I must admit, I have never been one for such publications, siding with the veteran baseball writer Murray Chass, who has famously feuded with “sabermetricians,” and has been labeled a “dinosaur” for his stance. But I have become a convert, you should pardon the expression, because of the insightful commentary and well-written articles that accompany the dizzying array of figures.

BP is the “progeny” of the Bill James Abstracts of the mid1980s. Who knew at the time the influence James would have in the decades to come?

Goldman, author of the 2005 biography Forging Genius: The Making of Casey Stengel (Potomac), also hosts the “Pinstriped Bible” Yankees blog on the Yes Network’s site.

He spent a few minutes discussing the significance his organization has had on how fans — and baseball executives — have come to use BP as an important tool (as well as a little back story about the BP-Chass set-to.)

You can hear it here:

Goldman

Goldman will appear with fellow BP colleagues Kevin Goldstein, Jay Jaffe, and Christina Kahrl at the Yogi Berra Museum in Little Falls (on the campus of Montclair State University) on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. For more information, visit the museum’s site or call 973-655-2378.

The question was “why the ever-litigious Salinger didn’t sue Bill Kinsella over being included in ‘Shoeless Joe.’  And if he was okay with it why did they change it for the movie?”

From today’s Des Moines Register:

The reclusive Salinger, who died Wednesday, was a character in author W.P. Kinsella’s novel “Shoeless Joe,” the 1982 book that became the movie “Field of Dreams,” both set in Iowa.

“When I was writing the novel I was a fan of Salinger,” said Kinsella, who lives in Canada but earned a master’s degree at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop in 1978. ” ‘Catcher in the Rye’ was the quintessential book of growing up male in North America.”

In Kinsella’s book, the main character – Ray Kinsella – takes Salinger to a baseball game to discover why he was called to build the field of his dreams.

…

Kinsella said the working title of the book was “The Kidnapping of J.D. Salinger.”

After a name change and publication of “Shoeless Joe,” Salinger’s lawyers wrote Kinsella, outraged about the portrayal of the world-wary author.

“Salinger made a career out of being publicized for not seeking publicity,” Kinsella said. “It was controlled and planned, and it kept his name in the media for 50 years.”

But the lawyers had a warning: “In a legalese way, they basically said we don’t have enough money to sue you but we will (expletive) on your wish to use it in a movie,” Kinsella said.That’s why, in the “Field of Dreams” movie, Ray Kinsella seeks out fictional author Terence Mann.

By the way, not only was the name of the author changed for the movie, but so was his race. James Earl Jones played the role of the reclusive writer to near perfection.

He also delivered one of the best baseball movie speeches since Garry Cooper in The Pride of the Yankees.

Salinger died Wednesday at the age of 91. It might come as a surprise to some that Salinger is of Jewish ancestry: his grandfather was a rabbi.

There actually is some baseball reference in Salinger’s book. Come on, all you English majors out there — can you remember it?

The first volume, subtitled Entering the American Mainstream, 1871-1948, was published by McFarland in 2007.

Like its predecessor, this new “must-have” serves as a thorough resource for the Jews who not only played the game, but contributed in other ways, such as Marvin Miller, whose work as a union organizer brought the players out of the stone age and into the big bucks; Bud Selig, the first Jewish Commissioner; and Allan Roth, whose work with statistics changed how everyone — front office, managers, broadcasters, and fans — perceives baseball, for better or worse.

The text of the foreword appears below and serves as a testament to the devotion of the St.  Louis-based husband-and-wife writing team.

For more information, visit the McFarland website.

* * *

The Jewish major leaguers included in the first volume of Burton and Benita Boxerman’swatershed Jews and Baseball faced problems that were basically the tenor of times in the late 19^th – early 20^th century: stereotypes at best (“Jews make poor athletes”) and outright anti-Semitism at worst (when a Jewish batter came to the plate, an unruly fan would urge the pitcher, “Throw him a ham sandwich. He won’t bite.”). Those players who stuck it out might have changed their names to hide their identity not only from those who would beleaguer them with taunts, but also to hide their profession from their families. Nice Jewish boys were expected to get an education and improve upon their situations, working towards a better life than their shopkeeper or laborer parents, not fool around with a roughhouse sport.

