'Hammerin' Hank' had the right idea

Hank Greenberg (Library of Congress)

When it came to setting priorities, baseball’s “Hammerin’” Hank Greenberg certainly knew how to hit a home run.

Described by Wikipedia as being “the first Jewish superstar in American team sports,” Greenberg garnered national attention in 1934 by refusing “to play on Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, even though the Tigers were in the middle of a pennant race” at the time.

As Aviva Kempner points out in an article for The Washington Post, today’s baseball leaders could use a strong dose of such sensitivity.  The 2014 Nationals’ playoff game occurred right on Yom Kippur.

Kempner reports that today’s Tigers - along with their rivals, the Orioles – “were saved by a friendlier scheduling of games and have the day [Yom Kippur] off.” The Tigers currently have two Jewish players on board:  “baseman Ian Kinsler and manager Brad Ausmus.”  The “Nationals’ roster” currently has “no Jewish players.”

The scheduling of Nationals' playoff games during such a sacred day as Yom Kippur indicates, at best, a profound lack of sensitivity to this minority religion.  Imagine the outcry if these games were to be scheduled on Good Friday, Easter or Christmas Day…  

Resources

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/decision-time-on-yom-kippur-the-synagogue-or-nationals-park/2014/10/03/bd03a230-4afa-11e4-891d-713f052086a0_story.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Greenberg

Copyright October 5, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved