http://www.jewornotjew.com/profile.jsp?ID=1089
Believe it or not, this profile was suggested by Zev again, who clearly was doing... well, something weird because Zev hates baseball. Regardless it's all to the good because Green was well overdue to get a profile.
Green was also suggested by Paul from Massachusetts, Jori from Atlanta, Marc from LA, and Fred from Louisville, CO.
This is fair enough from the baseball side of thngs: Green was an underrated player until he was suddenly overrated and overpaid. He was pretty good at his best, but he's not an all-timer.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's important to remember that he did refuse to play on Yom Kippur. He may have followed in the footsteps of Greenberg and Koufax, but he did it. And, as the first Jewish star player in close to a generation -- maybe since Al Rosen -- he set a standard for the unprecendented crop of current all-stars (Ryan Braun, Kevin Youkilkis, Ian Kinsler, Jason Marquis, and Scott Feldman) to live up to or fall short of.
Agreed on all counts.
ReplyDeleteAs you point out, much of what made him unique was that for my (and I think your) generation he was first, not best.
That said, if we were hosting a modern Jewish baseball players fantasy draft, I'd take Braun, Youk AND Kinsler before I drafted Green, at least in terms of baseball ability.
Don't forget when you mentioned the Dodgers home run record that he also hit 4 home runs in a game, which ties the major league record. Certainly, it doesn't mean he belongs in the Hall of Fame or anything, but still worth mentioning.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Braun, excellent article on him in the Times:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/sports/baseball/brewers-braun-embraces-the-team-and-the-town.html
Doesn't mention the Jew thing -- which actually is a huge deal when you think about it, because it means he's a superstar, not just a Jewish star (er, no pun intended). It does say he worked out with Gabe Kapler in the offseason, though; I guess they like company.