Are New Jersey Jews Jewish?

No, the Times reports that according to a new population study of the metropolitan area, the Jews of New Jersey do not count as Jews.

Jews in the metropolitan area counties of Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Union are not accounted for in the study.

In addition, the methodology of the study is random phone call model, right out of the 1950s. In this age of statistics and data, there are more accurate ways to determine actual population figures.

The Times' article, "Aided by Orthodox, City’s Jewish Population Is Growing Again," describes the study methodology, "To conduct the study, a team led by Steven M. Cohen, a leading sociologist of the Jewish community, and Dr. Ukeles randomly called tens of thousands of homes in New York City and in three suburban counties — Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester — last year. The surveyors asked if anyone in the household was Jewish; the researchers ultimately interviewed 5,993 adults for an average of 21 minutes each. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus two percentage points."

And minus all of the Jews of New Jersey.

Talmudic Books for Kindle | The Kindle Talmud in English

Is Kevin Youkilis Jewish?

"Kevin Youkilis, known for his fiery disposition, was selected for his first All-Star Game."

Yes, he is a "fiery" player and a "grinder" and Kevin Youkilis is a Jew.

According to JTA, he has an honor: Top Jewish player in the 2000s, awarded by Jewish Major Leaguers, a suburban Boston-based organization that each year produces a set of trading cards of Jewish baseball players.

We have few Jewish professional baseball players and we take pride in the achievements of each one. From the Times, July 2008:

Grinder Earns Place in All-Star Spotlight
By JOSHUA ROBINSON
...Youkilis, 29, has been one of the Red Sox’ unsung heroes in recent seasons, delivering a steady stream of base hits from the middle of the order and Gold Glove-caliber defense from either corner of the infield. And, one year after he was overlooked for the All-Star Game when he was posting similar statistics, Youkilis is one of seven Red Sox players who will be back at Yankee Stadium on July 15....

Bloomberg News: Mazal Tov to Baseball's Four Jewish (Probable) All Stars

What puzzles us is when did Bloomberg News become a source of information about Jewish baseball players? Seriously, this is a great story.

If four Jews can make the All Star Team, the Messianic age is near.

We've followed Kevin Youkilis for a while. He and pitcher Jason Marquis are full-fledged members of the tribe. Ryan Braun and Ian Kinsler are tribally Jewish by father only, perhaps a problem for Orthodox baseball fans but not their Reform counterparts.

And here is the funniest Youkilis - Dennis Leary Video clip we ever saw.

What Does It Mean for the Jews With Youkilis, Braun, Kinsler?
By Mason Levinson

July 2 (Bloomberg) -- Jewish fans of baseball -- fascinated with Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax, Hank Greenberg and Lou Boudreau -- may have a new crop of athletes to dote upon at this year’s All-Star Game.

Ryan Braun, Kevin Youkilis and Ian Kinsler lead in balloting for the squads, and pitcher Jason Marquis had the most wins in his league through June 30, meaning the four Jewish players are favorites to earn invitations to Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game on July 14. It would be the first time four Jews were named to the event.

“We’re in a glory time for Jewish baseball players,” said Howard Megdal, author of “The Baseball Talmud: The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players.” “The fact that you have three stars in Kinsler, Braun and Youkilis all under the age of 30 and all seemingly continuing to improve is a very impressive thing.”

Greenberg, Boudreau and Goody Rosen all were named 1945 All-Stars, though the game wasn’t played due to World War II. Jewish players Mike Lieberthal, Brad Ausmus and Shawn Green each earned the honor in 1999, and last year, Braun, Youkilis and Kinsler were selected.

Youkilis, who turned 30 in March, was raised in a conservative Jewish household, as was Marquis, also 30. Braun, 25, and Kinsler, 27, both said they consider themselves representatives of the Jewish community after being born to Jewish fathers and Christian mothers.

