With a few exceptions, in general terms, Jews have never been an athletic people. So when someone from our team is celebrated for his/her athletic prowess, it's time to break out the Manischewitz and gloat as if being Jewish has anything to do with it.
Ryan Braun, the third baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers, nicknamed The Hebrew Hammer, has become baseball's first Jewish Rookie of the Year.
Braun led the National League slugging percentage with .634 in his rookie year. He hit 34 home runs since he was called up from the minors in May. Braun also won the Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year, the Baseball America Rookie of the Year, the Baseball Prospectus Internet Baseball NL Rookie of the Year, and the Players Choice NL Most Outstanding Rookie Awards.
In an interview with the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle, the 24-year-old son of an Israeli father and a Christian mother said:
“Being Jewish is something I take great pride in. There aren’t too many Jewish athletes that have achieved success at the highest level, so it’s something I am very proud of,” said Braun, who is considered by many to be the most highly touted Jewish prospect since Kevin Youkilis.
Apparently, Braun also has a younger brother who plays for the University of Maryland Terrapins.
Maybe he'll be the next Jewish athlete to provide us with a little naches.
7 comments:
It's just too bad he has to be on the Brewers. What's the Jewish population of Milwaukee anyway? 12?
(OK OK.. it's actually more like 30,000. That's pretty neat.)
Too bad he's not actually Jewish.
Maybe not according to Halacha, but he did say that he is proud of his Jewish heritage and that works for me!
I, for one, am happy to consider him a Jew.
We should find a kitschy name for his signature pitch.
"And the Hammer strikes out another hapless batter with his creplach curve!"
No, he's not halachically Jewish. But, it's still nice to know that some sports figures take pride in their Jewish heritage. Perhaps he'll be an inspiration to the next Hank Greenberg or Sandy Koufax who's still in grade 4 and playing stickball on the streets of Brooklyn. Good job, Hipster.
I agree with the anonymous posting made earlier.
Extolling the virtues of a player who isn't actually Jewish (regardless of how proud he is of his Jewish ancestry) is not proper for a mainstream Jewish media outlet.
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