SubscribeAt least one teams tries to avoid a Yom Kippur dilemma
The C hicago White Sox have changed the starting time for their Sept. 25 game against the Cleveland Indians from 7:10 to 1L10 to avoid conflict with erev Yom Kippur.
Kevin Youkilis expressed his appreciation for the gesture.
From the Chicago Sun Times:
… Youkilis, who has missed games in the past to observe it, wasn’t the sole beneficiary, [Manager Robin] Ventura said.
“A lot of people wouldn’t be able to come to the game and probably one of them is our owner [Jerry Reinsdorf] so … That’s a big factor. That’s a good enough reason, the fans. That’s good enough for me.’’
As for other teams with Jewish players:
* The Tampa Bays Rays (Sam Fuld) are set to visit the Boston Red Sox (Ryan Lavarnway, Ryan Kalish, Craig Breslow) at 7:10 p.m. (all times are Eastern)
* The Milwaukee Brewers (Ryan Braun) play the Reds in Cincinnati at 7:10 p.m.
* The New York Mets (Ike Davis) host the Pittsburgh Pirates at 7:10 p.m.
* The Texas Rangers (Ian Kinsler, Scott Feldman) host the Oakland As at 8:05 p.m.
* The San Diego Padres (Jason Marquis, currently on the disabled list put perhaps available by then) host the Los Angeles Dodgers at 10:05 p.m.
To parse this out a bit:
* Boston and New York have major Jewish populations, so it might be a nice gesture to their fans to make a change. As far as the players are concerned, neither team is in playoff contention so it really doesn’t matter if they play. But the Rays are vying for a wild card spot, so Fuld’s participation might be more crucial.
* Texas (Arlington is probably not a hotbed of Jewish activity) and the A’s are one-two in the AL Central as of this writing, so that’s a pretty tight race. The Brewers are also on the precipice, so they might need Braun to play, as he did last year.
There are plenty (45k) of Jews in the Dallas metroplex which includes Arlington, though most probably live in the northern suburbs like Plano, which are a bit farther.