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The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball's Chosen Players

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In The Baseball Talmud, Howard Megdal uses sabermetrics and humor to answer once and for all the question of who was the greatest Jewish player of all time--Hank Greenberg or Sandy Koufax? (According to Megdal, it's Greenberg by a hair.) Megdal has a good sense of humor and a nice writing style. How can you not like a guy who writes things like: "Right field is the Jewish people's deepest position. If a baseball diamond were America, right field would be New York City. If a baseball team's roles were professional organizations, right field would be the American Bar Association?" It's not giving anything away to say that his top 10 are (in order): Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax, Lou Boudreau, Shawn Green, Buddy Myer, Sid Gordon, Ken Holtzman, Harry Danning, and Mike Lieberthal. After that, Megdal goes position-by-position to assemble the all-time Jewish All-Star team and estimate how they would fare against some of the greatest teams in baseball history, from the 1906 Chicago Cubs to the 1998 New York Yankees. He doesn't give the team a name, but he ought to call them the Kosher Krushers. As someone who is more interested in baseball stories than statistics, I was pleased to see that Megdal does a good job of explaining some of the more complex stats. All in all, a fun read for baseball fans of any denomination (including non-believers).

Howard Megdal, author of The Baseball Talmud, was kind enough to send me a copy of his book recently. The book chronicles and ranks Jewish baseball players position-by-position since the game's inception and is an excellent reference for anyone interested in the subject. All of the players hitherto mentioned on Jews in Baseball are analyzed and humanized by Megdal. There are also many, many more players that I haven't even scratched the surface with. Players like Andy Cohen, Moe Berg, and Jose Bautista.

And for anyone who belongs to the Bill James' school of thought, Megdal is a huge proponent of sabermetrics. Of course, he provides you with the traditional statistics, but he goes into greater depth with nifty stats like VORP, WARP, and Pythagorean won-loss record. Megdal also digs up remarkable numbers that often go overlooked (like Lou Boudreau's walk/strikeout ratio in 1948: 98/9). Megdal even enlists the help of a baseball statistician to figure out how effective the All-Jewish team would be in a neutral environment. I won't give away anything. Let's just say they wouldn't be pushovers...

At first, I thought I would skim through The Baseball Talmud and only check out my favorite players, but I really couldn't put it down; it's extremely immersive. From cover to cover, you'll learn something new about players you thought you already knew everything about. You'll see names long forgotten by most fans that conjure up images of different eras, egos, and ballparks. You'll be reminded of how good some of these players were. You'll be encouraged to see how good some of the current players are - and still can be. Most of all, you'll be filled with an indescribable sense of pride. When you see the formidable All-Time Jewish Team Megdal puts together, you may even let your imagination run wild and envision "the eventual cosmic baseball tournament between religions."

When I heard about this book I was excited beyond words and couldn't wait for it to be released (I ordered it so many months ahead of its release... that there wasn't even a picture of the cover yet.) and unfortunately I was disappointed when I received it. This is not to say it is not a worthwhile purchase based on an individual's desires. I was expecting a book that not only reported Jewish ballplayers accomplishments in the big leagues... but I thought there would be tales of their youthful experiences with anti-Semitism... and how they overcame it... where their families came from and the hardships they faced being Jew's in the United States... and if applicable... in the countries they left. (fled). Perhaps the area that I most greatly anticipated... was the "behind-the-scenes" blatant anti-Semitism they faced in the Major Leagues... not only from opposing teams... but from their own teammates and fans. I was really expecting "it-can-now-be-told" exposes about the prejudice against Jews... e.g.... the prejudice against Jackie Robinson that was truly revealed years later. Other than a very brief discussion of the deplorable situation Hank Greenberg faced in Detroit led by Hitler's favorite American Henry Ford... there is nary a mention of the despicable anti-Semitism that has existed.

