Baseball in print

Baseball has long been a metaphor for, well, just about anything. Considered the classic American sport, it holds a special place in the hearts of many American Jews.

For some, baseball told the story of American immigration and integration. For others, the grace of the game reveals life’s secrets. For yet others, baseball is a lovely way to spend a summer day.

Three new books focus on the link between Judaism, Jews and baseball.

Calling itself, “The Definitive Position-by-Position Ranking of Baseball’s Chosen Players,” “The Baseball Talmud” (Harper Collins, hardcover, $22.99) aims to reveal that there is more to Jewish baseball than Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax.

Megdal uses stories, humor and statistics to rank Jewish players throughout history, creating an “All-Time Jewish Team” that he calls unbeatable.

Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun is ranked as the second best Jewish left fielder in history. Megdal writes: “Braun has had a meteoric rise but is a very down-to-earth player.

“Hank Greenberg was one of the finest hitters of all time. If Braun can stay at his current levels, he may just surpass Greenberg.”

Megdal covers baseball for the New York Observer. A regular contributor to Gotham Baseball and Inside Pitch, he co-hosts the radio program Gotham Baseball Life.

Though some sports fans are busy with sabermetrics, the mathematical and statistical analysis of baseball records, others are more concerned with meaning and metaphor.

In his book, “Time-Out: Sports Stories As a Game Plan for Spiritual Success,” (Devora Publishing, hardcover, $21.95) Rabbi Dov Moshe Lipman approaches baseball not only as “inherently good for the soul,” but also as a route to learn the lessons of Torah.

The book is divided into three parts: “Building Blocks for Spiritual Growth,” “Recipes for Spiritual Failure” and “Pointers to Help Maintain Spiritual Success.”

Each part includes chapters that focus on lessons, such as “The implication of being watched,” “Setting new standards for ourselves and others,” “The dangers of anger,” and “Using your fall in order to rise.”

Dense with stories to illustrate the lesson, Lipman concludes each chapter with an appropriate Torah verse.

Author of “Discover: Answers to Teenagers (and Adults) to Questions about the Jewish Faith,” Lipman has served as head counselor of Sportstar Academy in America and the director of Sportstar in Israel.

If there’s one baseball player that most American Jews know, it is surely Sandy Koufax. And if there’s one Jewish baseball legend that Jews tell their children in pride, it is that Koufax sat out the first game of the 1965 World Series, which fell on Yom Kippur.

A new book, “You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax?!” (Schwartz & Wade Books, hardcover, $17.99) brings the story of the left-handed pitcher to children ages 4-9.

Written in the voice of an old timer talking to a child, the book follows Koufax’s career with the poetic passion that is particular to baseball fans. The text is accompanied by dramatic, three-color illustrations that sprawl across the page and give the sense of drama and action.

The book includes lists, and stats and informational boxes that offer bits of information, ranging from Jackie Robinson being the first African American to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball to “Five Teams that Changed their Names.”

Before focusing on Koufax, Jonah Winter has written several other books, including biographies about Muhammad Ali, Roberto Clemente, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo.