Jose Behar, C

[MiamiHomer]

Discuss.

[Bobbob1313]

I think this is the first FIU player taken.

Good thing, too. There's an FIU draft story on the front of the Herald sports. Would've been a short story without this.

[emkayseven]

6'1 205
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2010: Hit .252 (31-for-123) on the year starting 38-of-53 games played ... Had a home run, 13 RBI and 16 runs scored with six doubles ... Tied for the team high with Tim Jobe with two sacrifice flies in a game against Western Kentucky (4/23) ...Had four multi-hit games and two multi-RBI games ... Had a seven-game hitting streak during the season ... Had two hits in a game on four separate occasions ... The Panthers were a perfect 8-0 when Behar hit out of the nine-hole ... The team was also 27-11 in Behar's 38 starts ... Was 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter at UALR (3/27) ... Hit his first-career home run as a Panther against South Alabama (5/15) ... Stole his only base of the season at FAU (5/21) ... Was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI while catching a double header at Western Kentucky (4/25) ... Hit .254 (17-for-67) with 10 runs, three doubles, a home run and 10 RBI in conference play ... Started all six games of the conference tournament ... Hit .500 (1-for-2) with a single in the NCAA Coral Gables Regional.

http://www.fiusports.com/ViewArticle...CLID=204827856
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FIU senior catcher Jose Behar became the first Panther taken in the 2011 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. The Florida Marlins drafted Behar in the 30th round. Behar is coming off a stellar season behind the plate and in the batter's box.

Behar hit .330 with 5 HR and 31 RBI. He threw out 20 of 36 would-be basestealers. No other Panthers have been taken in the first two days of the draft. Congratulations to Jose as he joins former FIU Panthers Scott Rembisz and Elih Villanueva in the Marlins organization.

http://fiusports.typepad.com/the-pro...he-marlin.html
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[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrJjLmrPgZ4[/ame]

[Bobbob1313]

I like that he ended every sentence with a rising inflection like a question.

[emkayseven]

After not hitting what he would like last season, Panthers catcher Jose Behar took a different mental approach at the plate last summer and ended up leading the MINK League in hitting. Like any baseball player, Behar likes hitting, but outs are what really bring a smile to his face. Whether it's throwing out a baserunner stealing, having his pitchers get outs or maybe in the future putting out fires. One thing that Behar (right, thanks Richard Lewis photo) would not like to see catch fire are antiques, not because he's an aspiring Fred G. Sanford, but because he likes watching them on TV. And you thought Cal Ripken or Tony Stark was the Iron Man? You might re-think that after hearing Behar's encounter with an iron. Let's go Out of the Cage with Jose Behar....

PP: You led the MINK League in hitting last summer. Did you do anything different with your stance or approach at the plate?

JB: I tried to block out everything. I was more relaxed up there. I kind of put a lot of pressure on myself last season to do well and get drafted, but it kind of adds up on you. You have one bad at-bat and you think the scouts are going to remember that. It’s more about relaxing. It paid off for me. I realized that whatever is going to happen happens and there is nothing you can do to control it. I didn’t make any changes at the plate. It was more mentally for me and not trying to do too much. Last year I tried to do too much to help my team that I ended up pressing too much and this is a game where you can’t be pressing.

PP: How have the new bats that the NCAA has put into play this season affected the team’s hitting this off-season?

JB: At the end of the day these new bats are metal. At times when you hit it you feel like you have just hit with a wood bat. The sweet spot has been shrunk, but they are still metal bats and if you connect the ball will go out of the park no matter what. We have seen in fall ball that we have been able to get the ball out of the park. It hasn’t made much of a difference especially with the weight training that we do. We are strong enough to hit the ball out. The power numbers might drop a little bit, but as far as batting average we have good hitters on this team that we don’t need lucky hits to keep their averages up. (left, thanks Sam Lewis photo)

PP: What’s more satisfying throwing out a runner stealing or hitting a home run?

JB: I love throwing out runners stealing. I love defense. That’s my number one thing. That’s what I take pride in the most.

PP: You have aspirations of being a firefighter if baseball doesn’t pan out. How did you come about thinking of becoming a firefighter?

JB: My dad is a police officer and I have a couple of friends that are firefighters and they just love their jobs. You work one day 24 hours and then have 48 hours off. My dad recommended to me to become a firefighter. It’s something I look forward to. Being a firefighter you don’t get the same excitement that you have on the baseball field. Firefighters are not as appreciated as star athletes, but in life you want to do something that you can help other people with and not something that only benefits you. If you are not helping other people you are just kind of wasting your time.

PP: Did you ever set anything on fire as a kid?

JB: Nah [laughs] I’ve never been a pyromaniac.

PP: Have you burned toast before?

JB: No [laughs] but I did have an iron fall on my head before when I was little. The iron was left on the ironing board and I was running around the house playing with my brother and I hit the board and the iron fell straight on my head. I didn’t have to go to the hospital. I just put some ice on my head and I was fine.

PP: I figure getting burned in a fire would hurt more than any foul ball you’ve taken behind the plate, but what’s the worst shot you’ve taken behind the plate?

