The greater Boston area has one of the most concentrated populations of Jews in the United States, so it’s fitting that one of the Red Sox’ biggest stars, Kevin Youkilis, and the team’s general manager, Theo Epstein, are Jewish. Even more appropriately, a Brookline man will soon release a book chronicling the contributions of Jews to America’s favorite pastime.
Alan Ruttman, 79, grew up in the suburbs of Boston playing stickball with his friends in the schoolyard. He witnessed many of the greatest moments in Red Sox history — including Ted Williams’ 502-foot home run on June 9, 1946 — and developed an affinity for the game from a very young age.
“We lived, and we ate baseball,’’ Ruttman told The Boston Globe. “We used to go up to Devotion School and play stickball when we were 10 or 11, you know, draw a box on the wall and play with tennis balls and a bat? My mother would be looking for me at 7 o’clock, and I’d come home with dirt and dust. We played for hours, hours.’’
Ruttman’s book, entitled Jewish Voices in American Baseball will include interviews with Youkilis and MLB commissioner Bud Selig, and will describe in great detail why the game of baseball was so appealing to Jewish immigrants of the early 20th century.
“It’s been a great way in earlier times — back in the early part of the 20th century, when Jews really came into the country in large numbers — to assimilate into the country,” Ruttman explained to the Globe. “They like games, baseball especially, because not only to play the game is a lot of fun, but it’s very cerebral. I mean people are always thinking about statistics in baseball. They are always thinking about the unusual plays that never happened before.’’
Currently, there are more Jewish players in Major League Baseball than ever before, according to Martin Abramowitz, the president of Jewish Major Leaguers, a nonprofit organization based in Boston. He told the Globe that there have been 14 Jewish players in the majors over the past few seasons, and an all-time high during the past decade.
Apart from Youkilis, some of the more notable Jews in the big leagues include Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, former Red Sox outfielder and current Tampa Bay Ray Gabe Kapler, and Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Red Sox newcomer Scott Schoeneweis also is Jewish. Two of baseball’s greatest Jewish legends — first baseman Hank Greenberg and lefty pitcher Sandy Koufax — are both enshrined in Cooperstown.
On Aug. 8, 2005, the Red Sox set a modern-day record for having the most Jews on the field at one time, when Adam Stern joined Youkilis and Kapler on the field in the ninth inning. The 1941 New York Giants once fielded four Jews in a game.
Ruttman has asked Jewish players and executives about their experiences in baseball, especially focusing on the challenges that they have faced, including anti-Semitism. As one of the first Jews in baseball and the first to be elected to the Hall of Fame, Hank Greenberg was among the most controversial figures in the game during his playing days from 1930-1947.
Ruttman is now working on finishing his manuscript and signing with a publisher. He intends to release the book — his second, after Voices of Brookline in 2005 — sometime next year.
