I know I am a nitpicker and that the issue of whether Jews should play in or watch sporting events on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is an interesting one, but the following editing error is very hard to forgive.
The Lerner family, owners of the Nationals, has made it clear that they will not be in the stadium on the holiest Jewish holiday.
That religious stand reminds me of a story Al Rosen, who played for Cleveland and was nicknamed “the Hebrew Hammer,” told about his late 1970s stint as president of the Yankees. Rosen chose to go to Yankee Stadium for a tiebreaking game that fell on Rosh Hashanah. That Oct. 2, 1978, game is now known to Red Sox and Yankee fans everywhere as “The Bucky Dent Game,” for the home run by the light-hitting shortstop that secured the victory for New York.
A Jewish fan who spotted Rosen on TV sent him a hostile letter. Rosen wrote back criticizing the fan for watching television on the Jewish New Year.
As every Northeastern boy who was sentient in October 1978 knows, The Bucky Dent Game was played in Boston and light-hitting shortstop Bucky Dent’s 7th-inning three-run homer sailed over Fenway Park’s infamous Green Monster. Dent had hit five home runs during the entire 1978 regular season and wound up hitting 40 home runs in his entire eleven-year career. The ball he hit that glorious Monday afternoon in late-1978 would have been a can of corn in any other ballpark in the big leagues, but it managed to just barely clear the 310 foot monster.
While I don’t expect everyone to know the details of one of the most famous baseball games of all time, this is an article about how Jewish players, owners, and fans have reacted to having important games scheduled on Jewish holidays, particularly baseball games. While where The Bucky Dent Game was played isn’t directly relevant to the main issue, it’d be nice to have someone edit a sports article who isn’t a baseball illiterate.
I mean, my whole school district got out early so we could get home to watch the game.
Is Bucky wearing pinstripes?
I skipped one of my favorite Professors class to go to a bar and meet some friends.
On the way up, my hood shattered my windshield, but in the spirit of the Yanks that year, I didn’t give up.
I got the glass out, and went to the bar.
Windy drive home – but jubilant.
And I still get and “A” in the class!
Never saw the game. Did see the HR years later on YouTube, though.
“the issue of whether Jews should play in or watch sporting events on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is an interesting one”
Uh, no, unless you were being snarky. The issues of how, where, or if anyone acknowledges, worships, or denies the divine is, or at least should be, a deeply personal one, and not something any other person – ISIS, the Family Research Council, or Richard Dawkins should pass judgement on unless that behavior seriously interferes with another person’s life. Being beheaded, having to submit medical decisions to busybodies – serious impacts. Whether your team wins or loses a ball game – much less serious unless you’re the GM or coach.
Oh, and P.S., glad you’re back.
You have been my favorite blogger for the past few years, and I was shocked and saddened by the idea of your getting taken down early by the whirligig of time. Also, I of course missed your down-to-earth presence and your clear, humorous, pithy and cutting analysis.
Welcome back!
The story is that there are still superstitious people who think that there is a god that cares about watching or attending a sporting event on a made up holy day so a certain elite can have power over others.
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Very disappointed that my Reds didn’t squeeze by the Dodgers that year. 92 wins, but lost the division by 2-1/2 games. However, it was the year of Pete Rose’s 44 game hitting streak.
Booman;
It is truly a blessing*, and truly great, that whatever knocked you down did not diminish your nitpickering skills.
…if there are any little knobs on that skill’s control panel, I dunno, for; Content Discrimination, or maybe; Nit Size – Low Pass Filter, you might want to consider make an adjustment or two.
And still mighty glad you’re back, no matter what moves you to address.
*(“yes, I see what I did there” – H/T to the treasured Charlie Pierce)
As an aside, the Mormon owner of the Utah Jazz famously did not attend any of his team’s games on Sunday, also for religious reasons. This became well known during his team’s two finals losses to the Bulls in the latter 1990s.
To each his own. However, “Utah Jazz” (they kept the name when he moved them from New Orleans) has to be the most ill-fitting team name in US sports. Even worse than the Lakers keeping the team name when moving from the “land of 10,000 lakes” to the semi-arid region of Los Angeles and the Dodgers keeping the name – which in the late 1800s applied to pedestrians of Brooklyn who had to “dodge” all of the trolleys downtown – when they moved to trolley-free L.A.