But an article in the Jewish Daily Forward, a Yiddish-language newspaper, urged parents to learn this strange game, to embrace it, and understand it, and so truly become American.

Many of the ballplayers from this period were raised in Jewishly-observant households, with parents who came over from “the old country” where religious observances were considered of the utmost importance. But after Detroit Tiger superstar Hank Greenberg – the original “Hebrew Hammer” – showed a Jewish ballplayer could be both an outstanding player and “true to his religion” (in the words of poet Edgar Guest), those who followed had a somewhat easier time of it. Sure, you still had a Ron Blomberg, who grew up in the Deep South and had Klansmen as teammates, but as the generations became further removed from their predecessors, hiding one’s religion became less of an issue.

Some players – most notably Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax and Shawn Green – still felt obligated to refrain from playing games on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, regardless of how crucial those contests were. Koufax passed on the opening game assignment for the 1965 World Series, causing Don Drysdale to fill in. When manager Walt Alston came out to relieve Drysdale following rough treatment by the heavy-hitting Minnesota Twins, the tall righty said to his skipper, “I bet you wish I was Jewish too right about now.”

The post-World War II years have had their share of high-profile players, including Al Rosen, Mike Epstein, Art Shamsky, Ken Holtzman (who won even more games than Koufax), Cy Young-winner Steve Stone, and the afore-mentioned Blomberg (who used his fame as the DH for another meaning in his autobiography: Designated Hebrew).

Since the beginning of the new century, baseball has seen an unprecedented influx of Jewish players. More than a minyan (the Jewish quorum of 10 necessary to conduct services) appeared in 2009, including a few bordering on stardom such as Kevin Youkilis, Ryan Braun, and Ian Kinsler; and several touted rookies waiting for their chance.

The Boxermans have expanded their labor of love to include new generations of Jewish Major Leaguers. The profiles in this second volume reflect that story of progress and success (not always the same thing).

Like many of their coreligionists, these young men have become more assimilated with time and a debate has grown over who should be considered Jewish. Tradition holds that the mother’s religion dictates that of the child; others, including the bi-monthly Jewish Sports Review, employ a more liberal criteria. JSR’s philosophy: “an athlete is Jewish if they have at least one Jewish parent, do not practice another faith and identify ethnically as a Jew.” So by their definition, Ryan Braun, the son of an Israeli father and Christian woman, is a Jew.

Several athletes are the products of “mixed marriages”; some celebrate parts of their Jewish heritage, some none at all. It makes no difference; Jewish fans embrace all these players regardless of levels of observance. Nevertheless, they kvell all the more when a Jason Marquis recounts his bar mitzva for a story in an Israeli newspaper, or a Kevin Youkilis appears in a documentary about the Israel Baseball League.

And it’s not just players. Where would the game be without the contributions of Allan Roth? For better or worse, he’s the one responsible for the plethora of statistical analysis that have given broadcasters the material to fill those interminable rain delays and pitching changes, not to mention opening the door for a new industry: fantasy baseball. And where would the players be if not for the yeoman’s work of Marvin Miller, whose exclusion from the Baseball Hall of Fame is a shanda (shame)? Certainly a lot lighter in the wallet.

It doesn’t matter if these players were just up for a cup of coffee or they enjoyed long and fruitful careers. Like any proud parents, we love all our children.

In addition to his work for the New York Post and Sports Illustrated, Allen has written more than 35 sports books. His upcoming project, Dixie Walker of the Dodgers, is due out in the spring.

Admission is free. For information, call 973-992-3600.

As an author, his recent biography, Munson: The Life and Death of a Yankee Captain, has done well since its release this summer and his memoirs, Now Pitching for the Yankees: Spinning the News for Mickey, Reggie and George, is an illuminating look at a job that can be thankless most of the times (although I imagine working for the number one franchise in the number one market can have its perks as well). In addition, Appel has worked on books by such baseball personalities as Tom Seaver, Bowie Kuhn, Lee MacPhail, umpire Eric Gregg, and the aforementioned Munson, as well as countless forewords, articles, and essays.

A popular guest speaker, Appel attended the Yankees Fantasy Camp in November where he spoke about his experiences at Sabbath services for the first Kosher component. He even had time to put on the pinstripes himself, collecting a hit on the first (and only) pitch he saw, then quickly announcing his “retirement.” With all his accomplishments, he considers this one of his favorite moments.

Appel spent some time with the Bookshelf discussing the work that went into Munson, as well as the behind-the-scenes process of putting together various publications for the Yankees, one of his responsibilities while with the team.

Hear it here (scroll down to the bottom):

With so much going on in the world, so many more important issues to think about about, why waste time worrying about people trying to throw a ball through a hoop or hit a disk with a stick?

I heard about this piece by Slate’s John Swansburg on the “Hang Up and Listen” podcast (also a Slate product). I actually had to listen to it twice to make sure I got it.

“At the most basic level, I stopped following sports because being a sports fan took too much time,” writes Swanburg, Slate’s culture editor. I don’t know his age or family situation; many of my contemporaries put aside their own sporting lives to take their kids to their own activities. I have just one child, so it was not much of an issue in our house. But too often, especially in recent years, have been the occasions when I’ve found myself on the softball field on a hot summer evening asking, “What the heck am I doing out here?”(this mostly comes when my team is losing by a lot). And I suppose a differentiation has to be made between participation for the sake of exercise and camaraderie and merely being a passive observer (but let’s be honest, softball is not really exercise).

That was then:

Not all that long ago, the media diet of even the most dedicated fan was far less rich. Before cable, satellite, and the Web, you could follow the home team on local TV and radio; if you missed the game, you could read about it in the paper the next morning. To keep up with the rest of the sports world, you subscribed to Sports Illustrated or the Sporting News and watched whatever games made the network broadcasts.

This is now:

[T]hese new ways of following sports have made it easier for a casual fan to slip into Big Fan territory. There was a time when I’d catch a game here and there, watch SportsCenter a few nights a week, and really start paying attention come playoff time. I woke up one day not long ago (to a clock radio blaring WFAN) and found that I had a Google alert for “Kevin Garnett knee,” a subscription to Baseball Prospectus, and a genuine interest in the Twitter updates of Juan Pablo Montoya.

(A NASCAR racer; I had to look it up.}

Obviously the media is to blame, especially the Internet, which feeds the lust for news, gossip, and statistics every minute of every day.

The problem — if you even want to call it that — is that  Swansburg wants to replace the time he devotes to sports to other leisure activities, such as reading or watching TV/movies. Sports, he notes, “demands” your attention. “You pretty much have to watch them live,” to get the full benefit he writes in the article, whereas you can record TV programs or catch up on films you missed via Netflix. So he’s just substituting killing time with one “unproductive” endeavor with another.

At this point, Swansburg has not been away from the games long enough to forget everything. On the Procast, he described a recent visit to his family’s home in Boston for a Hanukka party where he talked about the Red Sox with his 97-year-old grandfather. Sweet. So sports does serve at least one purpose: bringing family and friends together.

He writes, “I may return to the fold. Maybe I just need a break.”

“Hang Up” panelists Josh Levin, Mike Pesca, and Stefan Fatsis tried to talk Swansburg off the ledge. Of course they do, it’s their job to talk about sports, and if fans start leaving the fold, if they begin to realize there might be more important things to do out there, then where does that leave them? Or me, come to think of it?

Please disregard this entry.

* * *

All I want for Hanukka is the public option.

John Thorn, baseball author and historian

A Red Ryder BB gun.

Jeff Pearlman, author of

For my Mom’s health

Jeffrey Rosen, owner, Maccabi Haifa Heat

A Nets win! (submitted 11/25)

Joshua Prager, author of The Echoing Green

A win for the Nets!

