יום שלישי, ז׳ אב תשפ״וTuesday, July 21, 2026
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By Irwin Cohen
Fidrych had a great record of nine wins and two losses with an impressive earned run average of only 1.78 when he started for the American League at the All-Star Game.
By Irwin Cohen
Cox racked up 2,504 career victories, fourth best in baseball history among managers. The respected and beloved baseball lifer was 84 when he died.
By Irwin Cohen
Having a minyan with a siyum for firstborn guys like me Wednesday morning, erev Pesach, with a terrific breakfast was a big selling point for me, but the thing my old legs appreciated the most was there wasn't a single step for me to negotiate as everything was on the first floor.
By Irwin Cohen
The American League Rookie of the Year should be Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle. The left-handed batter, who can play shortstop, third base and second base, is expected to be among the leaders in batting average and is also expected to hit 20 or more home runs.
By Irwin Cohen
The spring training memories that mostly pop up in the television of my mind are from 50 years ago in 1976.
By Irwin Cohen
Another great place to consider, as housing is much cheaper than up north in the East and down I-95, is Jacksonville, at the northern end of Florida (a two-hour drive south of Savannah). It has a community a bit larger and is also worth considering for a move and visit.
By Irwin Cohen
Every person is important and welcoming. It's a great place to be a big fish in a small pond. The shul also has a great caterer, and you can eat in a big social hall or takeout.
By Irwin Cohen
The bonus baby rule allowed teams to sign amateur players for over $4,000, but the player had to stay on the big-league roster for two years. It prevented the richer teams from stocking up on young talent in their minor league systems.
By Irwin Cohen
Uecker ended his major league playing career with a 200 batting average in 297 games. He had some big moments, including a hit off Sandy Koufax. And he could boast that he caught two of the best pitchers in the game in Warren Spahn of the Braves and Bob Gibson of the Cardinals.
By Irwin Cohen
Many Jews lived in his neighborhood and he picked up many Yiddish words and phrases that stayed with him. His vus machst du? was perfect and while he was a very religious Catholic, he knew more about Judaism than many Jews.
By Irwin Cohen
On Sunday nights, my father was glued to the radio when Drew Pearson and the news came on and he hung on to every word coming out of the radio regarding Israel as the new Jewish state founded on the biblical Jewish homeland of the Jews, repelled most of the invading Arab armies of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Egypt still remained a threat to the tiny nation of an estimated 650,000.
By Irwin Cohen
The coming days and weeks provided even better post World Series news. I would be getting a World Series ring with my name on it and a check with a nice amount and my name on it.
By Irwin Cohen
The Duke hit the last home run in Ebbets Field history in 1957 and moved to Los Angeles with the Dodgers, getting a couple of television gigs in Hollywood.
By Irwin Cohen
Come on Mr. Commissioner, do what you have to do to get the station carried on cable again, at an affordable price. You'll make the oldsters happy again and will gain some youngsters as lifelong fans.
By Irwin Cohen
In 1924 as he celebrated his bar mitzvah people called him Hyman. Hymie or Hy. He excelled at playing baseball and basketball and saw his first major league game in 1924 with his father at the Polo Grounds as the New York Giants won a Sunday double header.
By Irwin Cohen
After being hospitalized with heart issues for three weeks Ken Holtzman was 78 when he died.
By Irwin Cohen
After more than 70 years of watching the Detroit Tigers what team do I get to see now. Lakewood has the Blue Claws, the low minor league team of the Philadelphia Phillies, but I don't expect that their games are televised.
By Irwin Cohen
The best Jewish hitter over the past few seasons has been Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman. The 29-year-old Bregman is in his last year before possibly leaving the Astros as a free agent.
By Irwin Cohen
It was a great game and the Tigers held on to win 7-6. We had a good view of 19-year-old skinny rookie Al Kaline in right field. Kaline singled in four attempts and Harry Agganis and Ted Williams each had three hits. The second game was even more interesting.
By Irwin Cohen
While I never attended a religious service in a non-orthodox house of worship, I spoke in every synagogue and Temple in the Detroit area. Some more than once. I also did some radio and television there, besides writing for some local publications, too. I was born in Detroit; it was my home my whole life.
By Irwin Cohen
It was a sad day for me when I learned of the firing of Chaim Bloom, who had the title of the Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox.
By Irwin Cohen
The Yanks can easily be back in the playoffs next season if the young talent – which there is – can prove they’re ready for the majors.
By Irwin Cohen
You put the little fork at third base, she said, the big fork at shortstop, the knife at second base, and the spoon at first base. That was my guide every time I set the table.
By Irwin Cohen
The Yankees won their first World Series as they downed the New York Giants, four games to two. Ruth was the biggest star of the Series as he batted .368 with three home runs.
