By Bill Simons
In life, tsuris and naches often nip at each other’s heels. So, it went in Jewish baseball 2024.
On July 24 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, the Diamondbacks’ Joc Pederson connected for a solo home run in the fourth inning, contributing to Arizona’s victory over the Royals. It was his 200th career home run, a significant milestone for the much-traveled 32-year-old, making him only the sixth Jewish player to attain that distinction. A designated hitter employed against right-handed pitchers, Pederson registered offensive stats (.275 BA, 23 HR, 64 RBI, .393 OBA, .515 SLG) good enough, in this era of depressed batting averages, to be this writer’s 2024 Jewish Most Valuable Player.
No longer dominating as he was at his 2018-19 peak, Astros third baseman Alex Bregman’s Gold Glove defensive play and still productive hitting (.260 BA, 26 HR, 75 RBI) contributed to Houston reaching the American League Wild Card Series. Despite intermittent offense (.236, 12 HR, 51 RBI), the outstanding defense play of centerfielder Harrison Bader was a factor in the New York Mets reaching the National League Championship Series. In addition to Bader, the Mets have a vocal Jewish fanbase, befitting a team with a Jewish owner, Steve Cohen, and president, David Stearns.
September 6 marked the apogee of Jewish baseball 2024. During night games, the Atlanta Braves’ Max Fried, one of the best Major League Baseball pitchers over the past half decade, and the Baltimore Orioles’ Dean Kremer, inconsistent but with flashes of potential brilliance, both turned in outstanding mound performances. In seven innings at Atlanta’s Truist Park, Fried yielded but five hits, one walk and one unearned run, while striking out eight on the way to the Braves besting the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1. Fluent in Hebrew and the son of IDF veterans, Kremer also pitched masterfully that evening. Against the Tampa Bay Rays at Baltimore’s Camden Yards, Kremer surrendered only two hits and three walks while striking out seven in six scoreless innings, helping the Orioles to a 2-0 win. Alas, injuries and bad breaks kept Fried (11 W-10 L, 3.25 ERA), and Kremer (8 W-10 L, 4.10 ERA) from fulfilling 2024 pre-season expectations. The year before, they had an eye-catching aggregate won-loss record of 21-6.
Jewish fans of the Dodgers persuasion, stretching from ancestral Brooklyn to sun-kissed L.A., lost one of their bragging rights during the season past. The Dodgers have had their share of power hitters. But the all-time Dodgers single season home run leader was part of our minyan, right fielder Shawn Green, who walloped 49 round trippers in 2001. With his historic 2024 campaign, the phenomenal Shohei Ohtani eclipsed Green’s record by connecting for 54 home runs.
Green’s displacement represented a notable feat being superseded by an even more notable feat. However, Jewish baseball 2024 also included a performance of historic ineptitude. Some denizens of Queens long expressed perverse pride in claiming the worst team in modern Major League Baseball annals: the 1962 Mets lost an astounding 120 games during the team’s debut year. With 41 wins against 121 losses, the 2024 White Sox eclipsed the futility of the Casey Stengel/Joe Ginsberg Mets of yore. During his 17-game stint with the White Sox, Jewish right fielder Kevin Pillar hit a disappointing .160, and pitcher Jared Shuster lost five games against two wins. Chicago’s ignominious descent was a hard blow for the longtime Jewish owner of the White Sox, Jerry Reinsdorf, and the team’s Jewish fans. Chicago-area Rabbi Jeremy Fine, quoted by the JTA’s Jacob Gurvis, lamented the absence of emotional respite at Guaranteed Rate Field: “It was obviously a very tough year for the Jewish people. Having a great baseball season… would have been… [a] great distraction from torment.”
Admittedly, 2024 was not an iconic Jewish baseball year. Although six Jews were on teams that reached the playoffs, none appeared in the World Series or came anywhere close to a Hank Greenberg, Al Rosen, Sandy Koufax, Ryan Braun MVP-caliber season. But the sheer number of MLB players identifying as Jews – 17 (one less than the record 18 in 2023) – while confronting war in the Middle East and resurgent American antisemitism merits note. A Star of David adorned Bader’s belt and Kremer’s hung from a chain over his Orioles jersey. Bregman announced he’s considering playing for Team Israel.
In addition to Bader, Bregman, Fried, Kremer, Pederson, Pillar – whose play improved considerably after signing with the Los Angeles Angels – and Shuster, 10 others, identified with the help of Jacob Gruvis, were part of the 2024 Jewish MLB contingent. With team, won-lost record and ERA noted, pitchers Jake Bird (Rockies, 2-2, 4.50), Scott Effross (Yankees, 0-0, 5.40), Evan Kravetz (Reds, 0-0, 0.00), Max Lazar (Phillies, 0-0, 4.61) and Kenny Rosenberg (Angels, 0-1, 6.00) trod the mound with mixed results. For non-pitchers, team, position, batting average and home runs follow: Zack Gelof (Athletics, 2B, .211, 17), Spencer Horwitz (Blue Jays, 2B/1B/DH, .265, 12), Matt Mervis (Cubs, DH/1B, .115, 0), Garrett Stubbs (Phillies, C, .207, 1), and Rowdy Tellez (Pirates, 1B, .243, 13).
With six of the minyan – Bader, Bregman, Fried (already signed by the Yankees for a compensation package setting new benchmarks for lefty pitchers and Jewish ballplayers), Pederson, Pillar and Tellez – free agents and some of the minor leaguers potentially ready to advance to the show, winter may change the landscape of Jewish baseball. Although he needs more work in the minors, pitcher Jacob Steinmetz, an observant Orthodox Jew, continues to elicit future aspirations. Looking further down the line, six young Jewish prospects were selected in this year’s draft.
Since 1871, when the National Association emerged as the first professional league and Jewish outfielder Lip Pike led the circuit in home runs, Jews have provided a continuous presence in America’s game. However, there were seasons when a Jewish fan had difficulty finding a landsman to root for. That is no longer the case. As players, managers, coaches, media, GMs and owners, Jews are an important part of the contemporary game. Underlying that MLB Jews are no longer a rarity, on August 10, in Phoenix during the eighth inning, the Phillies battery – pitcher Lazar and catcher Stubbs – as well as the Diamondbacks batter (Pederson) were all Jewish. And the rookie Lazar, pitching his debut game, recorded his first Major League Baseball strikeout against a landsman, the veteran slugger Pederson.