Both Kinsler, the Texas Rangers’ second-baseman, and Youkilis, a first baseman for the Boston Red Sox, lead the American League voting at their positions. Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers is second in the National League outfielder voting, with the top three earning starting positions.

Rockies’ Marquis

Marquis, who is 10-5 for the Colorado Rockies, two days ago became the first NL pitcher to win his 10th game this season. The All-Star starters will be announced on July 5.

“I don’t know if it’s a heyday or what you’d call it,” Youkilis said in an interview. “Hopefully, there’s more to come after us.”

Youkilis, who is batting .314, isn’t hesitant to joke about his background with fellow Jewish players.

“He’ll throw little comments at me every once in a while if I reach first while he’s playing,” Kinsler, who had 19 home runs through June 30, said in an interview. “He’ll just say, ‘Happy Passover,’ or something stupid like that. He’s pretty into it.”

160 Jews

Just 160 Jews -- those who either had a Jewish parent or considered themselves Jewish -- have played in the big leagues, according to the Jewish Sports Review, making up 0.9 percent of the approximately 16,900-man all-time roster. While Jews make up 2.2 percent of the American population, according to the American Jewish Yearbook, the 11 active pro players account for 1.5 percent of today’s major-leaguers.

With books on Jews and baseball, as well as a documentary and even some college classes, the sport provides a way for Jews, and all Americans, to think about the way the world works, said Rabbi Rebecca Alpert, who teaches a course titled “Jews, America and Sports” at Temple University in Philadelphia.

“It’s a way of Jews feeling like we belong,” she said. “If baseball is the national pastime, it’s kind of a way of saying, ‘We’re part of that too. We’re part of that story.’”

‘Jewish Sports Legends’

The generalization of Jews as non-athletes was parodied in the 1980 movie “Airplane!,” when flight attendant Elaine Dickinson, played by Julie Hagerty, asked a passenger if she would like something to read. When the woman asked, “Do you have anything light?” Hagerty’s character replied: “How about this leaflet, ‘Famous Jewish Sports Legends.’”

“There is this kind of self-image that somehow Jews were not (athletes), either because of a religious dislike of blood sport or a historic sense that Jews were supposed to be studious,” Alpert said in a telephone interview. “Jews kind of get counted out of the history of sport, and if you look back, it isn’t quite so true.”

Megdal’s book ranks every Jewish major-leaguer by the position he has played, using modern statistical analysis to compare generations. He found that Greenberg narrowly topped Koufax as the greatest Jewish ballplayer, and that third base was the weakest Jewish position.

Third Base

“Third base is a paradox for the Jewish people,” according to Megdal’s “The Baseball Talmud.” “Given the lack of Jewish players at the position, you’d think the bag was made of pork.”

“That’s pretty funny,” Braun said in an interview when read the excerpt. Rather than Kosher considerations, he suggested that the inactivity and tendency for short hops at third base were the reasons he struggled there for a season before being moved to left field.

Among those more famous for a Jewish background (thanks partly to an incorrect mention in Adam Sandler’s “Hanukah Song”) is Hall of Fame inductee Rod Carew. Though Carew married a Jewish woman and raised his children in the religion, he never converted or identified himself as Jewish. Had he, he would have joined Ken Holtzman and Richie Scheinblum as a Jewish threesome in the 1972 All-Star Game.

Megdal predicts that Braun will retire as the third- greatest Jewish player, with Kinsler and Youkilis also making the top 10. Carew, whose 3,053 hits are 22nd all-time, isn’t on the list.

“Unfortunately not,” Megdal said. “He’d be nice at the top of the order.”

Youkilis Signs for $41.25 million

Now this is news. Not a bad deal for a nice Jewish ballplayer!

Red Sox lock up Youkilis through 2012
First baseman's four-year, $41.25 million contract finalized Friday

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
Everything is right in Red Sox Nation.

Six weeks after second baseman and reigning American League Most Valuable Player Dustin Pedroia was locked up to a six-year deal, first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who finished third in the MVP voting, committed to be a member of the Red Sox until at least 2012.

