So, now, without further ado, the MLB All-Jewish Team.
Catcher: Mike Lieberthal (1993-2007)
Lieberthal, a personal favorite of mine, was with the Phillies for 13 of his 14 years in baseball. Needless to say, as I was growing up a catcher in Little League, Leiberthal is who I looked up to, making him an easy choice. Even with the personal flair, Leiberthal has the best career statistics of any Jewish catcher. His career .274 BA, 150 HR, 610 RBI's are all tops among MLB Jewish Catchers, with ex-Dodgers catcher Steve Yeager and current Astros catcher Brad Ausmus second and third respectively in almost all offensive categories. While Lieberthal gets the starting nod, catcher is probably the most injury-prone position on the baseball diamond just because of the wear and tear digging 95 MPH fastballs and knee-breaking curveballs takes on the body, so a backup catcher is needed. I have to give that to Ausmus, with his defensive statistics are far better than both Yeager and Lieberthal.
Backup: Brad Ausmus (1994-Present)
First Base: Hank Greenberg (1933-1947)
Hammerin' Hank, one of two Jewish players elected to the HOF, was a pretty easy selection here. The only roadblock in his way was the emergence of current Red Sox First Basemen Kevin Youkilis (about to be voted to his second all-star game this year). However, since Youkilis has played over a season in the Major League's an another position (3B), he has accepted the position change and embraced it, giving 1b to the former Tiger. In a carrer including a three year break due to involvement in WW2, Greenberg's 331 HR's, 1276 RBI's, and a .313 batting average in 11 seasons makes him an easy pick.
Second Base: Ian Kinsler (2006-Present)
Since Kinsler is the basis of this entire post, it's pretty obvious he is the pick here. In three seasons prior to 2009, his averages of .290, 18 HR, 62 RBI's are pretty good, but not spectacular. His 2008 season was cut off by a sports hernia, but he was good enough in the first half of the season to be elected to his first all star game at age 26. In 2009, he is picking up right where he left off, in which he is currently third in the AL in all star votes behind Mark Teixeira, and our third baseman on this list. Kinsler, is probably the third best 2b in baseball right now behind 2008 AL MVP Dustin Pedroia and Philadelphia's Chase Utley, but he is far and away the best Jewish 2b of all time.
Backup: David Newhan (1999-Present)
Most of you readers may not know this name, but he's had a pretty decent major league career. The son of a Los Angeles based journalist has bounced in and out of the majors, and has just over 5 years of MLB experience. Newhan's best year was in 2004, when the utility man hit .311 with 8 HR's and 54 RBI's with the Baltimore Orioles. Due to the fact that Newhan is Jewish, has played every infield position in his career besides pitcher and catcher, and is currently playing for the team that I am currently interning for (Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs), Newhan makes this team as a backup.
Shortstop: Lou Boudreau (1938-1952)
Sadly, there are no present-day Jewish SS to speak of, so here's a blast from the past. Never really heard of this guy, but looked at his career stats, and they are decent. Oh yea, he's also Jewish, and his 106 RBI's in 1945 combined with his .355 average gave him star-worthy notoriety. His career numbers of .295, 68 HR, 795 RBI's, and 1776 hits rank favorably among shortstops at that time period of baseball, and are definitely worthy of giving him the starting nod here.
Third Base: Kevin Youkilis (2004-Present)
Youkilis came up in the Red Sox organization as a third baseman, and didn't start playing 1B full time until 2008, so he has enough experience playing the hot corner to mark this territory for the Jews. After 2005-2007 gave him decent years in Boston, 2008 was truly an Elton John-like coming out party for Youk, as he hit .312 with 29 HR and 115 RBI's, good enough to get him him first all-star bid, and enough of a reputation to rank in the top five in the 2008 MVP vote. Now, Youkilis is about to be a two-time all-star, in which he ranks second in the AL in votes behind Mark Teixeira, and is one of the most complete players in the game of baseball.
Outfield: Ryan Braun (2007-Present), Shawn Green (1993-2007), Gabe Kapler (1998-Present)
Although this outfield creates a glaring defensive liability, you have to play with what you got.
LF: Ryan Braun
First will start with Braun, one of best young players in the MLB today. A converted OF after starting his career at 3B, he is still getting used to shagging fly balls. However, what he loses in bad routes to the ball he makes up with a strong-arm, ranking in the top-5 in outfield assists in 2008. All this, and we forgot to talk about his hitting, meaning his reputation as one of the most feared hitters in MLB. In his first two full seasons as a big league ball-player, Braun's .301 BA, and averages of 35 HR's and 102 RBI's in those two years has won him a ROY (rookie of the year) trophy, and given him a chance to participate in the 2008 All-star game in his second year. Besides Greenberg and Kinsler and a certain pitcher that we haven't named yet, Braun was the easiest one to pick.