Ian Eagle, Nets’ play-by-play broadcaster

All I want is a baby girl in 2010 who is healthy and happy, and exactly the same for the New York Mets. If both of them can hit for power and catch the ball, so much the better.

Howard Megdal, author of The Baseball Talmud

To keep the swine flu out of my house.

Jonathan Eig, author of Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of Lou Gehrig and Opening Day: The Story of Jackie Robinson’s First Season.

Better treatment for retired players who built the biggest entertainment conglomerate in the world: the NFL.

Bobby Stein, former NFL player and Super Bowl winner

For the Saints to win the Super Bowl.

Josh Levin, host of Slate.com’s “Hang Up and Listen” podcast and a New Orleans native.

Marvin Miller inducted into the Hall of Fame

Zev Chafets, author of Cooperstown Confidential: Heroes, Rogues and the Inside Story of the Baseball Hall of Fame

A 2010 World Series trophy for Gabe Kapler (for both selfish and unselfish reasons).

Jonah Keri, writer for The Wall Street Journal and other publications and author of a forthcoming book about the 2008 Tampa Bay Rays.

Aside from world peace, end of hunger, a cure for cancer, and health care for all Americans, Thestadiumgallery.com offers a panorama of the last pitch at “old” Yankee Stadium, with my son and I visible in the largest size photo available.

Marty Appel, former Yankee PR director and author of more than 40 sports books

Good health, good music, good sports, good friends and that people remember that kindliness, tolerance and humor are worth all the names in all the books.

Lee Lowenfish, author of The Ferocious Gentleman

For every kid to want for Hanukka my new kids’ book,The Greatest Moments in Sports. I’ll even be happy if just some of them want it!

Len Berman, TV sportscaster

A world of civility.

Marvin Goldklang, owner of several minor and independent league franchises

Remember, I’m a full blown conservative, so among them are:
1) for the entire four year presidency of Obama to be akin to Bobby Ewing’s year-long dream, which negated an entire season of Dallas
2) for the ability to maintain private health insurance
3) for an President who doesn’t put down his own country when traveling overseas
4) for the world to respect the United States, not necessarily like it

Olympic fencing medal winner Jeffrey Bukantz

Good health for those who need it

Andy Strassberg, co-author of Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’

An Academy Award for my new short film.

Neil Leifer, veteran sports photographer

Besides the usual good health to all and peace in the world: Brisk sales on Jews and Baseball, Volume 2 and a World Series victory for my beloved Chicago Cubs.

Burton Boxerman, co-author with his wife, Bonita, of Jews and Baseball, Vols. 1 & 2

To learn how to spell the name of the holiday correctly, end all wars instead of making them bigger, keep global warming and greening under control, see our NY/NJ teams win a few titles if they are not the Yankees, and spread good cheer everywhere you go.

Maury Allen, veteran sportswriter and author

The Dodgers to return to Brooklyn. Being that this positively will not happen, I’ll switch to peace and sanity in the world. One has to be optimistic.

Rob Edelman, baseball film expert

The promise of a healthy, happy and stress-free wedding on Sat. March 6, 2010.

Marc Edelman, Rutgers professor and founder Sportsjudge.com

Derek Jeter for my next husband (Jews for Jeter!).

Elinor Nauer, editor, Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend: Women Writers on Baseball

Some serious punching power for Yuri Foreman, who has the rest of the necessary package.

Jerry Izenberg, veteran Star-Ledger sports columnist

A Knick team I can watch without cringing.

Bruce Weber, author As They See ‘Em: A Fan’s Travels in the Land of Umpires

The essay by Rabbi Benjamin Blech appeared on Aish.com:

The Tiger Woods episode presents a fascinating question that is connected to the heart of Chanukah: Does personal dereliction of character in any way diminish Tiger Wood’s standing as a sports hero? Should morality play any role in the way in which we judge people whose claim to fame is based on their expertise on the playing field? Is marital infidelity a sin serious enough to warrant Nike canceling his endorsement contract because Tiger no longer deserves the status of a hero — a man worthy of being looked up to as a role model?

