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.