American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball

by Larry Ruttman, Martin Abramowitz (Introduction)

Most fans don’t know how far the Jewish presence in baseball extends beyond a few famous players such as Greenberg, Rosen, Koufax, Holtzman, Green, Ausmus, Youkilis, Braun, and Kinsler. In fact, that presence extends to the baseball commissioner Bud Selig, labor leaders Marvin Miller and Don Fehr, owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Stuart Sternberg, officials Theo Epstein and Mark Shapiro, sportswriters Murray Chass, Ross Newhan, Ira Berkow, and Roger Kahn, and even famous Jewish baseball fans like Alan Dershowitz and Barney Frank.  The life stories of these and many others, on and off the field, have been compiled from nearly fifty in-depth interviews and arranged by decade in this edifying and entertaining work of oral and cultural history. In American Jews and America’s Game each person talks about growing up Jewish and dealing with Jewish identity, assimilation, intermarriage, future viability, religious observance, anti-Semitism, and Israel. Each tells about being in the midst of the colorful pantheon of players who, over the past seventy-five years or more, have made baseball what it is. Their stories tell, as no previous book has, the history of the larger-than-life role of Jews in America’s pastime.

Genres: Sports

544 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit repetitive, dry, and awkward, but the content is very good. The fact that the editor/author interviewed all of these baseball people (or in the case of Sandy Koufax, who didn't consent to be interviewed, individuals who know him well) is impressive in and of itself. While baseball is the thread that that ties each of these Jews together, the continuous question one asks as one goes through the content is: what is a Jew, and what does it mean to be Jewish.

[Matthew]

Manhattan / NJ