The debate has passionate spokesmen on both sides of the issue. But for Jews sensitive to the spiritual messages of the holidays we should certainly include in our deliberations a truth central to the holiday of Chanukah that will shortly be with us.

You can read the entire essay here.

But when it comes to pieces like this one, about the Hall of Fame’s failure — once again — to recognize Miller’s contributions to the game, it reminds us what a great writer Chass is.

But given a little more time, expect to see full-length books on the subject. The first to come across my desk is Summers in the Bronx: Attila the Hun and Other Yankee Stories, by Ira Berkow (Triumph)

Summers — mostly individual profiles of players and other Yankees personnel — is a collection of columns from Berkow’s days as a sportswriter for The New York Times and other publications. One that naturally caught my attention is an item on Ron Blomberg early in his career. Having just spent some time with “the Designated Hebrew” at Fantasy Camp, it was amazing to see that he hasn’t changed at all in almost 40 years: he’s just as open and enthusiastic now as he was at his first spring training.

Pretty much any Yankee who ever made an impact during Berkow’s tenure is here, divided by relative position: batters, pitchers, managers, and a handful of opponents (including Sandy Koufax), as well as an homage to The Boss, aka Steinbrenner (including a piece on his portrayal as George Costanza’s boss on Seinfeld). It’s a breezy, nostalgic experience that will no doubt lead to other memories the reader might have of his favorite Yankee moments.

Berkow, who won a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2001, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame earlier this year.

(By the way, the Attila the Hun bit refers to Steinbrenner’s style of management.)

For one thing, he’s been working on his own website. There you’ll find sports news delivered in the folksy and humorous style that made him a fan favorite for many years.

You can also sign up to have his Top Five sports stories of the day delivered via e-mail. You’ll also find out where Berman, author of several sports books based on his “wild and wacky” credo, will be appearing. Upcoming book-signings have him in Port Washington, NY on Dec. 5; Princeton, NJ, on Dec.9; and Northvale, NJ, on Dec. 12.

In an e-mail, he wrote:

I really don’t want to dignify Schiller’s inane piece of garbage with a comment, but if you’re writing something, you might want to point out that he is commenting on columns that were written nearly two years ago (February and March 2008), which doesn’t exactly make his views timely.You might also point out that the baseball chapel I wrote about was for minor league umpires, not major league players, and I wrote it because Jewish minor league umpires had complained abut the Sunday chapel services because they were held in the umpires’ locker room and they had nowhere to go to get away from them.

Schiller, course, undoubtedly sees nothing wrong with forcing Jews to participate in Christ-loaded services.

Two other points: The chapel column resulted from a letter I received from a rabbi to whom one of the Jewish umpires complained. And once the column appeared in the Times, minor league officials instituted changes in the conduct of the chapel services. Minor league umpires still hold those chapel services but not in the umpires’ locker rooms. I am proud of having been able to help the Jewish umpires, who had no other recourse to escape the unwanted intrusion in their religious lives.

Chass retired from the Times‘ but continues to provide his commentaries at MurrayChass.com.

Schiller refers to this chastising article published in April, 2008 on WorldMag.com (which describes itself as “World News/Christian Views”) about this article written by Murray Chass, then a columnist for The New York Times about Josh Miller, a Jewish minor league umpire, and his discomfort with Baseball Chapel, an Evangelical Christian organization that provides services every Sunday in the  clubhouses of pro teams. (Since Miller was a native of New Jersey, I wrote about him as well.)

The WorldMag piece by Marvin Olasky states:

Times sportswriter Murray Chass is crusading against voluntary Baseball Chapel services in major league locker rooms on Sunday mornings. He’s equally upset with “faith nights” that typically feature a Christian music concert following a game, with players testifying to their belief in Jesus.

At least eight major league teams and at least three dozen minor league ones have such nights annually. Chass snorts, “Just what baseball needs—peanuts, popcorn and proselytizing.” His solution: Since the U.S. Constitution “provides for separation of church and state,” baseball executives should institute “separation of church and baseball.”

