Thursday, October 28, 2010

Favorite Jewish Baseball Player

Inspired by the convergence of the High Holy day season and the baseball postseason, I recently checked out "The Baseball Talmud" from the TBS library. It ranks the best major league Jewish baseball players of all time.

While Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg may have been the best from the past, and Ryan Braun might be the best current Jewish player, my favorite is Harry Danning. Harry was a catcher for the NY Giants between 1933 and 1942. Why Harry? His nickname was "Harry the Horse", and he was the inspiration for Frank Loesser when he created the same-named character in my favorite musical, Guys and Dolls. Judaism, baseball and musical theatre - that's my magical combination!

Who have been your favorites, or what encounters have you had with Jewish major leaguers?