SPOTLIGHT STORIES

Read exclusive stories from the Jewish Baseball Museum. Noted Jewish baseball writers Ed Sherman and Dan Epstein reconnect with players from the past and get the inside perspective from today's stars.
Spotlight Stories

Today in Jewish baseball history

1939 — Jimmie Reese gets his first minor-league managing job, replacing Ken Penner at Bellingham (Wash.) of the Western International League. Unable to get Bellingham out of last place, he will hold the job only until mid-August.

1939 — Goody Rosen has three hits including a leadoff home run in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Game summary

1944 — Joe Ginsberg drives in the winning run in the 15th inning as Jamestown defeats Wellsville in a Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League game.

1945 — Goody Rosen’s two-run homer in the 14th inning helps the Brooklyn Dodgers secure a 6-3 victory over the New York Giants. Game summary

1949 — Eighteen players — including Harry Feldman of the New York Giants and Murray Franklin of the Detroit Tigers — who had jumped to the outlaw Mexican League have their major-league eligibility reinstated by Commissioner A.B. Chandler.

1967 — Mike Epstein, playing his first game for the Washington Senators, hits his first of 130 career home runs off Thad Tillotson in a 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees. Epstein’s hit is a 200-foot drive down the left-field line that rolls for an inside-the-park homer. Game summary

1971 — Steve Ratzer pitches a no-hitter and Alvin Osofsky drives in both runs as Bowne High School in Queens defeats George Washington 2-0 for the New York Public Schools Athletic League championship at Yankee Stadium. Ratzer (10-0) strikes out eight and walks two.

1978 — Steve Stone of the Chicago White Sox pitches a three-hitter with six strikeouts in a 2-0 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Game summary

1999 — Tony Schrager of the Lansing Lugnuts hits a team-record three home runs in a Midwest League game.

2008 — The New York Mets draft Arizona State first baseman Ike Davis in the first round with the 18th pick overall. Stanford left-hander Jeremy Bleich also goes in the first round, to the New York Yankees as the No. 44 pick. 2008 draft picks

2011 — Richard Bleier of Frisco is named Texas League Pitcher of the Week.

2018 — St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Ryan Sherriff undergoes Tommy John surgery on his left elbow and is sidelined for the rest of the season.

2019 — Cohen Stadium, named for major-league brothers Andy Cohen and Syd Cohen, is demolished 19 years after it opened as home for the minor-league El Paso Diablos. The site becomes the 48-acre Cohen Entertainment District, featuring a water park, open spaces, shopping and restaurants.

MLB debut: Jon Moscot, 2015

Final MLB game: Ed Mayer, 1958

Today’s transaction (2023) — Atlanta Braves transferred LHP Max Fried from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.

Items based on the author’s “Day by Day in Jewish Sports History” (KTAV, 2008)

 

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