After passing his physical, Youkilis' four-year, $41.25 million contract, with a team option for a fifth season, was formalized on Friday, making Youkilis part of the potent Boston lineup for years to come.

"It's exciting," said manager Terry Francona during Friday's news conference, held at Fenway Park. "Tying up young players in theory sounds good, but they also have to be good enough to handle giving your ballclub a chance to win every year, and that's not easy.

"And now, on the right side of our infield, you have a guy that won the MVP [and] a guy that came in third. Both guys are Gold Glove-caliber players, they both love to win, and we've seen them both come through our Minor League system, so that certainly provides us a huge comfort zone."

Youkilis, an eighth-round pick of the Red Sox in 2001, had his breakout season in his fifth year in the Major Leagues in 2008. The righty hit a career-high .312, with 29 home runs and 115 RBIs.

More importantly, he was a significant cog at the cleanup spot once the club traded slugger Manny Ramirez at the Trade Deadline. While hitting fourth for the Red Sox, Youkilis batted .299, with 10 home runs and 45 RBIs in 48 games.

"I never pictured myself on another team," Youkilis said. "All my buddies back home in Cincinnati said, 'You've got to come play for the Reds, we need a player like you on the Reds.' And I said, 'It's not that easy.' For me, I never saw myself on another team. I've always seen myself putting on that Red Sox uniform every day, putting on that 'B' on the hat. This is home to me."

Youkilis' signing is further evidence of the supremely talented farm system of the Red Sox, which features homegrown players like Jacoby Ellsbury, Jed Lowrie, Jonathan Papelbon -- who is arbitration-eligible this offseason -- and Jon Lester, along with Pedroia and Youkilis.

Hot Stove

"We've made no secrets about our priorities here, that we want to develop a homegrown core of talent," general manager Theo Epstein said. "We feel like that's the best way, the only way, to achieve sustainable success year in and year out.

"It's hard to keep preaching that message if the only players you give money to are players that you bring in from outside the organization."

Youkilis' deal, which gives him a $1 million signing bonus, earns him $6 million in 2009, $10 million in '10 and $12 million in '11 and '12. If the club picks up his option for '13, he will make $14 million with a $1.25 million buyout.

The contract will cut into the first two years that he would've been eligible for free agency, but Youkilis, who turns 30 in March, doesn't see that as a problem.

"It can go either way," he said. "You could get injured and you could go into arbitration next year and not make your money. There's a lot of things that happen. Could I have made a little more money? Maybe. But I think the biggest thing, when you look at it, is, for me personally, like Theo said, it's not about the money. It's about going out and playing baseball."

Besides, for the remainder of his career -- however long that will span -- Youkilis doesn't want to go anywhere else.

"It's a great feeling to know that I might also have the opportunity to end my career here, too," said Youkilis, whose wife is from Boston. "That's one thing we've discussed. I would love to end my career playing for the Boston Red Sox. I always tell them I'm not looking to play until I'm 42, but I'm looking hopefully to end my career here with the Boston Red Sox."

SF Gate: Brian Horwitz, the Giants' Rabbi

'Rabbi' wants to be known for his talent
Rusty Simmons, Chronicle Staff Writer

According to Baseball Almanac, Brian Horwitz is the 159th Jewish player to make the majors and is known by his teammates as "Rabbi."

Though he embraces mail he receives from Jewish fans and laughs about his nickname, the Giants' reserve outfielder wants to distinguish himself by more than his religion.

"Being Jewish is what makes me unique on this team," he said. "I understand it's rare, but I'm a baseball player who just happens to be Jewish. Hopefully, I'll eventually do something on the field that sets me apart."

Horwitz hasn't wasted any time making his name as a hitter, hitting two home runs in his first 13 major-league at-bats. Since being called up from Triple-A Fresno on May 30, he's 7-for-24 (.292).

