Even though the Toronto Blue Jays traded away Spencer Horwitz, their only recent Jewish player, there are still multiple Hebraic angles that our Jewish sports podcasters are celebrating as the team charges into the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this week.
The father-son team of Dan and Ben Shulman will be calling the Jays’ broadcasts; macher Mark Shapiro sits as team president and CEO; two of the biggest celebrity fans include Eugene Levy and Geddy Lee; and at least two rabbis—one in Toronto, the other in L.A.—have engaged in a friendly wager over the outcome.
Menschwarmers co-hosts Gabe Pulver and James Hirsh dig into all this as the two lifelong Jays fans get ready for Game 1 on Friday night.
After that, Gabe sits down with soccer journalist and broadcaster David Gass (co-host of the Kickback Committee podcast), who explains all the chaos of the last week involving Israeli soccer teams, including Birmingham’s decision to ban fans of the Maccabi Tel Aviv team and a subsequent called-off match between Maccabi and Hapoel Tel Aviv.
Transcript (Excerpt)
James Hirsh: Hey everybody, we’re the Menschwarmers. I’m Jamie. I’m here with my co-host, Gabe. Gabe, how you doing, buddy?
Gabe Pulver: I’m doing good. You know, it’s a bright and beautiful fall morning in Toronto. Something we can say for the first time in 32 years: the World Series is being played in the city tonight. I got some nachas. I’m pretty excited. This is a really big deal.
James Hirsh: Game 1 of the World Series is happening a walkable distance from us, and Bruce Springsteen’s Electric Nebraska released all in one day. Gabe, could you have ever dreamed this in your wildest dreams? This is, you know, if you got to golf today, it would really be a perfect storm.
Gabe Pulver: It would truly be a perfect storm. And I don’t want to say that I’m golfing after this, but I might be. Who knows? Who can say? It’s a beautiful day. It’s very exciting.
You know, we’ve sat through a lot of bad baseball in our lives, a lot of dark years. There isn’t much Jewish leadership or players with the Blue Jays this year. If you remember, at the very start of this year, friend of the pod Spencer Horowitz was traded away from the Blue Jays. He was the most Jewish thing about the team. Other than the fans, lots of Jewish fans. The Roger C-suite, not a lot of Jews. Mark Shapiro, however, the president of the team, is Jewish. We’ve got a Yid at the top of the food chain within the Blue Jays. And he’s going to celebrate with the team. He celebrated with the team when they won the pennant.
James Hirsh: There are a few Jewish connections we can talk about in terms of the ownership groups, people who have been involved. The Guggenheim Baseball Management, you know, obviously Mark Walter is not Jewish, is the main figurehead, but there are other people who’ve been involved. Billie Jean King and her wife, Ilana Kloss. I don’t know how Billie Jean King identifies, but her wife is certainly Jewish.
Gabe Pulver: Certainly Jewish and proud Israeli as well.
James Hirsh: Yeah, and competed in Maccabiah Games. There’s other people involved with the Guggenheim Group, but for the most part, I would say not a ton of Jews involved in the World Series.
But, big caveat here, this is a World Series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the L.A. Dodgers. And the best player to play for both teams—and by this I mean not the greatest Blue Jay, not the greatest Dodger, but the greatest Blue Jay/Dodger of all time—without a doubt is Shawn Green. And you can…
Gabe Pulver: So it’s the Shawn Green Series.
James Hirsh: It’s the Shawn Green Series. I think there are Shawn Green fans on both sides. But if you look up, and I will never not extol the virtues of Baseball Reference—where I’ve learned more and gotten more knowledge from in my life than anywhere else in the world—but Baseball Reference has a great feature where you can look up players who played for both teams. Shawn is the only player to hit 100 home runs for both the Blue Jays and the Dodgers. He’s the only player with more than 10 wins above replacement if you prefer that as a statistic. You know, he had five, six great years with the Jays. He was on the ’93 team just as a September call-up.
Gabe Pulver: I know.
James Hirsh: And then five years with the Dodgers.
Gabe Pulver: We need to get a Dodgers fan back on the show. Maybe we can find Max Homa again and ask this, because I promise you, Max would know the answer to this question. Was there a debate in L.A. about which synagogue Shawn Green went to, just like there was in Toronto?
James Hirsh: Because that was always the joke when we were kids. Everyone claimed Shawn Green had gone to their synagogue on holidays, that they saw Shawn Green. Yeah. And, you know, it might have been true. For all we know, he was doing a circuit and walking between all of them. There’s a lot of synagogues. You could definitely hit like seven or eight just walking in the Bathurst area if you wanted to.
Gabe Pulver: You can’t swing a Shawn Green without hitting a synagogue in the Bathurst Corridor.
James Hirsh: Can’t swing a dead chicken without hitting a synagogue. Anyways, the only person who comes a little bit close is Raul Mondesi, whom Shawn Green was traded for. But yeah, really, I think Shawn Green, like the greatest Dodger/Blue Jay of all time, is obviously one of the great Jewish players. And if you’re listening to our podcast, I assume you know who Shawn Green is.
Gabe Pulver: Yes. For those who don’t, this podcast and our Shawn Green, we’d love to have you on the show.
James Hirsh: I would say, I think it’s fair to say probably the best Jewish hitter post-Hank Greenberg, pre-Ryan Braun. I would say Hank Greenberg and then Shawn Green. Chronologically, he was the bridge.