CF: Gabe Kapler
Kapler has been the ultimate OF utility man. However, Kapler has played all three OF positions in his career, something Green and Braun have not done. Therefore, Kapler is this team's CF. Although he may be a little past his prime defensively, Kapler is currently resurrecting his career as an OF/DH in Tampa Bay after bouncing around the pro's, playing for six teams, experiencing his best three years in 1999-2001, where he averaged 15 HR's and 62 RBI's for the Orioles and the Rangers.
RF: Shawn Green
Green, a 15 year veteran, was a everyday starter in RF for the Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Diamondbacks for over a decade. While the fielding was adequate at best, boy could this guys hit. And by hit, I mean 328 HR's in his storied career (especially offensively), with 40+ homeruns in three of those seasons, making him one of the best power hitters of his generation. While that generation makes the stats somewhat skeptical, by which I mean inflated or at least affected by the steroid era, there is no knowledge of Green taking performance-enhancing drugs. Green is a sure-fire starter on this team.
Backup: Ruben Amaro Jr. (1991-1998)
Amaro never was a starter in the bigs, but team's need someone who provides a source for team chemistry. And who better than Amaro, the current GM for the Philadelphia Phillies, to make his presence felt on a team in that manner. Amaro has experience, and knows alot about the game of baseball, or at least enough to sign soon-to-be all-star OF Raul Ibanez to the best Free Agent contract of the 2009 signing period. That alone gets him on this team.
Starting Pitcher: Sandy Koufax (1955-1966)
Might be the most famous Jewish professional athlete in any of the four major sports. While his demeanor can be questions, his statistical accomplishments are undeniable. His 165-87 career record was highlighted by three 25+ win seasons, three 300+ strikeout seasons, making him a three-time Cy Young Award winner. What could be even more impressive is Koufax's sub 1.00 E.R.A in 7 World Series games, in which his obvious penchant for big-game situations makes it easy to give him the ball to take the mound.
Relief Pitcher: Scott Schoeneweis (1999-Present)
While Schoeneweis doesn't have attractive stats to the eyes of most baseball fans, which include a career 45-55 record 4.91 ERA, there has got to be a reason by he has pitched in 517 games in his career, which ranks him in the top-10 among active pitchers in 2009. Even if that reason is hard to find, the fact that the guy is still coming to the park to pitch after the tragic death of his wife in May 2009 means he deserves a spot on this team.
Backup: Jason Marquis (2000-Present), Jose Bautista (1988-1997)
Yes, I know what you are thinking. While it may be surprising, and believe me, I have more than double-checked this, but Jose Bautista does in fact have a Jewish mother, making him a candidate to make this team. While his stats aren't eye-popping either, Bautista enjoyed a couple good years in the mid-90's (10-3 in 1993) as a long reliever with the Cubs and the Giants, a perfect component of a good baseball team. Marquis on the other hand has pretty decent stats, with a 79-70 career record, and has been a formidable mid-level starter since 2005, where he went 15-7 for the Cardinals.
So, that's the team. Here is the starting lineup (NO DH) and the rest of the roster.
1. SS Lou Bourdeau
2. 2B Ian Kinsler
3. LF Ryan Braun
4. 1B Hank Greenberg
5. 3B Kevin Youkilis
6. RF Shawn Green
7. C Mike Lieberthal
8. CF Gabe Kapler
9. P Sandy Koufax
Bench: C Brad Ausmus
Bench: INF David Newhan
Bench: OF Ruben Amaro
Bench: P Scott Schoeneweis
Bench: P Jason Marquis
Bench: P Jose Bautista
Looking at the roster, the obvious weakness is the bench. Amaro and Ausmus are career .230 hitters, and Newhan can't maintain a roster spot in the bigs for a consistent period of time. Let's just say if this team ever plays a game, injuries to the starting lineup would be very detrimental to the team's production. Another glaring weakness is the closer position, as Schoeneweis is an effective reliever, but has never had closer stuff.
As for strengths, Koufax could be considered on of the best pitchers ever in the game of baseball. He is the definition of what you call an "ace".The starting lineup, especially 1-6 in the batting order, is deadly, with all six hitters hitting around .300 for their careers. Placing Kapler and Lieberthal in the lineup was honestly a toss-up, with Lieberthal's one 30+ HR season in 2001 a testament to his power, and his .274 career average just enough to give him an edge over Kapler.
Readers, check out the list of Jewish Baseball players at http://www.baseball-almanac.com/legendary/Jewish_baseball_players.shtml.
Let me know what you think about the lineups/rosters through comments.
Enjoy.
