The dog days of summer are upon us and it’s time for a seventh-inning stretch. If you’re weary of divisive presidential politics and have been dreaming of garlic fries and a Giants-themed tchotchke, we have good news: Jewish Heritage Night is just a few weeks away.
When the Giants host the Arizona Diamondbacks at AT&T Park on Aug. 30, the team will mark its 12th annual Jewish heritage game, which draws fans from across the community. As always, a Jewish tailgate party will take place before the game, and a free Jewish Heritage Night baseball cap will be given to attendees.
That’s on top of past premiums such as a Giants menorah, yarmulke, Kiddush cup and scarf.
But that’s not the only time baseball is offering a tip of the kippah to local Jewish fans. The Oakland A’s will host their sixth Jewish Heritage Night on Aug. 9, playing the Baltimore Orioles.
The A’s will give away a green-and-yellow blanket with the word “Athletics” spelled out in Hebrew and are throwing in a falafel and a pre-game klezmer concert.
But wait, there’s more. Did you know there’s professional baseball in Marin? The San Rafael Pacifics are an independent minor-league team serving up a product as exciting as any farm club. Only this weekend they are doing it with a touch of Yiddishkeit.
The team’s Jewish owner and general manager, Mike Shapiro, is making sure the first Jewish Heritage Day is a family affair.
For the July 31 event at Albert Park, the team will not only give away a souvenir kippah to 200 lucky fans, but the concession stand will serve pastrami, kosher hot dogs and latkes made by Shapiro’s wife, Jane.
Whether haimish like the Pacifics or on a grand scale like the Giants and A’s, baseball and Jews have gone together for more than a century.
Back then, shtetl-born immigrants and their children wanted nothing more than to assimilate into American life, and baseball became one of the easier paths, whether as fans in the stands or stickball players on a Brooklyn street.
It’s long been part of our community’s cultural pride to hold up the great Jewish ballplayers, from Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax to today’s Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers and Palo Alto native Joc Pederson of the — dare we utter the name? — Los Angeles Dodgers.
In a time of polarizing politics, terror and dissension abroad, once in a while, just for sanity’s sake, we need a break. A little Jewish heritage at the ballpark seems just the ticket.