Gabe Pulver: He was the bridge from Greenberg to Braun. Really?
James Hirsh: Yeah. I mean, there’s Ron Blomberg and some other guys from the ’70s and ’80s, but until Shawn Green, he was the next best after Hank Greenberg, and then after him, I would say Kinsler and Bregman sort of carrying on that tradition. He’s a wiry guy. He was never a big guy. It’s amazing that he hit so many home runs. And part of it might have just been the way baseball was being played in the steroid era. I don’t think anyone ever accused Shawn of engaging in PEDs. He never looked it. I mean, he’s always had more of an endurance athlete build.
Gabe Pulver: Yes. Yeah, he was very tall and lean, but that gives him a lot of torque.
James Hirsh: And played in Toronto, L.A., Arizona, and New York—all some of the most Jewish fanbases.
Gabe Pulver: That’s true. That is about as Jewish as it gets—those four places. So, Game 1 of the Shawn Green Series is tonight. You know, in case you’re watching or reading this right as it comes out, it’s October 24th, this weekend. You know, it is during Shabbos. If you’re allowed to have a TV on, if you are the TV-with-the-Shabbos people, maybe tonight would be an excuse to get—I don’t want to say the word—but, you know, a Shabbos helper to come and turn on the television for you so you can watch the game.
But you’ll notice, right behind home plate, we have a very familiar Jewish face. He’s been sitting behind home plate for decades for the Blue Jays’ games. Canadian rock and roll legend Geddy Lee and Canadian acting legend Eugene Levy have both been seen behind the plate a lot lately. During the broadcast of Game 7 on Monday, they were often shown with the wringing their hands, anxiety face, waiting to see what would happen in the game. But, you know, there’s lots of Jews, lots of Jewish fans. You’ll see lots of them, particularly two of the most famous Canadian Jews will be there. I would be shocked if on the Fox broadcast tonight there wasn’t some mention of Geddy Lee and Eugene Levy. There’s always the celebrities watching the Dodgers games.
And that’s who the Jays have. I know The Weeknd has been involved. He is not Jewish. But you’ll see Geddy. Watch out for Geddy in the top left behind the plate, and Eugene in the bottom right. You’ll see both of them pointing and looking around as the Jays try and win today.
James Hirsh: Yeah, you and I did a podcast back in 2019 after the Raptors won, about how—or when the Raptors were winning the championship—about how the most famous sports fan in the world at the time was Drake. It was a Torontonian, and the pride that gave us a little bit. I haven’t seen Drake as much with the Jays. I know he’s a fan, and I think he’s posted on Instagram celebrating, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at a game.
Gabe Pulver: Absolutely. And Geddy’s got a tour to promote.
James Hirsh: That’s true. Rush is back on tour next year.
Gabe Pulver: Rush is back on tour with a new drummer who is a German woman, who I think is going to be the only woman at each Rush show.
James Hirsh: I can’t think of a famous Dodgers fan, really, who’s Jewish, except for, well, Larry. Larry King, who passed away, was often seen right behind home plate.
Gabe Pulver: Lou Adler is my thought, who immediately sits immediately behind home plate wearing his beret and silly beard. If you notice a guy, a Jewish man in a white beret, who’s sitting right behind home plate, that is legendary music producer Lou Adler at every Dodgers game. Mary Hart is not Jewish, from what I understand, but she also sits right there.
James Hirsh: One last thing about the World Series we were told about that we wanted to mention: there’s a little bet on the line between two rabbis, one in L.A., one in Toronto. Rabbi Jarrod Grover, who’s the senior rabbi at Beth Tikvah here in Toronto—
Gabe Pulver: Of which my grandfather is a founding member, I should mention. And I should also say our podcast sibling, Rivka Campbell, is the executive director. Rabbi Jarrod Grover, lots of connections to the Menschwarmers.
James Hirsh: Yes. So he’s the senior rabbi at Beth Tikvah, and he has made a bet with his longtime friend, Rabbi Erez Sherman of Sinai Temple in Los Angeles, who, it should be said, actually grew up a Jays fan. He grew up in Syracuse. But they have made a bet on the World Series. You know, a nice thing that we see from time to time. Often mayors will do it. I think the San Diego and Toronto zoos once had a bet on something that involves some trading animals, along with some charitable donations. The rabbi from the losing city is going to have to wear the winning team’s jersey during synagogue services. So I am hoping, Beth Tikvah congregants, that you will not see Rabbi Grover in a Dodgers jersey. I am very much hoping that Sinai Temple L.A. congregants will see Rabbi Sherman in a Jays jersey soon.
Gabe Pulver: Yes.
James Hirsh: I don’t know exactly who he’d pick. I think Rowdy Tellez would be a great choice.
Gabe Pulver: Ooh, you know, or Spencer Horowitz with 48 on his back.
James Hirsh: Yeah, hard to find, hard to find some of those on the retail, on the resale market.
Gabe Pulver: You know, I’ve been looking for a Scott Feldman jersey for 10 years and I can’t find anything.
James Hirsh: Yeah, that’s right. Some great Jewish angles in the World Series. Really excited as Toronto fans, obviously. And maybe, maybe Shawn Green will be in attendance at some point in L.A. or in Toronto. Who knows? Hope we see him on TV.
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