The Jewish Sport Report: This week’s top 6 Jewish baseball moments
Mark Vientos, left, celebrates his game-winning two-run home run against the Cincinnati Reds with teammate Harrison Bader, Sept. 6, 2024, in New York City. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Hello and happy Friday the 13th! While the number 13 is often given a bad rap, there are actually several reasons it’s considered lucky in Judaism. That’s good news for sports fans, who are notoriously superstitious.
Do you have a go-to jersey you have to wear, or else your team will lose? A lucky hat or trading card? Drop us a note at [email protected] with your sports superstitions — bonus points if the superstition is Jewish, too!
6 fun Jewish baseball tidbits from the past week
If you went to Jewish sleepaway camp, you may remember the classic song “Wherever You Go, There’s Always Someone Jewish.” That message resonated this week across MLB, where it felt like there was always someone (or something) Jewish making news.
Here are some Jewish moments from the past week in baseball, in no particular order. (Any others we missed? Let us know!)
🙌 It seems like Garrett Stubbs and Max Lazar have a knack for making Jewish baseball history. The Philadelphia Phillies teammates, who along with Arizona Diamondbacks slugger Joc Pederson became the third-ever Jewish pitcher-catcher-batter trio last month, made similar history on Sunday. As the Phillies were getting blown out 10-1 by the Miami Marlins, Lazar (a pitcher) and Stubbs (a catcher) both took the mound for the Phils. According to the Jewish Baseball Museum, that makes them only the fourth pair of Jewish teammates to pitch for the same team in the same game. The previous duos were Sandy Koufax and Larry Sherry (Los Angeles Dodgers), Dave Roberts and Ken Holtzman (Chicago Cubs) and Al Levine and Scott Schoeneweis (Anaheim Angels). Sunday was Stubbs’ fourth pitching appearance this season.
📜 Last Friday, after New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos crushed an extra innings walk-off home run, the Jewish internet was fascinated by a Hebrew tattoo that was revealed when Vientos’ teammates pulled his jersey off during their celebration. Vientos, who is not Jewish, has the word “הפלפמ” with the numbers “4:6” inked on his chest. The word, as many observers pointed out, is gibberish, and appears to be a misspelling of Philippians, the New Testament book, which is transliterated differently in Hebrew. Philippians 4:6 begins, “Do not be anxious about anything,” and Vientos cited the verse on Twitter in 2017. It seems Vientos is not anxious about inside fastballs, but perhaps he should be a bit more wary of his tattoo parlor’s Hebrew proficiency. (The Mets did not respond to a JTA inquiry.)
⚾ Just a few days later, Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Mets game on Sunday at Citi Field. And the following night, as the Mets took on the Blue Jays in Toronto, 97-year-old Holocaust survivor Irene Kurtz threw out the first pitch to Blue Jays infielder and Team Israel alum Spencer Horwitz.
🔥 Speaking of Jews on the mound, Baltimore Orioles pitcher and Team Israel alum Dean Kremer has been on a roll lately. On Wednesday, Kremer fired seven strong innings with seven strikeouts as the Os lost in extras to the Boston Red Sox. In four of his last five starts, Kremer has struck out 26 batters across 25 innings while allowing only four earned runs (the exception was an Aug. 31 start in which he left early after being hit by a line drive). He has a 3.76 ERA in 10 starts since the All-Star break and figures to be a key cog in the Orioles’ rotation during its postseason push.
🏆 Speaking of the postseason, the pennant race is coming down to the wire in both leagues, and a number of Jewish players are virtual locks to appear in the playoffs. Kremer’s Orioles, Alex Bregman’s Houston Astros, Stubbs and Lazar’s Philadelphia Phillies and Pederson’s Arizona Diamondbacks are almost certain to make it. Harrison Bader’s New York Mets and Max Fried’s Atlanta Braves are in a tight Wild Card battle. And while he’s currently in Triple A, New York Yankees reliever Scott Effross could see more action down the stretch, or possibly in October.
💪 Houston Astros prospect Colton Gordon is killing it in the minors, where the Team Israel alum was just named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks. Gordon, who pitched for Team Israel in 2023, is 8-1 with a 4.11 ERA this year in Triple A. In eight starts since Aug. 1, the 25-year-old has a 2.55 ERA with 50 strikeouts in 42.1 innings.
Halftime report
AND THE WINNER IS. The Paris Paralympics concluded last Sunday, ending a successful summer for Jewish and Israeli competitors in the City of Light. After at least 21 Jewish athletes won a total of 18 medals at the Olympics, 15 Jewish and Israeli Paralympians racked up 13 medals of their own.
SHA-PAT SHALOM. Longtime NBA veteran Patrick Beverley, who is now playing professionally in Israel as a guard for Hapoel Tel Aviv, has been opening up about his experience on his podcast, where this week he explained Shabbat observance to his co-host, describing the customs of forgoing electronics and spending time with family. “That’s pretty dope if you think about it,” Beverley says.
A HAUL FOR THE HALL. Since he bought the team in 1994, Robert Kraft’s New England Patriots have had an unprecedented run of success in professional sports, winning six Super Bowls after years as a bottom-tier franchise. But there’s one thing Kraft has not yet accomplished: He has yet to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s a yearslong snub that confounds some in the sport. Check out this ESPN deep-dive on his perennial candidacy and the longstanding lobbying effort from Kraft’s supporters to get him into Canton.
CLOSE CALL. French authorities said they stopped three plots to attack the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris this summer, one of which targeted “Israeli institutions or representatives of Israel in Paris.” The Israeli delegations at both Games had received extra security. Read more here.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)
⚾ IN BASEBALL…
Max Lazar, Garrett Stubbs and the Philadelphia Phillies host Harrison Bader and the New York Mets in a three-game series this weekend, while Jared Shuster and the Chicago White Sox host Zack Gelof and the Oakland As. Elsewhere in the league, Rowdy Tellez and the Pittsburgh Pirates face the Kansas City Royals, and Joc Pederson and the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Milwaukee Brewers.
⚽ IN SOCCER…
Manor Solomon and his English Football League Championship club Leeds United host Burnley Saturday at 7:30 a.m. Matt Turner and his Premier League squad Crystal Palace host Leicester City Saturday at 10 a.m. In the MLS, Tai Baribo and the Philadelphia Union, Liel Abada and Charlotte F.C. and DeAndre Yedlin and F.C. Cincinnati all play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Zac MacMath’s Real Salt Lake and Daniel Edelman’s New York Red Bulls are both in action Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
⛳ IN GOLF…
Max Homa, David Lipsky, Daniel Berger and Ben Silverman are all competing in the PGA Tour’s Procore Championship (formerly known as the Fortinet Championship) in Napa Valley this weekend.
🏎 IN RACING…
Aston Martin driver Lance Stroll will be on the grid for the Formula One Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sunday at 7 a.m. Stroll is currently in 10th place in the driver standings with 24 points on the season.
Have a good one!
Thanks for reading — we’ll see you next time!
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