To Life!

SPORT--

NoNo

•

May the coming year be filled
with health, happiness and prosperity
for all our family and friends.

Sanford Vieder, D.O. Lawrence Dell, M.D. lames Gordon, M.D.,
Cheryl Ruble, M.D. Sr Ronda Barak-Norris, M.D.

On the Diamond

For Shawn Green, it's home runs
first, then Yom Kippur.

Martin Abramowitz
Jewish Telegraphic Agency

•

Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates,
was a consistently awesome slugger
and a more successful overall batter.
Boston
His career slugging percentage of .605
is still among the top 10 in the his-
f Jews had panthe-
tory of the game, while Green
ons, Shawn Green,
went into the 2006 season at a
the premier Jewish
respectable .505.
baseball player of the last
Green's career batting aver-
quarter-century, would
age of about .283 is solid, but
be right up there in the
pales next to Greenberg's .313.
baseball wing, a notch
We also need to remember
below Hank Greenberg
that Greenberg played for
and Sandy Koufax.
only nine and a half seasons,
It would be hard to
missing virtually all of 1936
Shawn Green
overstate the significance
with an injury and 1941 to
of Greenberg and Koufax
mid-1945 because of military
in the history of American Jewish life.
service.
That two of the best ballplayers
Green, on the other hand, is in his
of their generations could be Jewish
12th full season, having gone into this
— and that they could, 30 years apart, year with almost 1,000 more career at-
gently but proudly assert their Jewish
bats than Greenberg. So it's no wonder
identity by declining to play on Yom
that Green's cumulative statistics, as
Kippur — was incredibly important
distinct from his averages, are rivaling
for the self-confidence of American
Greenberg's.
Jews of the 1930s and 1960s.
Still, the fact remains that Green's
A few years ago, Green split the dif-
cumulative stats are impressive, and
ference on Yom Kippur, skipping one
if he stays healthy Green is likely to
game scheduled on the holiday, while
become the all-time Jewish major
playing in the other.
league leader in home runs and base
But if the question of Shawn Green's hits. He also has an outside chance of
religious observance seems less fate-
overtaking Greenberg in runs batted
ful to this generation, the reason lies
'in.
partly in the changes in American
Consider the following data, as of
Jewry and partly because Green, who
the end of August:
recently was traded from the Arizona
• Green's 316 home runs leave him
Diamondbacks to the New York Mets,
17 shy of Greenberg's 331. At his cur-
is not Hank Greenberg.
rent pace — he has 13 so far this sea-
At many levels, there simply is no
son — Green would pass Greenberg
comparison between the two players.
during the first half of the 2008 sea-
Greenberg, who played for the
son.

I

May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!

May the coming year be filled with
health and happiness for all our family and friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!

Christa Murphy

Sean Stillwell

We wish our family & friends a very
healthy, happy and sweet New Year.

Charles Gordon & Ellen Dorshow-Gordon

Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax

108

September 21 - 2006