NOT JOE BAPTIST:

Fan creates card set to honor Jewish players (Joe Capozzi, May 28, 2006, Palm Beach Post)

The Marlins thought they were honoring their Jewish first baseman when they decided to give away Mike Jacobs T-shirts as part of Jewish Heritage Day at Dolphin Stadium this afternoon.

One small problem — Jacobs isn't Jewish, a fact the Marlins would have learned if they'd asked Jacobs himself.

Better yet, they could have contacted Martin Abramowitz.

As records custodian for the non-profit Jewish Major Leaguers Inc., Abramowitz is on a mission to catalogue every Jewish player who ever played in the majors — from Lipman Pike of the 1871 Troy Haymakers to Kevin Youkilis of the 2006 Boston Red Sox.

He's at 154 now, and his mission also includes distinguishing the likes of Shawn Green and Brad Ausmus from imposters like Mike Jacobs and Walt Weiss, players with common Jewish names who are not.

The best was several years ag when the only Jewish player in the NL was Jose Bautista of the Cubs.

MORE:
Jews on First (Dann Halem, April 13, 2001, Slate)

Posted by Orrin Judd at May 28, 2006 9:44 AM