left-handers) with a .376 on-base percentage. His on-base percentage was the second-highest among major league rookies with at least 175 at bats, and the second-highest on the Mets.

Satin began 2014 with the Mets as the right-handed part of an unusual three-man platoon at first base. While Lucas Duda won the everyday job, Satin struggled in limited playing time, hitting just .107 in 15 games, and was demoted on May 10. Satin spent much of the season at Las Vegas before being recalled when the major-league rosters expanded on September 1. After his call-up, Satin made just nine plate appearances, going 0-for-7 to finish the season with a .086 batting average. On October 31, Satin was removed from the 40-man roster and sent outright to Las Vegas; he subsequently rejected the assignment and elected free agency.

Cincinnati Reds On November 22, 2014, Satin signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds organization. He played for the Triple–A Louisville Bats, batting .247 with four home runs in 70 games.

San Diego Padres On March 7, 2016, Satin signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres organization. He played for the Triple–A El Paso Chihuahuas, and batted .182/.250/.273 in 49 plate appearances.

On June 9, 2016, Satin retired from baseball, saying that head injuries had taken a toll on his skills.

Team Israel Satin twice played third base for the Israeli national baseball team during the World Baseball Classic.

In September 2012, he played for Israel at the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifying round. Satin was the starting third baseman during all three of Israel's games, while batting sixth. During the first game, Satin went 1 for 3 with 2 walks and scored twice. During the second game Satin went 1 for 2 while again walking twice. Israel's final game saw Satin going 1 for 6 with a strike out, ending the series batting .273, as Israel fell to Spain in extra innings in the qualifier finals, missing out on a spot in the World Baseball Classic.

Satin again played in the qualifying round for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, starting in the first two games batting sixth, before sitting out the final game. During both the first and second games Satin went hitless in three at bats, ending the series 0 for 6 with a strike out.