In 425 minor-league games, Horwitz compiled a .319 average, winning batting titles in the Northwest League in 2004 and in the South Atlantic League in 2005. Baseball America dubbed him as the player with the best strike-zone discipline in the Giants' organization, so his immediate success hasn't surprised him.

"I know I can hit. I know if I get enough at-bats, if I get 100 at-bats, I'm going to put 30 hits out there," he said. "If I don't, I expect more of myself. I know what I've done, and I know what I can do. I know the pitchers are better, but it's still baseball."

Horwitz's confidence comes from a history of perseverance. He was the fourth outfielder in Fresno at the beginning of the season, and he went undrafted as a senior at Cal after turning down a contract with the A's after his junior season.

"The two days of the draft were probably the worst two days of my life," he said. "I've kind of been doubted my whole career, and that's fine with me. It's fuels the fire."

Horwitz's comments came in five-minute increments as he went into the cage for extra batting practice, then tracked down coach Roberto Kelly for outfield drills, then wanted to hit some more.

"From Day 1, he wanted to know what it would take to get to and stay in the big leagues," said Bobby Evans, the Giants' director of player personnel. "He wasn't satisfied with just advancing to the next level, and he won't be satisfied with just being here. He always wants more."

Reliever Alex Hinshaw, who played the better part of four minor-league seasons with Horwitz, saw that motivation from the beginning. He said Horwitz won't let him win in pool or cards.

"He's always got the highest goals set, and he won't stop," Hinshaw said. "If Brian Horwitz wants to be an All-Star, he'll be an All-Star. He won't let anyone tell him differently, and he won't let anyone get in his way."

The stigma about Jewish athletes was characterized in the movie "Airplane," which had this exchange:

"Would you like something to read?"

"Do you have anything light?"

"How about this leaflet, 'Famous Jewish Sports Legends.' "

Horwitz is the first Jewish player on the Giants since the 1995-96 tenure of pitcher Jose Bautista. In 1923, when the New York Giants tried to trump up publicity by advertising Mose Solomon as "That Rabbi of Swat," playing across town from Babe Ruth, "The Sultan of Swat."

Star Jewish players, like Sandy Koufax and Shawn Green, have remained few and far between, but last season was a banner year. Milwaukee's Ryan Braun was the National League Rookie of the Year, and Kevin Youkilis was a key component of Boston's World Series win.

"There are prejudices that run deep, but today, with the advent of international players, a great deal of that is gone," said Al Rosen, the Giants' former president and general manager. He recently was inducted into the Jewish Hall of Fame, and at 84, is up-to-date on the statistics of today's Jewish players. "There's no more bench-jockeying. There used to be some very nasty things coming out of the dugout. It's different now, and it should be."

Though Horwitz said he doesn't observe every aspect of Judaism and hasn't researched the history of Jewish players, he was struck by a documentary about Hank Greenberg. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Tigers' first baseman's rookie season, from which he became baseball's first great Jewish player.

"I had to be sitting in my hotel room at that exact time, had to turn to that channel at that exact time and they had to be playing that show at that exact time," Horwitz said. "Things happen for a reason, and things are really coming together for me right now.

"Stars are aligning. Things are happening. Opportunities are coming."

Nice Story and Hilarious Video: Kevin Youkilis, Boston Red Sox Jewish first baseman Kevin Youkilis

Go Red Sox.......

Guaranteed laughs courtesy of Yitz! Good find!

On August 15, 2006 Dennis Leary and Lenny Clarke "ham" it up in the booth on Boston's Jewish first baseman Kevin Youkilis and Mel Gibson.

Or find it here.

