By Reporter staff

Bill Simons won second place in the Syracuse Press Club awards’ Print/Digital News: Non-Daily or Special Interest: Sports Story for his three-part series “Yentl at the Bat.” The articles look at three women’s connection to baseball: filmmaker Aviva Kempner, biographer Jane Leavy and sports scholar Rebecca Alpert. (Simon’s columns can be found at Jewish Baseball Players: Yentl at the bat pt I: Jewish women & baseball, Jewish Baseball Players: Yentl at the Bat, Part II: Jewish women & baseball and Jewish Baseball Players: Yentl at the bat, part 3: Jewish women & baseball.)

In his opening column, Simon noted that “Jewish women in baseball remain subject to neglect. Girls and women with baseball interests are typically relegated to softball and spectatorship, and, for Jewish females, ethnicity has added an additional barrier. Although occasional exhibits, conferences and publications have referenced Jewish women in baseball, more work is needed.” His work was an attempt to rectify part of that problem.

Simon was pleased to have received the award. “I appreciate this award from the Syracuse Press Club,” he said. “At a time when polarized, unsubstantiated social media poses as news, it means a great deal to be honored by the Syracuse Press Club given its high journalistic standards and encouragement to community and regional journalism. I take seriously the opportunity and responsibility of being a columnist for The Reporter, which under its editor, Rabbi Rachel Esserman, is determined to provide substantive and reliable news alongside fair and insightful commentary.” 

“We’re so pleased that Bill has won another award,” said Rabbi Rachel Esserman, executive editor of The Reporter Group. “His columns are a wonderful addition to the paper. Sports fans have told me how much they enjoy his work and readers of his other columns note how his wide range of interests adds a different dimension to the paper. We look forward to publishing more of his articles.”