Unforgettable Al Rosen
My father informed me that Rosen was Jewish and I targeted him as one of the players I would follow closely.
2007 Predictions
NL East
Mets: The Mets have the best team in the National League, with enough punch to compensate for an aging and not-so-great starting...
Yanks Will Make Playoffs, But Astros Will Win It All
The rivalry between fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will heat up as the season progresses.
Fifty Years Writing About Baseball
A chance phone call to a sports call-in radio program would change the course of my life. But it wasn't by chance. It was orchestrated by Hashem.
Greenberg Goes To Shul
It was 75 years ago.
In 1934 in my city of Detroit, a survey revealed that 33.1 percent of male Jews in the area were proprietors, managers, and officials and had a median income of $1,638.
The Tragedy Of Herb Gorman
Rewind sixty years to 1953.
Television was considered kosher by most and featured the likes of Desi Arnaz, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, George Burns, Red Buttons, Perry Como, Arthur Godfrey, Clayton Moore as The Lone Ranger, Dinah Shore, Red Skelton, Danny Thomas, Jack Webb as Joe Friday on “Dragnet” and many others who provided great memories.
Rocky Colavito, A Mid-Century Champion
On the last day of spring training in 1960, Colavito, his fans and the baseball world were shocked as he was traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn.
Two Strikes For Rob Manfred
Come on Mr. Commissioner, do what you have to do to get the station carried on cable again, at an affordable price. You'll make the oldsters happy again and will gain some youngsters as lifelong fans.
Non-Perfect Perfect Game
It's been all over the news. You had to be in solitary confinement not to hear about umpire Jim Joyce's blown call at first base that should have ended the perfect game by Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga against the Cleveland Indians in Detroit.
Another Season Goes Into The Books
Forget the results. The 2009 World Series featured the two best teams in baseball. In the old days, the Series always had the best team in the American League against the best team in the National League. But with the advent of two rounds of league playoffs, a good but not great team that has a hot week or two can find itself in the World Series.
War, FDR, And Black Baseball Players
"I consider baseball a very good thing for the population during the war," Roosevelt stated.
The Joys Of Spring Training
In 1870 the Chicago White Stockings headed south to New Orleans for preseason workouts.
Lou Gehrig, The Brothers Pipp And Henry Ford
He died 44 years ago and even though he wasn't a Hall of Famer his name will always be linked to one of the greatest players of all time.
Remembering Bobby Thomson
Those of us who were around then will never forget that afternoon 59 years ago.
Old-Time Pitchers
After being hospitalized with heart issues for three weeks Ken Holtzman was 78 when he died.
Brooklyn Dodger Memories
A few months ago I wrote about the passing of my brother-in-law, Rabbi Shmuel Kunda, z”l, and how he never got around to a project I urged him to take on. I wanted him to title it "Boruch Goes to Ebbets Field" and tell the story of how Boruch bonds with Brooklyn's beloved Dodgers – with Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges and the rest. (The Duke was my brother-in-law's favorite.)
Elegy For ‘The Boys Of Summer’
My father would have taken us to the game but I declined because the Dodgers would soon leave Brooklyn and Ebbets Field would no longer house a major league team, so who cared?
Spring Training Musings
The big news this spring is that the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals will be leaving their old spring homes north of Port St. Lucie and moving south to a beautiful new complex scheduled to open in two years in West Palm Beach.
The Origins Of My Baseball Career (Part II)
The host never mentioned that when Aaron would pass Ruth's mark, he would have many more at-bats than Ruth had. I decided to call in and state the facts.
Counting The Omer … And The Homers
While we're counting the Omer, we're also counting homers.
Play Ball!
Shai Abramson, chief cantor of the IDF, belted out the national anthem while Mets and Cardinals players stood at attention.
Tribute To Lou Gehrig: A Well-Loved Superstar
All of the players respected him. There wasn't a finer player or finer man.
Baseball During The War Years
Gray played the outfield better than most players with two hands.
Remembering Bob Fishel
It was Bob Fishel's 20th yahrzeit. Kaddish was said. Fishel never married but left hundreds of admirers.
Another Season In The Books/A Remarkable Brother-In-Law
What an unusual postseason it was.
The Yankees looked inept against the ferocious Tigers and the Tigers in turn looked toothless against the San Francisco Giants as they were swept in the World Series.
A True American Hero
Those of us who grew up when television was considered kosher in its black and white days remember "The Stratton Story," a 1949 movie that aired often on TV in the '50s starring Jimmy Stewart as Chicago White Sox pitcher Monty Stratton, who lost a leg in an off-season hunting accident in 1938 near his Greenville, Texas home.
If You Like My Column, You’ll Love My Book
Let me tell you about my new book.
Like you, I’m interested in Jewish baseball players and Jewish history. So, after years of research, first-hand observations and interviews, I combined the aforementioned information from the post-civil war era to the present and came up with a book titled Jewish History in the Time of Baseball's Jews: Life on Both Sides of the Ocean.
2014 Preview
The snow has melted in most parts of the country and here in Florida, where I have my winter dugout in the Orthodox enclave of Century Village in West Palm Beach, I had the opportunity to take in several spring training games.
The Grand Old Game’s Grand Old Man
He's older than any radio station and spoke before movies did. My legendary friend Ernie Harwell will be 90 years old soon.
Hank Greenberg’s 30th Yahrzeit
The tall, handsome, charismatic ballplayer topped several polls during his playing days as the most heroic figure among Jews in America.
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