Nate Freiman at bat for the Portland Sea Dogs in a game against the Harrisburg Senators in Pennsylvania, May 2016. (Hillel Kuttler)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (JTA) – Taking a seat on the dugout bench of the Portland Sea Dogs, Nate Freiman politely dismisses the premise that he pines to return to the major leagues. Maybe it’s a defense mechanism now that he’s two seasons and three organizations removed from his last… Read more »
Sandy Koufax is out front in the Ron Lewis painting of Jewish major leaguers and others. The sale of 500 autographed prints is partly for profit and charity. (Jewishbaseballplayer.com) (JTA) – At the first Detroit Tigers game he attended, in 1940, Bob Matthews saw slugging first baseman Hank Greenberg play. Now a retired orthodontist living in Farmington Hills, Mich., Matthews can gaze each day at his hero’s image on visits to the Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit… Read more »
ABERDEEN, Md. (JTA) – Standing on a hill on a glorious Sunday morning, Mark and Ron Shapiro are kvelling as they watch Caden Shapiro – son of Mark and grandson of Ron – pitching in a baseball tournament in this city near Baltimore after having been shelved for nearly… Read more »
Ike Davis, on overcoming his hitting woes, says, "You've just got to put your head down and grind." (Hillel Kuttler) BALTIMORE (JTA) — Ike Davis was upbeat despite the rain pelting the Camden Yards turf and his struggles at the plate. The new Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman was playing catch with teammate Josh Harrison when music from the loudspeakers sent him into a dancing whir. Harrison couldn’t stop giggling.… Read more »
BALTIMORE (JTA) – In the biblical tradition of lingering in the desert en route to the Promised Land, Major League Baseball teams are packing up and embarking on their exodus from Arizona (and Florida) spring training sites to begin the new season. Rosters won’t be finalized until this weekend,… Read more »
Craig Breslow is the Boston Red Sox nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award for his charitable works. (JTA) — When Craig Breslow entered Saturday night’s playoff game against the Detroit Tigers, FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver hailed the Boston Red Sox reliever — a Yale University graduate with a double major in molecular biophysics and biochemistry — as the smartest player in Major League Baseball. But with… Read more »
Nate Freiman, a rookie first baseman for the Oakland Athletics, is trying to help his team make the playoffs. (Hille Kuttler) BALTIMORE (JTA) – Last September, first baseman Nate Freiman was doing his best to help Israel secure a spot in the World Baseball Classic. Despite some super hitting from the towering slugger, the team fell short. Fast forward a year. Freiman, 25, now finds himself in another playoff chase.… Read more »
A memorial statue for Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg stands in Detroit's Comerica Park. (JMR_photography via Flickr) (Washington Jewish Week) — “I think Hank Greenberg was the great American hero,” Washington filmmaker Aviva Kempner says. “What he did on Yom Kippur. What he faced. He was our Jackie Robinson.” Thirteen years after the debut of “The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg,” her documentary about the… Read more »
Neal Pollack (Laura Sartois/Anthology Photography) (Tablet) — In the 1930s, Hank Greenberg chased Babe Ruth’s records and won the 1934 World Series with the Detroit Tigers. The national pastime wasn’t friendly territory for a Jewish athlete then, but by proudly staking out a claim, Greenberg proved that Jews could play the game as well… Read more »
