The best of times has turned into the worst of times for Jewish baseball fans now that Major League Baseball has suspended slugger Ryan “Hebrew Hammer” Braun in baseball’s latest performance-enhancing drugs scandal. The Milwaukee Brewers slugger and former National League Most Valuable Player, who is the son of an Israeli-born Jewish father and a…
Reaction to Ryan Braun’s suspension from fellow players was swift and scathing after the former National League MVP agreed to a ban for the rest of the 2013 season for a drug violation. Braun, who on Monday became the first player to fall as part of Major League Baseball’s (MLB) latest drug investigation, will miss…
In October 2012, Gerald Eskenazi wrote an article in this newspaper on the evolving image of the Jewish athlete. The article quoted the mother of major league pitcher Jason Marquis, who had once called the editor of the Jewish Sports Review to ask: “My son’s Jewish. How come he’s not in your publication?” By last…
Anyone seeing “42” would be horrified at the hostility Jackie Robinson faced from his teammates and opposing players and catcalling from the stands when he integrated Major League Baseball. What the film did not depict was the reported encounter Robinson had with the one baseball player who could best understand the prejudice the Civil Rights…
Harlem moviegoers at the opening of “42” will see the story of Jackie Robinson’s legendary courage, class and talent in the face of immense pressure and racial hatred as he broke down baseball’s color barrier. Less well known is Robinson’s role in a controversy that erupted just a few blocks away, at Harlem’s most famous…
Known as the “Iron Batter,” Lipman Pike was one of the earliest baseball stars. Playing for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1860s, Pike was a power hitter at a time when home runs were rare. And he was one of the first paid players — $20 a week. He is also widely noted as the…
● Hank Greenberg: The Hero of Heroes By John Rosengren New American Library, 400 pages, $26.95 On October 6, 1965, Sandy Koufax sat out the first game of the World Series in observance of Yom Kippur. By putting the holiest day of his faith before the most important event of the most popular sport in…
Who still says Jews can’t be good at sports? With baseball season kicking off (or rather, batting off), we’ve rounded up the top five Jewish things you should know about the who’s who of America’s pastime. These guys are all more kosher than the hot dogs at Citi Field. 1. Kevin Youkilis No, he’s not…
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