Being a lifelong "old-school" baseball fanatic and trivia statistic "buff"... I knew I was in trouble... when instead of seeing lifetime statistics and year by year historical data... you know... like on the back of baseball cards and in the encyclopedia of baseball and the baseball almanac... I was instead told on page two that the author would determine which players were better by using "BASEBALL PROSPECTUS'S WARP3, WHICH DETERMINES SEASON VALUE IN TERMS OF WINS OVER A REPLACEMENT-LEVEL PLAYER, ADJUSTED FOR PARK AND ERA, IS AN IMPORTANT TOOL." In layman's terms that means the author's rankings would not be discussed in the type of language/statistics that the "boys" down on the corner used in the formative years of my romance with baseball. One other thing that perplexed me was the page that many times divided the end of each positional (1B... 2B... LF... CF... etc.) section of the book. With literally a billion baseball pictures and drawings available in the world... why did the author use the SAME painting/picture of an umpire looking over a catcher's shoulder and a batter in quilted pants... so many times?

Now... how about some compliments for this hard working Jewish author. My Lord... the amount of research that went into this book is staggering and the author must be praised for his single-minded purpose in completing this Herculean task. In addition... his ability to incorporate some excellent "Yidisha" humor that integrates seamlessly with baseball is one of the highlights of this production... as an example: "SANDY KOUFAX ONE OF THE GREAT PITCHERS, KOSHER OR TREIF."... and after telling about one Jewish ballplayer (Harry Eisenstat) who at the end of his career "FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II, RISING TO THE LEVEL OF SECOND LIEUTENANT TO HELP DEFEAT THE NAZIS"... and then writing about Jewish pitcher Scott Radinsky "WHO WENT ON TO SING LEAD FOR PULLEY, A PUNK BAND"... the author summarizes his feelings by saying: "NOW, THIS MAY BE MY ANTI-PUNK-MUSIC BIAS SHOWING, BUT I AM HARD-PRESSED TO THINK OF A SINGLE PUNK ALBUM THAT RISES TO THE LEVEL OF DEFEATING THE NAZIS."

This book helped me learn about ballplayers that I didn't know were Jewish... and it also educated me on the fact that when I was in attendance at Sandy Koufax's first no-hitter (he would eventually pitch four no-hitter's) on June 30, 1962... not only was it Sandy's first no-hitter (The class act that Sandy was... and is... he signed my ticket stub from that game and I still have it in a frame on the wall of my family room.)... but it was the first no-hitter ever... for a Jewish pitcher. It also helped bring back memories of my Dad... since Sid Gordon who was listed as the greatest Jewish left fielder used to play cards with my Dad... and Brian Horwitz a left fielder for the San Francisco Giants in 2008... is my cousin... even though he doesn't know it... because I haven't seen his Mother in thirty-years... and in this mountain of statistical data there is one mistake that I must point out since it involves my childhood hero Sandy Koufax. On page 186 the author writes: "IT WAS SANDY'S FINAL REGULAR-SEASON LOSS IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES-HE WON HIS FINAL TWO DECISIONS, THEN WENT 1-1 IN THE 1966 WORLD SERIES." This is incorrect. In the 1966 World Series the Baltimore Orioles swept the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to zero. So even the great Koufax couldn't have been 1-1... he was 0-1... but he was let down by three errors in one inning by centerfielder Willie Davis a gentile... perhaps if Sammy Davis Jr. was playing center that day it wouldn't have happened.
This one miniscule error by the author is more than made up for with such gems as the information he provides on Mose Solomon a left fielder for the 1923 New York Giants... who was known as "THE-RABBI OF SWAT".

I enjoyed reading this book. It presented a lot of information of which I was unaware.
However this is a book to pass onto friends and not one that would remain in my library.

i was looking for this book for some time and found it here and i ordered it through amazon and it came within days of placing the purchase. i am quite happy with the book its a great fun read...

This book tells you everything you wanted to know about Jewish Ball players. Found out things I didn't know. Great. Bought these as gifts for friends.

