Baseball Insider

I always seemed to end up with, what they call in card-collecting circles, "commons." To me, Ed Mayer was even less than a common.

The rivalry between fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will heat up as the season progresses.

Those of us who winter in the Orthodox enclave of Century Village in West Palm Beach are lucky to be so close to Florida's finest baseball facility, which boasts many stars and superstars.

I have many memories of him talking to Ralph Branca, who also pitched for the Tigers in the mid-fifties.

Jake Pitler was a caring Jew who agonized over the plight of his fellow Jews on the other side of the ocean as he continued his baseball career.

Wilson had no problem finding whiskey during Prohibition and drank most of his money until his wallet was dry.

I enjoyed watching the Yankees this year with their young players like Judge and Gary Sanchez.

Events morphed into what became known as the Six-Day War. While the war lasted less than a week, millions of words were devoted to it in newspapers and magazines over the days and weeks that followed.

My father would have taken us to the game but I declined because the Dodgers would soon leave Brooklyn and Ebbets Field would no longer house a major league team, so who cared?

While American Jews were leaving the baseball field for military bases, Jews on the other side of the ocean were being targeted by the Nazis.

I followed Evers religiously and so I thought it was an act of sacrilege that Bunning wore Evers's uniform number while with the Tigers.

Once a year in the spring, Bookstock takes over the corridors of an upscale suburban Detroit shopping center for an eight-day book sale mostly benefiting Detroit schools and its pupils.

While Pittsburgh embraced Greenberg, Robinson had a more mixed reception in Brooklyn. The borough’s Jewish fans welcomed him, as did most of the rest of the Ebbets Field faithful.

Admittedly, I took a liking to and saw a lot of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, who share the new spring training facility.

It hit me like a baseball bat on my head. I had been sitting next to Red Smith, the legendary sports columnist who knew Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb and other baseball greats.

I experienced all the emotions a baseball-oriented person could feel on the third Sunday of September in 2016.

Jackie Robinson finished his tenth major league season with a .275 average and 10 home runs. He was slowing down and saw action in only 117 of the Dodgers' 154 games.

Ed Mierkowicz, 92, is the last surviving player from the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and the Detroit Tigers.

In 1966, actor William Shatner became commander of the Starship Enterprise on television and the Trekkie generation was born.

For Americans, baseball provided an escape, and Jewish Americans followed the exploits of their favorite teams and of the relatively few Jews who wore baseball uniforms.

They asked me about him for so long that I didn't get a chance to interview or take any pictures of players.

The tall, handsome, charismatic ballplayer topped several polls during his playing days as the most heroic figure among Jews in America.

Jewish baseball history was made by the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds on Sunday, September 21, 1941, as the team had four Jews in its starting lineup – the first and thus far only time that’s happened in the major leagues.

Most baseball fans have heard of Merkle's Boner, but how many actually know when or how it happened?

The Jewish population of America was estimated at almost three million in 1916. Most did not have the means to afford even a basic Ford automobile ($440), let alone the most expensive model ($975).

The Cubs have the most players I'll be watching.

Bryce Harper may be the best player in baseball, but Washington can't match the starting pitching depth of the Mets over a long season, so look for the Mets to win the N.L. Eastern Division.

My father informed me that Rosen was Jewish and I targeted him as one of the players I would follow closely.

Pafko was a much-sought-after autograph signer at card shows through the years and would frequently appear at Cubs games in Wrigley Field, leading the singing of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch.

Like the fans, she adored him. By the time his career as a player, coach, and manager ended, Yogi had collected