34 | OCTOBER 5 • 2023 J
N
SPORTS
J
oey Yashinsky is a
Chicago Cubs fan.
So he’s well aware of
one of the most famous
plays in Cubs and Major
League Baseball history that
happened way back in 1908.
Yashinsky used that
historical knowledge to help
Congregation Shaarey Zedek
win a Koufax Division playoff
game and eventually the
Koufax playoff championship
this summer in the Inter-
Congregational Men’s Club
Summer Softball League.
Shaarey Zedek and Temple
Israel No. 3 were tied 17-17
in the bottom of the seventh
inning. With runners on
first and third and two out, a
Temple Israel No. 3 batter hit
an apparent walk-off single
up the middle.
Yashinsky was playing
shortstop. He noticed the
Temple Israel No. 3 runner
on first base “made a hard
left turn” a couple steps away
from second base to celebrate
with his teammates.
Besides knowing baseball
history, Yashinsky knows
baseball and softball rules. He
knew the Temple Israel No. 3
runner on first base needed
to touch second base.
Yashinsky called for the
ball from right-centerfielder
Vadim Brayman. After he got
the ball, Yashinsky touched
second base for a force out,
which ended the inning
without the winning run
scoring.
“I give credit to the umpire.
He could have been halfway
to his car. Instead, his fist was
in the air, calling the out,”
Yashinsky said.
“People were confused.
Vadim asked me, ‘What just
happened?’ The guys on my
team were pumped up that
the game wasn’t over, but they
had no idea why. I told them
to go home and research Fred
Merkle and a Cubs-Giants
game from 1908.”
Shaarey Zedek ended up
beating Temple Israel No. 3
21-20 in eight innings.
Matt Weingarden broke
the 17-17 tie in the top of the
eighth with a three-run triple
that followed an intentional
walk to Stephen Maiseloff.
Sam Yashinsky drove in
Weingarden with the eventual
winning run with a sacrifice
fly.
Temple Israel No. 3
countered with a three-run
home run in the bottom
of the eighth in a driving
downpour.
“That force-out in the
bottom of the seventh
changed the course of the
playoffs for us dramatically,”
Joey Yashinsky said. “Instead
of having to win five in a row
to win the championship, we
only needed to win two in a
row, which we did.”
So what took place in 1908?
On Sept. 23, 1908, while
playing for the New York
Giants against the visiting
Cubs, Merkle was on first
base when Al Bridwell hit an
RBI single to win the game.
Merkle, at age 19 the
youngest player in the
National League at the time,
ran into the Giants clubhouse
without touching second
base.
Cubs second baseman
Johnny Evers retrieved
Here’s how a famous baseball play from 1908 contributed
to Congregation Shaarey Zedek’s softball championship.
‘What Just Happened?’
STEVE STEIN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
PHOTOS FROM INTER-CONGREGATIONAL MEN’S CLUB SUMMER SOFTBALL LEAGUE.