By Irwin Cohen
We knew which batters were hitting well and which ones were in a slump. We memorized what the batters did in the few days before we faced them.
By Irwin Cohen
A chance phone call to a sports call-in radio program would change the course of my life. But it wasn't by chance. It was orchestrated by Hashem.
By Irwin Cohen
You see me hittin' the ball and they cut the scene and you see Tab Hunter runnin' the bases. Every time I watched it with the family I say, 'Yeah, that's ol' dad hittin, in that movie there. Sievers said of his part in the movie.
By Irwin Cohen
On the subject of the World Baseball Teams, we had a chance to see Jacob Steinmetz pitch for Team Israel against several major league all-star players representing the Dominican Republic.
By Irwin Cohen
This season, when a pitcher begins his motion, all four infielders must be stationed on the infield dirt and two must be on both sides of second base.
By Irwin Cohen
The fan who caught the ball that Judge hit for his 62nd home run of the 2022 season on October 4, while watching the game between the Yankees and Texas Rangers in suburban Dallas, sold it through an auction house for $1.5 million.
By Irwin Cohen
At the time the first player with the last name Cohen was playing in the major leagues. Pitching under the name Harry Kane, he made his big league debut a year earlier in 1902 with the St. Louis Browns of the American League.
By Irwin Cohen
The big news took place one day before the 22 inning game started as Willie Mays returned to New York via a trade between the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets.
By Irwin Cohen
The night before the perfect game, Larsen dined with the Richmans and told the future writer that he was going to pitch a no-hitter the next afternoon. He pulled out a dollar from his wallet and instructed Milt to give it to his mother for a donation to her synagogue.
By Irwin Cohen
Greenberg threatened to retire rather than play for the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates, considered the worst team in the National League with no hope of reaching the World Series in 1947. Entertainer Bing Crosby one of the team of new owners on the Pirates lured Greenberg to Pittsburgh by making him the first player in baseball to earn $100,000.
By Irwin Cohen
La Guardia was a rabid New York Giants fan, but also rooted for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees when they weren't matched against the Giants. His favorite mayoral duty was throwing out the ceremonial first pitch on opening day to kick off a new season for the Giants at the Polo Grounds.
By Irwin Cohen
Max Patkin had a long career in baseball as an entertainer. His trademark was wearing a baggy uniform with a large question mark on his back instead of a uniform number.
By Irwin Cohen
It's hard enough to be a good player in the major leagues, But Robinson had to listen to racial taunts from other teams and fans in the stands when the Dodgers played on the road.
By Irwin Cohen
Babe Ruth was missing from the Yankees' lineup for the first six weeks of the season after Commissioner of Baseball Kenesaw Mountain Landis suspended him for taking part in a 15-game barnstorming tour.
By Irwin Cohen
All of the players respected him. There wasn't a finer player or finer man.
By Irwin Cohen
Al Schacht quickly became a fan favorite with his before-game entertainment imitating the mannerisms of other players.
By Irwin Cohen
While Jewish fans were concentrating on Hank Greenberg's efforts to pass Babe Ruth's single season home run record of 60 in 1938 Jewish baseball history was made on August 20, 1938.
By Irwin Cohen
While you'll have the respect of the players and the coaches and managers, you still have to be on guard. There's always a jokester or two who may want to take you off the religious pedestal.’
By Irwin Cohen
On the last day of spring training in 1960, Colavito, his fans and the baseball world were shocked as he was traded to Detroit for Harvey Kuenn.
By Irwin Cohen
The next day, I opened the paper to the first page of the sports section where Falls' column appeared several days a week. I was surprised to see my picture below his usual masthead.
By Irwin Cohen
The host never mentioned that when Aaron would pass Ruth's mark, he would have many more at-bats than Ruth had. I decided to call in and state the facts.
By Irwin Cohen
I saw pictures of him in the sports section of the newspaper delivered to our house, and I devoured any story and box score with his name.
By Irwin Cohen
Gone are the days of the big games between the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox as the BoSox are more in a rebuilding phase and have their best pitcher, Chris Sale, out for the season because of surgery.
By Irwin Cohen
While I don't remember him playing in a game I attended, I can recall opening up packs of baseball cards and getting more Porters than I wanted.
By Irwin Cohen
One celebrity fan that stands out in Rosalie's mind all these years later is Danny Kaye. "When Herbie came to bat, Danny would stand up and yell, 'Give it a klop, Herbie, give it a klop,'" she said.
By Irwin Cohen
Jewish baseball fans were still missing Sandy Koufax, who retired after the 1966 season at the age of 30 because of risk of permanent damage to his arthritic arm.
By Irwin Cohen
Greenberg was the biggest Jewish hero in America at the time, but the Tigers actually had a second Jewish player in 1938.