This is a good book. By my count it lists 159 players by position. Some,of course, are quite famous. Others really obscure. Perhaps only playing a few innings or games. But, hey they made it to the big leagues. Which is certainly an accomplishment. The author uses both traditional and modern statistics to justify his choices. His criteria of Jewishness is liberal. Taking those who converted as well as those with one Jewish parent. It must have taken a lot of research to compile this list. Perhaps he's a modern day physiognomist. It would have been nice to have included photographs of those included as well as their career statistics both major and minor league. For those who may be interested in the topic there were several other books previously published. The Jewish Baseball Hall Of Fame by Erwin Lynn (1987). Ellis Island To Ebbets Field by Peter Levine(1992) Big Book Of Jewish Baseball by Joachim & Peter Horvitz (2001). So this update is timely allowing for the addition of newer players.

Chapter 14 of the book discusses how the chosen team might fare against some very good regular teams of the past. The author concludes that the Jewish team would do extremely well. He concludes the chapter saying "let the discussion commence." I have no problems with his player rankings. But I do find it troublesome that he's playing an all-star Jewish Team against regular teams. Really not apples to apples.

I have a Diamond Mind computer baseball simulation game that is quite accurate. It provides all the teams from 1927-present. You can play past seasons or different era teams against each other or make up your own teams by drafting players. This league was played by picking the players best, or arguably best, season not by career totals so you could, for instance, choose 1927 Babe Ruth.

In any event, I thought it would be interesting to see how some ethnically chosen all-star teams would come out playing a 160 game season. Six teams were chosen. I originally wanted to include an Asian team but had difficulty completing a roster. So to complete the league I picked a group of players I considered to be kind of oddfellows. Who had had various issues thru their careers involving personality disorders,crime,drugs,goofy behavior. I played this league in 2005 before Steroids became a full blown issue. So that wasn't a criteria. The Sluggers were comprised of famous players not ethnically identified. So they were basically your White team.

W L PCT RUNS RUNS AG ERA TEAM BA
Regular All-Star Sluggers 101 59 .631 1093 894 5.00 .296
Darktown Panthers 96 64 .600 1045 822 4.45 .279
Latin Kings 88 72 .550 923 893 4.94 .272
Italia Whoppers 83 77 .519 899 811 4.51 .274
Oddfellows 65 95 .406 775 947 5.41 .274
Maccabees 47 113 .294 810 1178 6.65.261

Here are a few statistical highlights:

Al Rosen came in 9th in league batting average at .309 behind the leader George Brett at .356 Hank Greenberg batted .300. Brett led the league with 234 hits. Rosen had 204 and Greenberg 191.

Hank Greenberg was 7th with an on base percentage of .379. Al Rosen was 10th with .374. The leader was Barry Bonds at .420.

Hank Greenberg was second in slugging percentage with .655. Al Rosen was 8th with .584 both behind Barry Bonds at .719.

Home Runs were Bonds (73) Greenberg #2 with 66 and Rosen tied for #4 with 49.

RBI's Bonds 180, Greenberg #2 with 151 and Rosen #8 with 124.

Stolen Base leaders were Jackie Robinson (31) and Joe Morgan (24). Walks were led by Barry Bonds (135). Hank Greenberg had (82). Leading strikeouts by batters was Richie Allen (188). Greenberg had (165) Shawn Green (113) & Al Rosen (112).

Sandy Koufax was third in pitcher strikeouts (178) behind Vida Blue 216 and Pedro Martinez 213.

Twenty game winners were Fergie Jenkins 21-6 ERA 3.71 & Bob Gibson 20-8
ERA 4.50. There were a total of 18 shutouts thrown. Four by Sal Maglie and three by Dwight Gooden. 3 other pitchers threw 2@ and 5 pitchers threw 1@.

Sandy Koufax ended up the season with a 7-16 record and an ERA of 5.67. Scott Schoenweiss was 2-16 7.48, Steve Stone finished up at 2-17 8.78.Jason Marquis was 6-17 5.78 & Ken Holtzman went 6-16 6.11. Best league ERA was Pedro Martinez 2.79 followed by Sal Maglie 3.35 and Carl Hubbell 3.37.

Of course, this was a tough league to pitch in.

I found, after talking to the author, that many hours of study and investigation was done to write this book. I was also, most pleased, to find all the Jewish baseball players listed. But most of all I greatly appreciated the author contacting me directly. Maybe someday he will do the same writing about basketball players,