The 18 Best Jewish Ballplayers of All Time by Salon.com

by DrCrawdad on Sep 1, 2007 11:44 PM CDT Comment 16 comments

If you're looking for a bit of baseball fun reading, head over to Salon.com and read the article, "The 18 Best Jewish Ballplayers of All Time"

"So who are these 18 bashin' boychiks?"

If you're looking for a bit of fun baseball reading, head over to Salon.com and read the article, "The 18 Best Jewish Ballplayers of All Time"

I'll post the names but leave off the comments from the article on each player.

"So who are these 18 bashin' boychiks?"

"...counting players with one or more Jewish parents (even those not raised Jewish), converts to Judaism, and non-Jews who practiced the Jewish faith. For instance, Rod Carew was married to a Jewish woman, raised his children as Jewish, while never actually converting to Judaism himself -- but he still counts."

Why only 18?

"...in Hebrew numerology, stands for the word "Chai," meaning "life." It's also a symbol for good luck -- not that any of these guys need it."

Ian Kinsler
Brad Ausmus
Dave Roberts
Ryan Braun
Kevin Youkilis
Harry Danning
Benny Kauff
Ron Blomberg
Mike Lieberthal
Steve Stone
Sid Gordon
Shawn Green
Ken Holtzman
Al Rosen
Lou Boudreau
Rod Carew
Hank Greenberg
Sandy Koufax

I did not know that Lou Boudreau was a MOT. I never saw Lou play, but have nothing but respect and for Lou, who was kind to kid when he didn't have to.

The author of the article mentions the 1998 documentary "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg." I really enjoyed that documentary too and recommend it to any fan of the great game of baseball.

http://www.salon.com

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, editor-in-chief (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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I believe...

... Lou Boudreau was half-Jewish. So are Lieberthal and Braun (Braun's father, in fact, was born in Israel).

Which Dave Roberts is this? There have been four of them in major league history. (I assume it is NOT the one currently active.)

Surprised that neither Richie Scheinblum nor Mike Epstein made the list.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 2, 2007 3:47 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Hey, Roberts...

...oh those National Lampoon Radio Hour spoofs of Mr. Rogers.

"Which Dave Roberts is this? There have been four of them in major league history. (I assume it is NOT the one currently active.)"

It would be this David Arthur Roberts who started 26 games for the Cubbies over the course of two seasons - 1977 & 1978.

"Surprised that neither Richie Scheinblum nor Mike Epstein made the list."

Yeah, and what about Jason Marquis?

by DrCrawdad on Sep 2, 2007 7:35 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hank Greenberg

He was a damn fine player. I have his autobiography, The Story of My Life, written with Ira Berkow. It's an interesting book, especially from a baseball historical perspective as he ran into some prejudice due to his heritage, but I was disappointed to find that he comes across as a bit of a whiner. Essentially, he didn't get the respect he felt he deserved.

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Sep 2, 2007 9:39 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Meaning......

.....if he were around to do so, he'd likely privately gripe about being number two to Koufax here.

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Sep 2, 2007 9:40 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

That may or may not be true...

... in any case I would highly recommend to everyone the film "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg", available on DVD.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 2, 2007 9:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Inspirational!

Considering the adversity that Hank went thru what he achieved is truly inspirational!

As much as we today recognize the oppression of African-Americans (and rightfully so) we often overlook that Jewish Americans had to also deal with institutional oppression, hatred and discrimination as well.

As an aside I recall that my grandfather telling me that when he bought property in New York state in the '50's there was a "covenant" that said the buyer agreed not to sell the property to "Jews or Italians." He said that all the hotels in the area thru the '60's had signs at the front desk that said, "Gentiles only."

Hat's off to Hank Greenberg!

by DrCrawdad on Sep 2, 2007 8:43 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thou shalt have no other Gods before me

I thought Kevin Youkilis was Greek.... isn't he the one referred to in Moneyball as "The Greek God of Walks"?

by ChipSet on Sep 2, 2007 10:11 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes, but...

... only because his name sounds Greek. Youkilis is Jewish.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 2, 2007 5:35 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

This reminds me of the seen from Airplane

Elaine : Would you like something to read?
Oldlady: Do you have anything light?
Elaine : Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh... how about this leaflet, famous Jewish sports legends?
Oldlady: Yes, thank you.

Posting since May 4, 2005

by Ross on Sep 2, 2007 11:44 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

seen=scene

It's just too hot in California to be able to type correctly.

Posting since May 4, 2005

by Ross on Sep 2, 2007 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Notably Left Off

Considering players such as Ian Kinsler, Brad Ausmus and Ryan Braun, among others (3/4 of a season qualifies for 15th all time?) made the list, here are a few notable exceptions:

Cal Abrams
Moe Berg
Ron Blomberg
Mike Epstein
Greg Goossen
Joel Horlen
Gabe Kapler
Andrew Lorraine
Jason Marquis
Norm Miller
David Newhan
Scott Radinsky
Jimmy Reese
Larry Rothschild
Al Schacht
Richie Scheinblum
Scott Schoeneweis
Art Shamsky
Larry Sherry
Norm Sherry
Steve Yeager

Santo Forever!

by BeerCub on Sep 2, 2007 11:07 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Ron Blomberg IS on the list.

n/t

by DrCrawdad on Sep 3, 2007 2:04 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Joel Horlen is a special case....

... he converted to Judaism after he retired from baseball. So was he really a Jewish ballplayer?

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al on Sep 3, 2007 3:57 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Joel Horlen?

No. Converting AFTER one's career ended does not qualify.

I know that many of my fellow Sox fans have respect for Horlen. Even though Horlen pitched in my lifetime I don't quite remember him.

Horlen's ablities as a pitcher may very well qualify him but he does not belong on this particular list, IMHO.

Interestingly though Horlen's career basically ended with a tie to the Cubbies and Ken Holtzman. You can read about the Cubbie degrees of separation here in an interview with Horlen, where he name checks Santo, Brickhouse, Lloyd and Pepitone.

by DrCrawdad on Sep 4, 2007 11:25 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs