The history of Jews in baseball

STORY BENJAMIN REGAN ILLUSTRATION ISOLE KIM

Irecently attended a talk hosted by The Jewish Federation of the San Gabriel Valley at Temple Beth Israel about Jewish players in professional baseball. Josh Rawitch, the President of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, and Peter Drier, Professor at Occidental College, author, and baseball guru spoke about the history of Jews in baseball and the impact they have had. As a Jewish baseball player myself, I was interested to hear about Judaism and its role in the lives of athletes.

Stories about Jews in baseball always have and likely always will center around pitcher Sandy Koufax. The southpaw won three Cy Young Awards and four World Series Championships in his tenure with the Dodgers, earning his spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame. On October 6, 1965, his religion and his career conflicted. The day was Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. It also happened to be game one of the World Series against the Minnesota Twins, a game that Sandy Koufax was lined up to start. Koufax opted to attend synagogue in Minneapolis on Yom Kippur. A week later, Koufax triumphed over the Twins in game seven to win the championship. By not playing on Yom Kippur, Koufax showed his devotion to Judaism and inspired a generation of American Jews.

Before Sandy Koufax, there was Hank Greenberg –the second Jewish name synonymous with baseball. Greenberg’s Hall of Fame career was spent with the Detroit Tigers, over which time he won two most valuable player awards and two championships. Greenberg’s unrivaled career earned him the nickname “the Jewish Babe Ruth.”

“Jewish players throughout history have been on the forefront of social justice. Hank Greenberg, because he was met with so much anti-semitism when he was playing…was one of the few white players that was very supportive of Jackie Robinson when he came up,” Drier said.

Greenberg was put into a similar position to Koufax on September 13th, 1934, with a pennant on the line and a city on his back. Greenberg, like millions of other Jews in America, chose to observe Yom Kippur and attend temple. Once again, a Jewish ballplayer led the way.

In 2017, the World Baseball Classic brought about an international highpoint for Jews in baseball. The World Baseball Classic, a worldwide baseball tournament that features 20 countries competing, has been primarily dominated by powerhouses such as the Dominican Republic and the United States. In 2017, however, the spotlight shone on Team Israel.

Israel is known for many things; baseball is not one of them. The national team hadn’t qualified for any of the previous tournaments, but Israel earned its spot in the 2017 tournament alongside the world’s best teams. With little to no expectations and underwhelming coverage, Team Israel proved to be the story of the tournament. The group was led by Brad Asmus, a longtime player and manager in MLB who pulled all the right strings for the Isralies. The team itself didn’t have many big names -aside from four-time All-Star Ian Kinsler, Team Israel was a combination of castaways and has-beens. The team also didn’t have a single Israeli-born player, all were American Jews. Yet the team was united by their religion and played for each other and for Judaism.

Team Israel got off to a blazing start to open the tournament, knocking off a stacked Netherlands roster to advance. The Israelies kept winning, beating Cub\a decisively. The magic would eventually run out for Team Israel, falling to Japan in a hard-fought contest. Nonetheless, no one could have predicted Team Israel’s successes.

“There was a feeling that they were doing something special…they felt a special pride in being Jewish that maybe they didn’t have before,” Rawitch said, speaking of the 2017 run.

A few years later, in 2021, the Braves faced the Astros in the World Series. And once again, the baseball gods intertwined Judaism in a significant baseball event. Max Fried, a young Jewish pitcher, was on the mound for the Atlanta Braves in game 2. He delivered a pitch to Alex Bregman, the star Jewish third baseman. He hit a fly ball to Joc Pederson, the Braves Jewish left fielder. The trio of Jews was complete.

Baseball, as America’s pastime, has not always been a microcosm of the country’s great melting pot. But baseball has evolved, and today’s game features a diverse group of athletes from many ethnicities. More people than ever are calling baseball their sport, and this will only increase with the league’s goals of global inclusion. Judaism is one of these important pieces that make up the game of baseball.