By Irwin Cohen
We're going to see only a few pitchers this season winning more than seven games and only a few players hitting more than 15 home runs. But we could see a player batting over .400.
By Irwin Cohen
"I consider baseball a very good thing for the population during the war," Roosevelt stated.
By Irwin Cohen
For the most part, it was a frustrating day for batters on both sides. Only two players had three hits.
By Irwin Cohen
The sign stealer could be on the phone with his accomplice and relay what pitch is coming by raising the beer to his lips for a fastball, adjusting his cap for a curveball, etc.
By Irwin Cohen
He was intelligent and a commanding presence, though much softer than his reputation as a player.
By Irwin Cohen
The biggest name who died in 2019 was a superstar as a player and a trailblazer as a manager.
By Irwin Cohen
Martin broke into the major leagues with the New York Yankees in 1950, the same year I started following baseball as a youngster in Detroit.
By Irwin Cohen
I was surprised the Nats won Game 6 and was rooting for Houston to pull out a win in the final game before the home crowd.
By Irwin Cohen
In 1985, I became the answer to a trivia question: Who counted each and every seat in Tiger Stadium?
By Irwin Cohen
Last month, I wrote about a 22-inning game in June 1962 between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers that lasted seven hours and ended during the Ed Sullivan variety television program. Some New Yorkers e-mailed me afterwards to let me know they remember flipping channels to follow both the game and the star-studded 14th […]
By Irwin Cohen
New York scored another run in the second; the Tigers added three in the third and another in the sixth, tying the score at 7-7. Neither team scored for another 15 innings.
By Irwin Cohen
Baseball keeps the older people younger and gives the younger people something to look forward to.
By Irwin Cohen
While Jews in Europe didn't know which way to turn, American Jews found entertainment by turning the radio dial.
By Irwin Cohen
President Woodrow Wilson sent a mission in September 1919 to investigate atrocities against Jews in Poland and Russia.
By Irwin Cohen
Shai Abramson, chief cantor of the IDF, belted out the national anthem while Mets and Cardinals players stood at attention.
By Irwin Cohen
In 1943, Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis had actually forbidden training south of the Ohio and Potomac Rivers or west of the Mississippi River.
By Irwin Cohen
Of all the audiences I’ve spoken to, the Boynton Beach guys were among the best informed on baseball history and trivia.
By Irwin Cohen
I had many conversations with Rusty, who was considered baseball's most eligible bachelor, while on the baseball beat.
By Irwin Cohen
I was lucky enough to be on the baseball beat in the 1970s when many of Babe Ruth's former teammates were still alive.
By Irwin Cohen
On the other side of New York, the Mets, unlike the Yankees, don't have the young bats to excite the fans. However, a Mets farmhand led the minor leagues in home runs in 2018.
By Irwin Cohen
The 1968 baseball season was especially memorable because it was the last time a pitcher won 30 games and because it saw the end of Mickey Mantle's playing career.
By Irwin Cohen
The war affected America’s national pastime in several ways. Rubber was in short supply, so games in the 1943 season used a baseball with less rubber. The new ball resulted in low-scoring games...
By Irwin Cohen
The very first All-Star Game I ever saw was in 1950, a few weeks after our family got its first television. That was the year I started following baseball and collecting baseball cards.
By Irwin Cohen
Cleveland was the center of the baseball universe in 1948, and Hank Greenberg was the spiffiest dresser in its front office.
By Irwin Cohen
The coliseum could house over 100,000 fans. On Opening Day the Dodgers drew 78,672 paying fans – almost double what their beloved former home, Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, could accommodate.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
The rivalry between fans of the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees will heat up as the season progresses.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
I have many memories of him talking to Ralph Branca, who also pitched for the Tigers in the mid-fifties.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
Wilson had no problem finding whiskey during Prohibition and drank most of his money until his wallet was dry.
By Irwin Cohen
I enjoyed watching the Yankees this year with their young players like Judge and Gary Sanchez.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
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?
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
Admittedly, I took a liking to and saw a lot of the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals, who share the new spring training facility.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
I experienced all the emotions a baseball-oriented person could feel on the third Sunday of September in 2016.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
Ed Mierkowicz, 92, is the last surviving player from the 1945 World Series between the Cubs and the Detroit Tigers.
By Irwin Cohen
In 1966, actor William Shatner became commander of the Starship Enterprise on television and the Trekkie generation was born.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
They asked me about him for so long that I didn't get a chance to interview or take any pictures of players.
By Irwin Cohen
The tall, handsome, charismatic ballplayer topped several polls during his playing days as the most heroic figure among Jews in America.
By Irwin Cohen
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.
By Irwin Cohen
Most baseball fans have heard of Merkle's Boner, but how many actually know when or how it happened?
July 17, 2026 
