Jews in Baseball by Justice Robert E
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Jews In Baseball by Justice Robert E. Gordon In 2019, three Major League Baseball games occurred on Yom Kippur. Three Jewish players played that day, and all of their teams lost. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Atlanta Braves, 13-1, and Max Fried relieved in the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series. The Washington Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 7-3, and Joc Pederson played. The Tampa Bay Rays beat the Houston Astros, 4-1, and Alex Bregman also played. Some baseball reporters are calling this the Sandy Koufax curse. But what they may not know is that Major League Baseball contracts prohibit players from not playing in a playoff or World Series game because of a religious holiday without the team’s consent. The Dodgers did give Koufax the consent in 1965 for Game 1 of the World Series. Don Drysdale, who took his place, was routed in the first inning of the game and told his manager when he was removed, “I guess you wish I was Jewish.” The Mets gave Shawn Green the consent in a playoff game, and his teammates left a sign in the locker room that said, “Let’s win one for the Kipper.” Reportedly, even the Hiroshima Carp gave Richie Scheinblum the consent in the Japanese World Series. I do not know what the contracts provided in the days of Hank Greenberg, but today I doubt we will see a baseball team consent to excuse a player on Yom Kippur again. The Honorable Robert E. Gordon is an Illinois Appellate Court justice in the First District, 4th Division of Illinois, and a Decalogue board member. .