The Jewish Sport Report: How the Chicago White Sox made a bad year even worse for Jewish fans
Plus the latest news on NFL veteran Greg Joseph (and it’s good)
Henry Bernstein, left, and Jason Loeb at a Chicago White Sox game during the 2024 season. (Courtesy of Bernstein)
Jewish NFL fans, rejoice: Greg Joseph has returned to the league with a bang (or, more accurately, a kick).
Joseph, the NFL veteran who just missed making the Green Bay Packers’ Week 1 roster, joined the New York Giants ahead of last week’s game, after Giants kicker Graham Gano was injured. Joseph made only one field goal attempt last week, a 48-yarder that he missed.
But last night, Joseph made it clear he intends to keep his new job: He made all five of his field goal tries, including a 52-yarder, to account for all of his team’s points. Joseph’s strong night wasn’t enough for the Giants, however, who lost to the Dallas Cowboys 20-15.
“Most important is the team winning, which we didn’t do tonight,” Joseph said after the game. “One kick doesn’t define me. It never will. Head up, onto the next one, short memory.”
Speaking of short memories, we know another sports franchise that needs to turn the page…
2024 was already a hard year for Jews. For Jewish Chicago White Sox fans, it’s been even worse.
As if the past year hasn’t been difficult enough for Jews, fans of the Chicago White Sox have had to stomach a historically bad season with few silver linings (or none at all). The White Sox are on the brink of surpassing 120 losses, a modern-era record that has stood since 1962 — though they’ve inexplicably won three straight games after tying the loss record on Sunday.
Jewish Sox fans told JTA that a less disappointing baseball season could have provided them a reason for hope or at least an escape amid the more consequential news about the Israel-Hamas war and antisemitism.
“It was obviously a very tough year for the Jewish people,” Rabbi Jeremy Fine, who leads Congregation B’nai Tikvah in Deerfield, Illinois, told me. “Having a great baseball season, or something to look forward to, would have been really nice. A great distraction from torment.”
Jason Loeb, a fifth-generation South Side native, said he is “more hopeful for Jews worldwide than I am for the White Sox.”
He said, “If I had to take a lifetime more of 30-132 seasons from the White Sox, or what Jews have experienced, I’ll take the White Sox being bad for the rest of my lifetime for things to be better for Jews.”
We spoke to a number of Jewish White Sox fans about the experience of rooting for the worst team in modern baseball history, and what, if anything, Judaism has to say about such suffering.
Halftime report
AIN’T GONNA PLAY ON SATURDAY. A new kids’ book tells the true story of pingpong champion Estee Ackerman, a Modern Orthodox woman who made headlines as a teenager when she forfeited a U.S. National Ping Pong Championship match because it fell on Shabbat. “You’ve heard about Sandy Koufax, well here’s Estee Ackerman!” said author Ann D. Koffsky.
IF THIS IS GOODBYE… Houston Astros star Alex Bregman is a free agent after this season — after spending his entire career so far with the team — and is expected to draw significant interest. While his longtime teammate Jose Altuve said “I don’t see any chances of him leaving,” fans weren’t taking any risks. During Wednesday’s game, Houston’s final home game of the regular season, the only fanbase Bregman has ever represented gave him a fitting send-off.
SO CLOSE. One player who may also be switching teams this winter is Rowdy Tellez, the slugging first baseman who was cut by the Pittsburgh Pirates this week after a disappointing season at the plate. Tellez, who was hitting just .116 in September, was only four plate appearances shy of unlocking a $200,000 bonus for the season. The Pirates claim money was not a factor in the move.
BYU-TIFUL. Brigham Young University’s football team is off to a dominant 4-0 start this season, thanks in large part to Jewish quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who proudly wears a Star of David necklace and goes by the moniker “BY-Jew” at his Mormon school. Retzlaff completed 15 of 21 pass attempts last Saturday with 149 yards and two touchdowns. The Cougars face Baylor Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.
A NEW START. It’s been a down year for Jewish PGA star Max Homa, who currently ranks No. 25 in the world, a steep decline from his No. 5 ranking in April 2023. Homa announced this week that he was parting ways with his longtime coach, Mark Blackburn. “It’s one of those things, more for me, I need a break and sometimes I don’t do a great job of taking ownership of my own golf swing, so putting the ball in my court a bit, and trying to figure it out myself,” Homa said.
MAKING MOVES. Minor league pitcher Colton Gordon, a Team Israel alum, has had quite the year in Triple A, posting a 3.94 ERA in 25 games (24 starts) with 124 strikeouts in 123.1 innings. Gordon, who was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week twice in a three-week span, caught up with Houston’s Jewish Herald-Voice this week as his Sugar Land Space Cowboys prepared to play in the Triple-A National Championship on Saturday. “Being Jewish has shaped me as a person,” Gordon said. “It means the world to me. It taught me how to be a great person in baseball and outside of baseball, to try to make the world a better place and to always give back.”
SEE YOU SOON? Former big leaguer and 2021 National League Manager of the Year Gabe Kapler has been mentioned as a possible candidate for the Cincinnati Reds’ managerial opening. Kapler, who is currently serving as an assistant general manager with the Miami Marlins, led the San Francisco Giants to a 107-win season three years ago, but was fired after last season.
Jews in sports to watch this weekend (all times ET)
⚾ IN BASEBALL…
The MLB regular season wraps up this weekend, and a number of Jewish players are in the midst of an intense, down-to-the-wire playoff race. Max Fried takes the ball for the Atlanta Braves tonight at 7:20 p.m. in a critical game against the Kansas City Royals. Dean Kremer is on the mound for the Baltimore Orioles, who clinched a wild card spot, in their final regular season game Sunday at 3:10 p.m. against the Minnesota Twins, who are hoping against hope to sneak into the playoffs. Scott Effross just rejoined the AL East champion New York Yankees, who host the Pittsburgh Pirates this weekend. Joc Pederson and the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are on the cusp of locking down a playoff spot, host the San Diego Padres, who are also playoff-bound.
⚽ IN SOCCER…
It’s been a tough beginning to the season for Jewish players in European soccer. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Matt Turner has yet to appear in a game for his new Premier League squad, set to face Everton Saturday at 10 a.m. In the Championship, Manor Solomon is expected to miss Leeds United’s match against Coventry on Saturday after suffering yet another injury. In the MLS, Daniel Edelman’s New York Red Bulls, DeAndre Yedlin’s F.C. Cincinnati, Tai Baribo’s Philadelphia Union and Liel Abada’s Charlotte F.C. are all in action Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Zac MacMath and Real Salt Lake face Austin F.C. Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
⛳️ IN GOLF…
Max Homa is on the U.S. team at the Presidents Cup tournament in Montreal, which began yesterday and runs through Sunday. The U.S. has won the competition 12 times, with one loss and one tie.
It’s a family thing
Elie Kligman, who was drafted one day after Jacob Steinmetz in the 2021 MLB Draft, and his brother Ari are set to become the only known Orthodox Jewish batterymates in Division I college baseball. The brothers both play at Sacramento State, which they say has been very accommodating of their Orthodox lifestyle, including not playing on Shabbat.
“I know there are a lot of Jewish kids who look up to me and my brother,” Ari said.
Read more about the brothers in J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
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