Ben Orloff


Ben Orloff is an American college baseball coach and former professional baseball shortstop. He is currently the head coach of the UC Irvine Anteaters baseball program. Orloff played minor league baseball for the Houston Astros organization from 2009 to 2013. He retired on June 12, 2013 and became an assistant coach for the UC Irvine baseball team, replacing Pat Shine.
Prior to playing professionally, Orloff played college baseball for the University of California, Irvine, 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.

High school and college

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. He then enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, where he played college baseball for the UC Irvine Anteaters baseball team in the Big West Conference. 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, as he finished the year with a.324 average.
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. 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, runs scored, and games played.

Professional career

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. 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. He played for the Lexington Legends of the Class A South Atlantic League in 2011, and the Lancaster JetHawks of the Class A-Advanced California League 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.
Orloff, who is Jewish, played on the Israeli national baseball team during the qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Orloff did not play in the opening game of the qualifier, or in the final game. 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.

Coaching career

In 2013, Orloff rejoined UC Irvine's baseball team as an assistant coach. Head coach Mike Gillespie retired after the 2018 season, and Orloff succeeded him as head coach.