Ryan Sherrif of the Tampa Bay Rays took the mound on Friday night and pitched a scoreless inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though the Rays eventually lost the game by a score of 6-2, Sherrif made history as one of only a handful of Jewish players to pitch in the World Series.
In Game 5, which took place on Sunday, and which the Rays also lost, Sherriff once again got his job done when he came on in relief and threw a perfect eighth inning when he retired all three batters he faced in order. In spite of his efforts, the Rays lost the game 4-2 and the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead in the series which continues on Tuesday night.
On the opposite side of the field, the Los Angeles Dodgers have Joc Pederson, who is holding the fourth outfielder’s position as a backup to the three starters, who is also Jewish. Had Sheriff continued pitching into the ninth inning on Sunday, he would have faced Pederson in what would have been a truly rare World Series moment with a Jewish pitcher facing a Jewish batter.
Sherrif hails from Culver City California and was called up to the Rays’ lineup just before the September 1st cutoff that allowed him to play in the postseason. Sherrif appeared in 10 games throughout the season and pitched a total of 9 and 2/3rd innings and gave up no runs to have a perfect ERA of 0.00.
Sheriff’s father passed away in 2012 due to blood cancer and his mother pushed him to continue his career. Sherrif’s grandparents were Holocaust survivors from Poland and bot had been in concentration camps during the war.
Sherriff pitched for the Israel National Baseball Team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifiers and knew that his grandparents and father would have been proud to see him pitch for the Jewish Homeland.
Sherriff told Joshua Halickman of the Jerusalem Post that “Being able to pitch for Team Israel made me feel very appreciative for everything that they had gone through. Just to represent the Jewish heritage for them was just a great honor for me. She [my grandmother] would have been stoked. She would have been really happy if she was still alive today.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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17 Responses
YWN why would you increase the chillul hashem by telling everyone that he pitched on shabbos?? And btw there’s nothing news worthy about a Jew pitching in the World Series.
Why is this being reported? Is this cause for celebration?
If he had any clue that Israel and Zionism really represent the opposite of Judaism, he would have known that, by pitching for the Zionists, he was not representing “Jewish Heritage”, but rather Zionist identity theft of the holy Jewish people.
ok….. we supposed to be proud of this?
Are you serious??? Holocaust survivors …….. Jewish blood…..tattooed galore…. pitching on Shabbos Kodesh….. and you glorify him and the the idea of 2 Jews playing against each other on Shabbos…. this is something to be proud of??? Or something to cry about???
I’m stunned!!!! No “Kiddush Hashem” comments???
Oh, and BTW YWN, thanks so much for sharing this amazing historical bit of news.
Besides breaking out in a sweat, what else was he oyver (transgressing) on. He was pitching not racing around a track in a hot rod. And also perhaps this is his way of resting on Shaboss. I wonder if the stadium is ok to carry inside on Shabbes… maybe its a case of he threw and the catcher accepts the ball so he may be ok.
nebach
Digging into the mound with his spikes to have a hole to push off from is Lechoira an Isur d’Oraisa of Chofer.
This, by the way, is not my Chiddush. It was the Psak of an Adam Gadol for a minor league pitcher who was Chozer b’Teshuvah and was loathe to give up his career. He made the sacrifice and is today a very fine Ben Torah.
Poor judgment in reporting this story.
“kinsler” oh yes of course a kiddush Hasem to pitch a baseball on Shabbos!! lets all go learn by this loser
“Big A” sure, maybe he will make kiddush before the game starts. im sure he davens vasikin every morning with other teammates
I believe in 1963, the Los Angles Dodgers performed the greatest feat in the history of the World Series.
The New York Yankees lost four (4) straight games in that World Series. Mel Allen, the Yankees announcer, lost his voice in the fourth game with only one inning to go and MR KOUFAX was on the mound. He needed only three more outs to do the unbelievable. Sandy Koufax struck out Mantle looking, Maris on a ground-out and Elston Howard on a strike three called. The emotion, the exhilaration, the joy of that moment in time is still with me some 60 years later.
I had many, many disappointments, sorrows and defeats in my life but Sandy Koufax’s feat always brings me hope, a resolve to continue my life and know that the winners don’t always win. That a Jewish boy at University of Cincinnati on a lark tried out for the school’s baseball team when he learned that the team was going to Miami, Florida. The rest is history.
May HaShem bless Sandy Koufax for what he along with Don Drysdale and Johnny Podres did.
A goy Gerry Mullen
Suggest all Jews do More Talmud T_rah !!!
While I, too, was pained by the story of a Yid being Over Isurim, I find it a much worse lapse of judgement to call a fellow Yid, whom we know nothing about and is most likely a Tinok she’Nishba, a “loser”.
All this criticism of a yid not observing Shabbos. WHere was the outcry when Ivanka travelled to a hostile arab country on Shabbos???
Kol haKavod to him for being a proud Jew!
He nebech knows no better. Many nowadays youth are self hating and conceal their heritage.
Perhaps he will iyh repent and do teshuva