48 April 25 • 2019
jn
MOVIE NEWS
Wild Nights with Emily is a comedic,
fictional take on the life of famous poet
Emily Dickinson. It pos-
its that Dickinson (Molly
Shannon) was a lesbian
and had a longtime affair
with her brother’
s wife (Amy
Steinmetz). Comedic actor
Brett Gelman, 42, appears
as Thomas Wentworth
Higginson (1823-1911).
In real life, he encouraged
Dickinson’
s writing, edited
her poems for publication
after her death and was a
strong advocate for gen-
der equality. In the film, he
comes off as a jerk who
can’
t cope with a very smart
woman. (Landmark Theater,
opens April 26)
Filming has begun on The
Plot Against America, a six-
part HBO series. It is based
on the “alternative history”
novel of the same name by
the late Philip Roth. The
book and series trace the
effect of rising anti-Semitism
on the middle-class Roth
family following the elec-
tion in 1940 of isolationist
Charles Lindbergh. The Roths
are played by John Turturro
and Winona Ryder, 47.
PLAY BALL!
The following 2019 major
leaguers have at least one
Jewish parent and identify
as Jewish or secular.
Richard Bleier, 31, relief
pitcher, Baltimore. He has
posted great stats in the
last two seasons. He played
for Israel in the 2013 World
Baseball Classic (WBC).
Ryan Braun, 35, outfield-
er/first base, Milwaukee.
This six-time All-Star and
the 2011 NL MVP isn’
t
the dominant player he
once was and his batting
average dipped in 2018. Still he hit 20
homers. Alex Bregman, 24, shortstop/
third base, Houston. Bregman signed
a six-year $100M dollar contract
extension in March. He’
s now the high-
est-paid Jewish baseball player ever.
This contract is a testament to how
well Bregman has played since mid-
2016, when he joined the “big club.”
His hitting and fielding led the Astros
to their first World Series
championship in 2017.
He repeated in 2018, with
great stats that included 31
homers. He was a 2018 All-
Star team member — and,
yes, he had a bar mitzvah.
Fun fact: His family went
to the same Albuquerque
synagogue as the family of
Alexi Ashe, Seth Meyer’
s
wife. Max Fried, 25, pitch-
er, Atlanta. Fried had a bar
mitzvah and played in the
2009 Maccabiah Games in
Israel. He was in the majors
for most of 2018 but saw
limited playing time. Ian
Kinsler, 36, second base,
San Diego. Like Braun, this
four-time All-Star isn’
t the
star he once was. Still, he
posts OK hitting stats and
he won a Golden Glove in
2018 for his great fielding.
Joc Pederson, 26, outfield-
er, L.A. Dodgers. Pederson,
a streak power hitter who
was frequently injured,
stayed healthy in 2018 and
hit more consistently. He
played for Israel in the 2013
WBC. Kevin Pillar, 30,
outfielder, San Francisco.
This former bar mitzvah
boy is a consistently good
hitter and base stealer.
Robert Stock, 29, relief
pitcher, San Diego. After
nine years in the minors,
Stock made his big-league
debut last June. His 100-
mph fastball may keep him
up. And Rowdy Tellez, 24,
first base, Toronto. He was
called-up last September
and was on a hitting tear
for the rest of the season.
Footnote: Former Tigers
player and Tigers manager
Brad Ausmus, 50, is now
managing the L.A. Angels and former
major leaguer Gabe Kapler, 43, is
Philadelphia’
s manager. ■
NATE BLOOM
COLUMNIST
Brett Gelman
Alex Bregman
Ian Kinsler
Philip Roth
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