Here is today's Times' story on Youkilis:

Part of Intense Rivalry, Youkilis Knows Intensity

By JACK CURRY

Kevin Youkilis of the Red Sox remembered how a kid who was about 12 years old used a four-letter word to tell him that he stunk at Yankee Stadium. The kid was sitting with his father, but Youkilis said the father never reprimanded him. Youkilis called the abuse “the worst thing I ever heard” directed at him during a game.
While Youkilis has heard far worse expletives than the R-rated version of stink, and surely mutters some of his own after frustrating at-bats, this insult stuck to him like pine tar. Youkilis did not understand how a kid could use the word so liberally and could do it in front of his father.
As Youkilis discussed what it felt like to be one of the players Yankees fans love to hate, he spoke calmly about being a verbal target. Youkilis called it a form of flattery and said he was resigned to hearing it, even if he did not always comprehend why so much venom was flung at him.
“It’s weird thing, though,” Youkilis said. “It’s real different where I grew up. I was a real Cincinnati Reds fan. If some guy was using expletives and this and that to a player on the field, with kids around, a parent would say something to those people. Here, it’s like it’s taught to the kids.”
Youkilis said he did not blame a kid who used nasty words or an adult who used them or failed to stop someone else from spewing them. Instead, Youkilis, who is known for his intensity, blamed the intense environment that permeates professional sports, especially in the Yankees-Red Sox rivalry. And Youkilis stressed that the noise was not confined to the Bronx.
“You hear it in Boston,” Youkilis said. “It’s everywhere. Oakland. It happens everywhere. I think it’s just the nature of sports these days. It’s really serious.”
Since Youkilis is a serious player, it was interesting to elicit his thoughts about being verbally clubbed in the Bronx. What Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter hear at Fenway Park, Manny Ramírez and Youkilis hear at the Stadium. But Youkilis refused to place himself in Ramírez’s stratosphere when it came to who was the most booed Bostonian.
“I think Manny’s got me beat,” Youkilis said.
Youkilis was right. Ramírez was booed lustily before he batted against Mike Mussina in the first inning and promptly homered over the center-field fence. Ramírez added another mammoth homer in the third. Youkilis, who was not booed nearly as much as Ramírez was, had two hits and scored twice as Boston beat the Yankees, 7-5.
As a player, Youkilis is reminiscent of Paul O’Neill. Youkilis grinds through at-bats, talks to himself after at-bats and expects to slap a hit in every at-bat. Youkilis is a mostly bald-headed perfectionist who is also versatile.
After Mike Lowell sprained his left thumb and went on the disabled list last week, Youkilis, who has not made an error in a record 199 straight games at first base, coolly shifted across the diamond. In Youkilis’s first game at third, he charged in to field a tapper bare-handed and made the kind of play that would have handcuffed some third basemen. The Red Sox recognize his value.
“He wins a Gold Glove at first,” Manager Terry Francona said. “He goes to third and he plays a major league-caliber third base. You can hit him anywhere in the order. He works the count. He really has turned into a very good major league player.”
Although Youkilis naturally is overshadowed by Ramírez and David Ortiz, he does not believe he is underrated. He leads the team with a .371 average. Still, Youkilis said he considered himself more of a steady player than a superstar, saying he does not think he will ever be a superstar.
“When you win a World Series and stuff like that, it shows it’s not all superstars,” Youkilis said. “You can’t just have superstars on a team to win.”
In tracing the fans’ ire toward him, Youkilis said he evolved into more of an object of derision after Joba Chamberlain threw two straight 98-mile-per-hour fastballs over his head during a game last August. Youkilis said it was senseless to him that “I got two balls thrown at my head and now everyone yells at me.”
Still, Youkilis said there were some cool aspects of being berated, including how “people know your name” and “you don’t know their names.”
When Youkilis repeated something that had been yelled at him, he was told that it would never appear in a newspaper unless one word was replaced with the word “stink.” Youkilis quickly said, “They don’t say stink.”
As long as Youkilis plays for the Red Sox and as long as he plays in his intense way, he will always be a verbal target here. Youkilis knows that, which is why he long ago decided to treat any boos like a badge.
“If people don’t like you,” he said, “you’re doing something right.”