List of Jewish Major League Baseball players

Jewish players have played in Major League Baseball since the league came into existence, with Lip Pike being the first. With the surge of Jewish immigrants from Europe to the United States at the turn of the 20th century, baseball, then the most popular sport in the country and referred to as the "National Pastime", became a way for children of Jewish immigrants to assimilate into American life.^[2] Sportswriter Jon Wertheim described baseball as being "interwoven with the American Jewish experience".^[3] Baseball historian John Thorn described it as an "agent of integration".^[4]

For many years, Jewish players who made it to the Major Leagues often changed their names and hid their identities in order to avoid antisemitism, at the time rampant in the country and the league. Industrialist Henry Ford, during the Black Sox Scandal and the alleged involvement of Jewish crime boss Arnold Rothstein in the fixing of the 1919 World Series, famously wrote about the gambling scene that was widespread in the sport at the time: "If fans wish to know the trouble with American baseball they have it in three words—too much Jew."^[4]

It was not until Hank Greenberg, the son of Orthodox Romanian-Jewish immigrants, broke into the Majors in 1930 with the Detroit Tigers that Jewish players stopped hiding their identities.^[2] Greenberg played in Detroit, which was home to Father Coughlin, a Catholic priest who used his radio program to broadcast antisemitic commentary, and Henry Ford who spread antisemitism through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent. He faced verbal abuse from opposing benches and fans. However, Greenberg never hid his Jewish identity, famously sitting out a game during a tight pennant race in 1934 due to it falling on Yom Kippur. He became the first Jewish player elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.^[5]

After Greenberg, many Jewish players went on to become stars in the Jewish American communities. The most famous of those was Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers, widely considered to be one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, who later became the second Jewish player elected to the Hall of Fame. Like Greenberg, Koufax sat out a game during the High Holy Days, famously refusing to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur.^[6][7] Rabbi Rebecca Alpert stated that Koufax, who faced antisemitism as well, helped break stereotypes of Jewish men who were seen as being weak and bookish. His decision to sit out a World Series game became one of the most iconic moments for American Jews, making him "an important role model, and a real hero."^[2]

Since Greenberg and Koufax, Thorn noted that Jewish baseball fans have become known for paying close attention to Jewish baseball players, both upcoming stars and prospects, and that there are sets of Major League Baseball cards dedicated to every Jewish player who has played in the Major Leagues, indicating the continuing importance of the game in the Jewish community.^[8]

In 2010, a documentary film called Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story was released which discussed the relationship between baseball and American Jews in detail. While Greenberg and Koufax were the main subjects of the film, the movie also discussed how baseball was used to fight against stereotypes of Jews as non-athletic and bookish. It also talked about Jewish immigration and assimilation into American society as well as Jewish stars and notable players besides the two Hall of Famers, such as Al Rosen, Moe Berg, Kevin Youkilis, and Ryan Braun.^[9]

• List of Jews in sports
• List of Jewish American sportspeople