Henry Benjamin Greenberg, nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily for the Detroit Tigers as a first baseman in the 1930s and 1940s. A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame and a two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award winner, he was one of the premier power hitters of his generation and is widely considered one of the greatest sluggers in baseball history.
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
Sanford Koufax, nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, as well as the first major sports star on the West Coast, Koufax was the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, each time winning unanimously and the only pitcher to do so when a single award was given for both the leagues; he was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1963. Retiring at the age of 30 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972 at the age of 36, the youngest player ever elected.
Walter Emmons Alston, nicknamed "Smokey", was an American baseball manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1954 through 1976, signing 23 one-year contracts with the team. Regarded as one of the greatest managers in baseball history, Alston was known for his calm, reticent demeanor, for which he was sometimes referred to as "the Quiet Man."
Donald Scott Drysdale, nicknamed "Big D", was an American professional baseball pitcher and broadcaster who played in Major League Baseball. He spent his entire 14-year career with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. Known for being a fierce competitor, Drysdale won the Cy Young Award in 1962 and was a three-time World Series champion during his playing career.
Shawn David Green is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. Green was a first-round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star. He drove in 100 runs four times and scored 100 runs four times, hit 40 or more home runs three times, led the league in doubles, extra base hits, and total bases, won both a Gold Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award, and set the Dodgers single-season record in home runs. Green was also in the top five in the league in home runs, RBIs, intentional walks, and MVP voting.
Albert Leonard Rosen, nicknamed "Flip" and "the Hebrew Hammer", was an American baseball third baseman and right-handed slugger for the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball for ten seasons in the 1940s and 1950s.
Steven Michael Stone is an American former Major League Baseball (MLB) player and current sportscaster and author.
The 1965 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1965 season. The 62nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff that matched the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins. The Dodgers won in seven games. It is best remembered for the heroics of Sandy Koufax, who was named the World Series Most Valuable Player. Koufax did not pitch in Game 1, as it fell on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, but he pitched in Game 2 and then tossed shutouts in Games 5 and 7 to win the championship.
Norman Burt Sherry was an American baseball catcher, manager, and coach who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets from 1959 to 1963. Sherry went on to coach and manage the California Angels, and also served as coach of the Montreal Expos, San Diego Padres and San Francisco Giants.
Kenneth Dale Holtzman was an American professional baseball player and coach. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1965 through 1979 for the Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and New York Yankees.
Jacob Erskine Mayer was an American baseball player who played for three different Major League Baseball teams during the 1910s. In his eight-year career, Mayer played for the Philadelphia Phillies, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Chicago White Sox.
Arthur Louis Shamsky, nicknamed "Sham" and "Smasher", is an American former Major League Baseball player. He played right field, left field, and first base from 1965 to 1972 for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. He tied a major league record by homering in four consecutive at bats in 1966. He was an integral player on the 1969 World Series Champion Miracle Mets, batting .300 with 14 home runs while platooning, and then hitting .538 in the post-season batting cleanup. In 2007, he was the manager of the Modi'in Miracle of the Israel Baseball League.
The bonus rule was a rule instituted by Major League Baseball in 1947 to prevent teams from assigning certain players to farm teams. The rule stipulated that when a major league team signed a player to a contract with a signing bonus in excess of $4,000, the team was required to keep that player on their 25-man active roster for two full seasons. Any team that failed to comply with the rule lost the rights to that player's contract, and the player was then exposed to the waiver wire. Once a player remained with the team for two full seasons, he could be assigned to a farm team without repercussions.
The 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers season was the fifth for the team in Southern California, and the 73rd for the franchise in the National League. After spending the previous four seasons at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, they began the season by opening Dodger Stadium, the team's new ballpark. The stadium opened on April 10 with a game against the Cincinnati Reds. The Dodgers proceeded to win a Los Angeles record 102 games and tied the San Francisco Giants for first place in the National League. The Giants won the ensuing tie-breaker series two games to one.
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story is a 2010 American documentary film narrated by Academy Award-winner Dustin Hoffman, written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ira Berkow, and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Peter Miller. It is about the connection and history between American Jews and baseball.
Robert Harris Kaminsky is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Seattle Mariners organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals.
Since the early 20th-century, numerous Jewish athletes chosen not to play on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in Judaism. As one of the most culturally significant Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Jews observing the holiday participate in full fasting and asceticism.
Jews have been involved in baseball since the sport's beginnings and have contributed to its evolution in many capacities, including players, agents, team owners, executives, umpires, broadcasters, and fans. In the United States, particularly, baseball played a large part in the assimilation of American Jews into American society at a time of rampant antisemitism and when Jews were immigrating to America to escape persecution. Today, it remains a very important part in Jewish American culture.