To which Schiller comments:

What are my thoughts, you might ask? Well I’ll answer it by asking a question of my own. Who’s it hurting and why is Mr. Chass so bothered by it? Is he an atheist? Did he get burned by the church at some time in his life?

To which I respond: Peter, are your only choices being an atheist or being a lapsed Christian? Is it out of the realm of your list of possibilities that Chass is Jewish?

Schiller later writes, “Somehow, Mr. Chass has forgotten our national foundations of religious freedom.”

To which I respond: Those religious freedoms also apply to those of other relgions as well as those who choose to follow no religion at all.

I passed along the link to Chass, who is, in fact an Orthodox Jew, to see if he might like to respond to Schiller, but you can’t really argue with some people. That’s one of the reasons I never like talking about why I became a vegetarian late in life. I don’t want to feel I need to defend my choice or hear arguments why my philosophy is inconsistent or just doesn’t make sense.

In a telephone message, Ira Berkow, author of the 2009 release The Corporal Was a Pitcher: The Courage of Lou Brissie, was kind enough to answer a list of questions sent via email while traveling cross-country as part of the Jewish Book Network to give a talk about his latest project.

He said he got the idea from reading about Brissie in a column from the late Red Smith (who would later become Berkow’s mentor at The New York Times) while still a student at Miami University in 1960.

Brissie, a standout prospect who was planning on a career with the Philadelphia Athletics, was severely wounded in December 1944. For awhile it looked like he might lose his left foot, but he implored doctors to save it.

After 23 operations, Brissie was able to live his dream, signing with the As in 1946. He had a few good years, going 14-10 in 1948 and 16-11 the following year, when he also made the All-Star team. He was traded to the Indians in the middle of the ‘51 season and used mostly as a reliever, to his disappointment. Brissie wound up his career at the age of 29 with a record of 44-48 and a 4.07 ERA. He was also no slouch at the plate, finishing with a .227 batting average. And while opponents did try to take advantage of his condition by bunting their way on base, (See The Monty Stratton Story with Jimmy Stewart), Brissie was able to field his position well enough so the tactic stopped.

After Brissie retired, he became director of American Legion Baseball, and also served as a scout. These days, he makes regular visits to Veteran’s hospitals where he spends time with wounded veterans from the latest wars. The closing chapter is very touching with its intimate dialogue between Brissie and his new friends.

Like many veterans, Brissie was reluctant to talk about his war experiences, but Berkow, who received a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his article, “The Minority Quarterback,” in the Times, was obviously a good sounding board and was able to relay the story in his usual muted but effective style. Brissie comes across as representative of his generation: men and women who served their country when called and returned home to pick up their lives as best they could.

What surprised Berkow the most in the research and preparation of his newest book? “That all wars are alike,” he said. “And the post-traumatic syndrome that [Brissie] had — that wasn’t identified at that time, exists to a tremendous agree.

“The war never leaves anybody.”

Brissie’s story fairly cries out for a movie treatment.

“So far we’ve had mild interest,” Berkow said. “Nothing special. Not yet anyway,” Berkow said. “Sometimes things take awhile.”

Here’s an interview with Brissie:

* * *

In addition to Berkow’s book, several titles released since 2006 note the sacrifices made by baseball players, including:

When Baseball Went to War, edited by Todd Anton and Bill Nowlin (Triumph). Features a bonus DVD with player interviews.

Playing with the Enemy: A Baseball Prodigy, World War II, and the Long Journey Home, by Garry W. Moore (Savas Beatie)

An American Journey: My Life on the Field, in the Air, and on the Air, by Jerry Coleman and Richard Goldstein. Like Ted Williams, Coleman, an all-star second baseman with the New York Yankees, served in both Wold War II and Korea. After his playing career ended in 1957, he went on to a colorful career as a broadcaster, most notably for the San Diego Padres.

And a couple of good websites cover the baseball/war theme:

• Garry Bedingfield’s Baseball in Wartime
• The military publication Stars and Stripes hosts Baseball and the Military.

