On Tuesday I was fortunate to attend the interview of two-time All-Star Shawn Green. Green is a retired baseball player who spent fourteen years in the majors and even played for the Syracuse Chiefs, the local team located only a few miles away, from 1992-1994. Green clubbed 328 home runs including seven in a three-day span in 2002 and had 1078 RBIs with a career .282 batting average. However Green’s event focused more on his life story and the adversity he faced being a prominent Jewish athlete in a major metro area.
Green first became interested in baseball when he moved to California and practiced in his backyard with a pitching machine. He idolized prominent left-handed hitters such as Wade Boggs and Rod Carew and was a switch hitter until he was fourteen. After attending Tustin High School Green attended Stanford and played for their nationally ranked program. However, Green never graduated from Stanford, instead opting to sign a major league contract with the Toronto Blue Jays when he was a junior. Surprisingly, Green’s coach at Stanford did not want him to sign, but after consulting a star athlete Green realized his signing was a great idea.
Green’s first month as a pro was anything short of a success as he batted a measly .091. This sent him to the minors where he grew as a person and athlete and hit .344, all while making friends with star athlete Carlos Delgado. He even took Delgado’s apartment and Car for his great contributions. However, Green would be traded to the powerhouse Dodgers where his career and heritage would soar to new heights. Green made headlines when he took Yom Kippur off during a heated Postseason push in 2001 and after leaving LA he would be booed. Green was loved in LA and would even throw his batting gloves into the stands during every home game. However, he did not like Frank Mccourt and admitted that he was more sensitive than most players and took the boos to heart. He wished that the fanbase would understand his situation.
Green realized he was in the majors when he faced the Oakland A’s in 1995 and faced off against Ricky Henderson, another one of his childhood idols. Later that year he faced Roger Clemens and realized he was truly in the big leagues.
Green made headlines again when he coached the Israeli National team in order put baseball on the map in the Mid-East. His Jewish heritage runs deep within him and even though he is not religious, takes pride in his heritage and continues to support Jewish organizations. Most importantly he wishes that the MLB would be more complient with Jewish holidays like the NFL. With all of this said I learned a lot about someone who I grew up watching and even got some insight into the life of a major leaguer who at one time heard seven different languages in the locker room. I’m glad I almost skipped dinner to go to this great event.