SubscribeBefore you ask: no, he’s not
Yesterday, the Mets signed Mike Jacobs to a minor league contract.
Jacobs, a first baseman, began his career with the Mets in 2005 before being traded to the Florida Marlins at the end of that season. The 29-year-old spent last season with the Kansas City Royals, where he had 19 home runs (third best on the team) and 61 RBI in 128 games.
While in Florida, the Marlins made a bit of a boo-boo, as reported in the sports pages of the NJ Jewish News in June 2006, under the headline, “You figure in Florida they could tell who’s Jewish?”
The Florida Marlins made a faux pas when the prepared to distribute 5,000 Mike Jacobs T-shirts on Jewish Heritage Day (May 27).
Just one little problem. Despite the name, Jacobs isn’t Jewish. According to Adam Rubin in the New York Daily News: “When the ex-Met inquired about what seemed like an error, club officials insisted they were separate promotions. ‘They said it wasn’t done intentionally, but I don’t know about that,’ Jacobs said. ‘It’s a big joke around here.’”
I remember the Jacobs/Marlins error, which was quite funny. Well, hopefully Jacobs does end up having somewhat of a Jewish connection. He could become known as the guy who kept the first base seat a bit warm until Ike Davis showed up as an everyday ballplayer.