Ben Orloff

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Ben Orloff
Orloff (right) batting for the Tri-City ValleyCats in 2010
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamUC Irvine
ConferenceBig West
Record203–97 (.677)
Biographical details
Born (1987-04-26) April 26, 1987 (age 37)
Simi Valley, California, U.S.
Playing career
2006–2009UC Irvine
2009Greeneville Astros
2009–2010Tri-City ValleyCats
2011Lexington Legends
2012Lancaster JetHawks
2012–2013Corpus Christi Hooks
Position(s)Shortstop
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2016–2018UC Irvine (asst)
2019–presentUC Irvine
Head coaching record
Overall203–97 (.677)
TournamentsNCAA: 5–4
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • Big West (2021)
Awards
  • Big West Conference Player of the Year (2009)
  • All-American (2009)
  • Brooks Wallace Award (2009)
  • Big West Coach of the Year (2021)

Ben Orloff (born April 26, 1987) is an American baseball coach and former shortstop, who is the current head baseball coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters. He played college baseball at UC Irivine for head coach Mike Gillespie, where he won the Brooks Wallace Award, as the nation's best college shortstop. He has also played in the World Baseball Classic, for the Israeli national baseball team, before pursuing a professional baseball career for the Houston Astros organization from 2009 to 2013. He retired on June 12, 2013, and became an assistant coach for the UC Irvine.[1][2]

High school and college

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Orloff attended Simi Valley High School in Simi Valley, California, where he played for the school's baseball team as a shortstop, winning the California Interscholastic Federation championship in his junior year.[3] He then enrolled at the University of California, Irvine (UC Irvine), where he played college baseball for the UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team in the Big West Conference (BWC). He began his freshman season as a second baseman, but became the team's starting shortstop later in the year. He led the nation in sacrifice hits as a freshman, but struggled with a .217 batting average. He improved his hitting in his sophomore season,[4] as he finished the year with a .324 average.[5]

After his junior year, in which Orloff had a .344 batting average, the Colorado Rockies drafted Orloff in the 19th round of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft, but he chose to return to college for his senior year.[5] In the 2009 season, Orloff had a .358 batting average and was named the BWC player of the year as the Anteaters won their first BWC championship in school history. Orloff received further recognition, as he won the Brooks Wallace Award as the nation's top collegiate shortstop, and received first-team All-America honors from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and third-team All-American honors from Collegiate Baseball. Orloff also set school records for career hits (280), runs scored (178), and games played (241).[6]

Professional career

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The Houston Astros drafted Orloff in the ninth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, and he signed. He suffered from elbow tendinitis in 2009, while playing for the Tri-City ValleyCats of the Class A-Short Season New York–Penn League (NYP).[7] Returning to Tri-City in 2010, Orloff led the team with a .307 batting average and 52 runs scored. He was named to the team's most valuable player and was recognized as a member of the NYP's all-star team.[8] He played for the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2011,[9] and the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League[10] and Corpus Christi Hooks of the Class AA Texas League in 2012. He returned to Corpus Christi in 2013, and retired 41 games into the season.[11]

Orloff, who is Jewish, played on the Israeli national baseball team during the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[12] Orloff did not play in the opening game of the qualifier,[13] or in the final game.[14] Orloff's only appearance was as the starting second baseman in the second game, batting ninth, and going 0 for 3 and leaving 3 men on base.[15]

Coaching career

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In 2013, Orloff rejoined UC Irvine's baseball team as an assistant coach.[11] Head coach Mike Gillespie retired after the 2018 season, and Orloff succeeded him as head coach.[16] In his third season with the Anteaters, Orloff lead the team to the Big West Conference championship, winning Coach of the Year in the conference.[17]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
UC Irvine Anteaters (Big West Conference) (2019–present)
2019 UC Irvine 37–17 17–7 T-2nd
2020 UC Irvine 8–7 0–0 Season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 UC Irvine 43–18 32–8 1st NCAA Regional
2022 UC Irvine 32–24 16–14 6th
2023 UC Irvine 38–17 19–11 4th
2024 UC Irvine 45–14 22–8 2nd NCAA Regional
UC Irvine: 203–97 (.677) 106–48 (.688)
Total: 203–97 (.677)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Orloff joining 'Eaters coaching staff". Daily Pilot. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  2. ^ "Orloff retires in minors". Daily Pilot. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  3. ^ Jorrey, Kyle (March 11, 2005). "Ben Orloff: standing tall at shortstop". Simi Valley Acorn. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  4. ^ Faulkner, Barry (April 20, 2007). "Orloff one Eck of a shortstop". Daily Pilot. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Rogers, Kendall (April 28, 2009). "UC Irvine's Orloff much more than a player". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  6. ^ "Orloff gets top accolade". Daily Pilot. June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on September 14, 2014. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  7. ^ "A conversation with ... ValleyCats 2B Ben Orloff". Times Union. July 4, 2010. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  8. ^ Ed Weaver (September 11, 2010). "Orloff selected as Cats' MVP". troyrecord.com. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  9. ^ Herald-Leader Staff Report (September 3, 2011). "Orloff's bases-loaded single sends Legends past Sand Gnats | Lexington Legends". Kentucky.com. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  10. ^ "Stockton bats fall silent again on road". Recordnet.com. April 28, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2013.
  11. ^ a b "Orloff's return lauded". Daily Pilot. July 20, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  12. ^ Barancik, Scott (September 14, 2012). "It's here: Team Israel reveals its roster". Jewish Baseball News. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  13. ^ "Israel vs. South Africa at Roger Dean Stadium - Wednesday, September 19, 2012". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  14. ^ "Spain vs. Israel at Roger Dean Stadium - Sunday, September 23, 2012". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  15. ^ "Israel vs. Spain at Roger Dean Stadium - Friday, September 21, 2012". Major League Baseball. Retrieved November 17, 2021.
  16. ^ Foley, Brian (February 15, 2018). "UC-Irvine coach Mike Gillespie to retire after 2018 Season; Ben Orloff named Replacement". College Baseball Daily. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  17. ^ "Big West Announces Baseball All-Conference Team". Bigwest.org. Big West Conference. June 2, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
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