JB: I got a good one. My sophomore year at Miami Dade I was catching Matt Laney, who throws 94-95 miles per hour. There was a man on first base and I called for a curveball away. When Matt got the sign he kind of gave me a shady look so I was thinking, ‘Oh, my God; Oh, my God’. I didn’t think about calling timeout. I was more worried about him. He throws a fastball and it’s really low and I’m thinking curveball so I get down to block it. The ball was literally a foot off the floor and never broke like a curve does and it hit me straight on the cup. The cup only provides so much protection. That was the most painful shot I’ve taken as a catcher.

PP: You and R.J. Fondon are big into the antique shows. Any aspirations of being like Sanford and Son (left)?

JB: Yeah, [laughs] we both like watching Pawn Stars and American Pickers. I wouldn’t want to go into that business. I just like looking at the interesting antiques from the past. It’s fun to see how much people pay for certain things. It’s ridiculous and interesting. It’s also interesting to see stuff from like the Civil War that people had sitting around the house that they didn’t think was worth anything and they are getting a couple thousand dollars out of it. We could watch Pawn Stars and American Pickers all day. They had a marathon on TV the other night. I was glued to my TV.

PP: Obviously, Garrett has his own thoughts about the Streak last year, but what was the strangest or most memorable moment from GW’s streak last season?

JB: I remember the second FAU game in the Sun Belt Tournament. Garrett was 0 for 4 and they didn’t have to pitch to him. He had a 2-0 count and they could have just walked him. A couple of us were just sitting in the dugout and thinking the streak is going to end now because they didn’t have to pitch to Garrett. The pitcher throws a hanging curveball and I remember Garrett hitting a single up the middle. I started laughing thinking this kid is the real deal. He got number 53 that day. Garrett is such a good kid and he keeps everybody loose and up. Everyone in this dugout looks out for Garrett and everyone wants the best for him.

http://fiusports.typepad.com/the-pro...ose-behar.html
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Jose Behar is a Miami kid, through and through.

FIU’s senior catcher played at Miami Killian High and then for now-retired coach Steve Hertz at Miami-Dade College before joining the Golden Panthers in 2010.

But for Behar to find his groove at the Division I level, he needed to escape swampy South Florida for the Midwest.

Turns out, a MINK fit him far better than swimming trunks.

Behar, who slogged through a .252 season with FIU in 2010, rediscovered his swing in the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska-Kansas (MINK) summer league.

Playing for the Sedalia (Mo.) Bombers, Behar hit a league-leading .433, regaining confidence shaken the preceding spring.

That swagger has been rock-steady since. Behar now has a gaudy batting average to go along with his .981 fielding percentage.

“After the season was over, I broke myself down and just wanted to see what I need to improve on, which was everything,” said Behar, who is hitting .336.

“Having better approaches at the plate, using all the field and, basically, the most important thing for me was having confidence,” he added. “Something that was hard for me to learn last year.

“Even if my swing does have flaws in it, I have confidence that I can hit off any pitcher right now.”

ON A NINE-GAME TEAR
Behar has gone 13 for 23 during FIU’s nine-game winning streak.

FIU (29-16, 13-8 Sun Belt Conference), which opens a three-game series at Middle Tennessee on Friday, hasn’t lost since April 15, a stretch that has vaulted the team back into the race for the conference race regular-season title and an at-large NCAA regional bid.

In truth, the Panthers have been potent at the plate, whether Behar is in the lineup or not. He had the night off Tuesday, when FIU bludgeoned Florida Gulf Coast 19-6. Nine different hitters drove in at least one run, including T.J. Shantz, who had four RBI.
Another sign of FIU’s offensive might: Coach Turtle Thomas has the luxury of batting Behar — whose average is fourth-best on the team — in the lineup’s eighth spot.
“I think he relaxed a little bit more [this year],” Thomas said. “I was probably on Jose pretty hard last year, and he probably didn’t handle that as well. I like guys that do things right, technically, mechanically. Maybe I’m a little bit of a perfectionist, and I really expect a lot out of catchers.”

Those expectations have been met this year.

In addition to Behar’s offensive production, he has thrown out 38.5 percent of would-be base stealers and has allowed just one passed ball after being charged with 15 a year ago.

RAPID RELEASE
But Behar might be best-known for his quick-trigger release on pickoff attempts, throwing behind runners who stray too far.

“He gives you his best effort every time out,” Hertz said earlier this week. “He helped us win some games by keeping that tying or winning runner off base.”

Now, he’s helping FIU chase a second consecutive conference title by getting on base. He has a seven-game hitting streak, and his .523 slugging percentage is second-best on the team.

“If we’re going to come together as a team, the end of the season is the perfect time,” Behar said. “We have enough depth on the bench, and pitching-wise. [Our] one-through-nine hitters seem to be getting hot at the same time. The rest will take care of itself.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/0...#ixzz1Oe8CefUG

[Omar]

Loves defense? Yes!

[LocoMarlinFan]

Signed http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/team/...11&team_id=146