This reminds me of the time I received a call from FOX News regarding the brilliant marketing strategy of putting advertisements for the first Spiderman movie on the bases of major league games some years back. They were looking for someone to comment on the issue and wanted me, as a long time member of the Society for American Baseball Research, to suggest someone. After a lengthy conversation they asked me if I’d be that someone and I agreed. A few hours later a car arrived to whisk me to their mid-town studio.

To make a long story short, I was not as eloquent on-screen as I was on the phone. I didn’t exactly freeze (older person’s reference here), but I forgot to repeat some of the pithy comments I had mentioned earlier, to the frustration and disappointment of the show’s host, who tried to coach me in that direction.

Anyway, this new project might be a bit rough, but it’s a work in progress.

Ninety years after the fact, baseball scholars are still coming out with books and articles, vindicating some (especially Shoeless Joe Jackson) and demonizing others (Charles Comiskey, the penurious owner of the Chicago White Sox).

Long story short: The White Sox were the New York Yankees of their era, hard-fighting, dominating, and perennially in contention for the American league Pennant. Comiskey stiffed them on their bonus when they won in 1919, trying to pass of the celebratory champagne as their reward for a job well done. In retaliation, a group of malcontents led by first baseman Chick Gandil and shortstop Swede Risberg brokered meetings with gamblers and conspired to throw the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Sox did indeed lose the Series, raising a lot of suspicions along the way which ultimately led to indictments and a trial. Although the eight players were acquitted — key evidence mysteriously disappeared — Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis, who was hired as baseball’s first commissioner to clean up the game, banished them all from organized ball.

Hence the title of the classic book Eight Men Out by the late Eliot Asinof (later a credible feature film by John Sayles in 1988). Many volumes followed Asinof’s initial offering, including biographies on some of the key figures involved. (Asinof — who played minor league baseball for a few years –  also wrote the novel Man on Spikes, basing his protagonist on real-life Jewish Major Leaguer Mickey Rutner.)

I bring this up in part because I saw the name Abe Attell as an inductee to the San Francisco Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Attell, a champion featherweight boxer known as The Little Hebrew, was one of the gamblers involved in the scandal, an associate of the notorious Arnold Rothstein. (Seems like an odd honor for such a character, but Attell is also an inductee at the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in Israel.)

I bring this up to recommend Rothstein: The Life and Times and Murder of The Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series, by David Pietrusza (Carroll & Graf, 2003). This massive volume portrays “A.R.” as typical of his generation when it comes to Judaism. He grew up in an Orthodox household, and his brother kept the faith pretty well. But that stuff wasn’t for Rothstein; he wanted to slough off the old ways and become a “real” American. Although he did attend the local cheder, he could often be found hanging out with other rebellious boys, smoking cigarettes on the steps of the shul and generally causing tzouris for their folks. It’s no surprise that he met such a grisly end.

Snyder is roundly booed locally in D.C. was one of the worst owners in sports history, incapable of putting quality coaches on the field, refusing to delegate responsibilities to a general manager, and spending beaucoup bucks on faltering free agents.

Despite all the animosity, Dan Steinberg, who writes the D.C. Sports Bog (Not a typo) for the Washington Post, believes some fans have gone over the line with a t-shirt depicting the Jewish Snyder with horns and a tail (sorry, it’s a bit hard to tell, but this is the best photo I could find).

“Now, let’s get the obvious out of the way,” writes Steinberg in the Oct. 20 piece. “Does it fill me with warm and happy feelings to see the Jewish owner of the Redskins pictured with devil horns, a devil tail and big wads of cash spilling out of his hands? Um, no, not really. Unless I’m missing something, that’s sort of way, way, way, way out of bounds.”

In a way, though, I almost doubt the designer understands the historical anti-Semitic connotations. That might be giving them too much credit.

Ronan Tynan’s anti-Semitic remarks. Snyder “Jew-as-devil” t-shirt. These things come in threes. Waiting for the third shoe to drop.