Al Rosen
Encyclopedia
Albert Leonard Rosen nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball
player who was a third baseman
and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues
for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.
He played his entire 10-year career (–) with the Cleveland Indians
in the American League
, where he drove in 100 or more runs 5 years in a row, was a 4-time All-Star
, twice led the league in home run
s and twice in RBIs, and was an MVP. Rosen was extremely muscular, and had tremendous power and excellent bat control.
Rosen was a .285 career hitter, with 192 home runs and 717 RBIs in 1,044 games. He was selected for the All-Star Game
every year between 1952 and 1955. Rosen appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated
in 1955
.
. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida
when he was three years old. He grew up in the southwest section of Miami, which is now the heart of Little Havana
. Rosen grew up without a father, and was raised by three women: his grandmother, mother and aunt.
Rosen suffered from asthma
as a child, which prompted his family to move further south. While growing up, his two favorite baseball players were Lou Gehrig
and Hank Greenberg
. After graduating from Florida Military Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida
, Rosen enrolled in the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he played for the Florida Gators baseball
team in 1941-42. He left the university after his second semester to play minor league baseball.
Rosen enlisted in 1942, and spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy
fighting in the Pacific
during World War II
, delaying his professional baseball career. He navigated an assault boat in the initial landing on Okinawa in the bitter battle for the island. In 1946, he left the Navy as a lieutenant and returned to his emerging baseball career.
, where he was initially given a back-up role. Upon leading the Canadian-American League
in home runs (16) and RBIs (86), while batting .323, however, he became known as the "Hebrew Hammer".
Rosen played for the Oklahoma City
Indians in , and had one of the finest individual seasons in league history. He led all hitters in average (.349), hits (186), doubles (47), extra-base hits (83), RBIs (141), total bases (330), slugging percentage (.619), and on-base percentage (.437). He was elected Texas League
MVP.
In Rosen was Rookie of the Year for Triple-A
Kansas City
in the American Association
.
, Rosen played most of the year in minor leagues
with the Kansas City Blues
, before joining the Indians in September and winning a World Series
ring as a reserve behind regular third baseman, Ken Keltner
.
When Keltner was traded in , Rosen took over as the Indians' third baseman, leading the American League
in home runs with 37, hitting more than any previous American League rookie. It stood as the AL rookie record until Mark McGwire
surpassed it in 1987. He homered in four straight games in June, a feat not matched by an Indians rookie until Jason Kipnis
did it in 2011. He also averaged a league-best homer every 15.0 at bats, and led the league as well in HBP
(10). He batted
.287 and had 116 runs batted in, while coming in 5th in the league with 100 walks
and a .543 slugging percentage. His 100 walks were still a team rookie record for a right-handed batter, through 2010. Despite his home run title, he only came in 17th in the American League MVP Award voting.
In he led the league in games played, and was 5th in the league in RBIs (102), extra-base hits (55), and walks (85). He batted .265, with 24 home runs. He hit four grand slam
s, a team season record that was not broken until Travis Hafner
hit five in 2006.
Rosen led the American League with 105 RBIs and 297 total bases
in . He also was 3rd in the league in runs (101) and slugging percentage (.524), 5th in hits (171) and double
s (32), 6th in home runs (28), and 7th in batting average (.302). On April 29, he matched the team record, which still stood through 2010, of three home runs in one game. Still, he only came in 10th in the American League MVP Award voting.
In , Rosen led the American League in home runs (43), runs batted in (145; still a record for an Indian third baseman, through 2010), runs (115), slugging percentage (.613), and total bases (367). He also came in second in OBP, and third in hits (201), and tied for 8th in stolen base
s. He also had a 20-game hitting streak. Defensively, he had the best range factor of all third basemen in the league (3.32), and led it in assists (338) and double plays (38).
He batted .336, and missed winning the batting title – and with it the Triple Crown
– on the last day of the season—by less than a percentage point. Still, his overall excellence was enough to earn him the American League MVP Award by an unprecedented unanimous vote.
In he hit an even .300, led the league in sacrifice flies
with 11, was 4th in SP (.506), and 5th in home runs (24), RBI (102), and obp (.404). He also hit consecutive home runs in the All-Star game despite a broken finger, earning him the game MVP. His five home runs in the game matched the record set by Ted Williams
five years earlier, which still stood through the 2011 season.
Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel
said of him: "That young feller, that feller's a ball player. He'll give you the works every time. Gets all the hits, gives you the hard tag in the field. That feller's a real competitor, you bet your sweet curse life." Cleveland won the pennant, but lost the World Series
. In spite of Rosen's 5th straight year with 100 or more RBIs Cleveland cut his $42,500 ($ today) salary to $37,500 ($ today) for 1955.
In Rosen was in the top 10 in the league in at-bats per home run, walks, and sacrifice flies.
By 1956 back problems and leg injuries caught up with Rosen and he retired at just 32 at the end of the season.
Rosen reentered baseball 20 years later as a MLB
executive. He was president (and chief operating officer) of the Yankees
(1978–79), then the Astros
(1980–85), then president and general manager
of the Giants
(1985–92). His maneuvering brought San Francisco from last place in to the NL West title in and the NL Pennant in .
Rosen's wife of 19 years, the former Teresa (Terry) Ann Blumberg, died on May 3, 1971; he has been married to his second wife, Rita (née Kallman), for over 37 years. He has three sons, Robert in Lake Mary, Florida, Andy in New York and Jim in Los Angeles, as well as a stepdaughter, Gail, and a stepson, David. He also has four grandchildren. His son Andy is a musician who performs under the stage name Goat
. Rosen occasionally consults for baseball teams, including a stint with the Yankees as special assistant to the general manager in 2001 and 2002. He was featured in the 2010 movie narrated by Dustin Hoffman
called Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
.
, and had a reputation for standing up to anyone who dared insult his ancestry.
Rosen told the sportswriter Roger Kahn that as a young player in the minors he had moments when he wished his name were not as obviously Jewish as Rosen. But after he became a major league star, he actually considered changing his name to Rosenthal or Rosenstein so that no one could possibly mistake him for anything but a Jew.
In 1951, the television impresario
Ed Sullivan
, in his popular newspaper column, wrote about Rosen: "Of Jewish parentage, he is Catholic
. At the plate, you'll notice he makes the sign of the cross with his bat." Enraged, Rosen insisted on a full and public retraction, pointing out that the mark he always made with his bat was the letter "x."
Once a White Sox opponent called him a "Jew bastard." Sox pitcher Saul Rogovin
, also Jewish, remembered an angry Rosen striding belligerently to the dugout
and challenging the "son of a bitch" to a fight. The player backed down.
Rosen challenged an opposing player who had "slurred [his] religion" to fight him under the stands. When a Red Sox catcher called Rosen anti-Semitic names, he called time and "started toward him, to take him on." Hank Greenberg
recalled that Rosen "want[ed] to go into the stands and murder" fans who hurled anti-Semitic insults at him. The 2010 documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
highlights Rosen, who in it is frank about how he dealt with anti-Semitism: "There's a time that you let it be known that enough is enough. . . . You flatten [them]."
During his career, Rosen declined to play on the High Holy Days
.
In a 1976 Esquire
magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Rosen was the third baseman on Stein's Jewish team.
Through 2010, he was fourth in career home runs (behind Sid Gordon
), sixth in RBIs (behind Lou Boudreau
), and eighth in hits (behind Mike Lieberthal
) among all-time Jewish major league baseball players.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who was a third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.
He played his entire 10-year career (–) with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
, where he drove in 100 or more runs 5 years in a row, was a 4-time All-Star
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
, twice led the league in home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and twice in RBIs, and was an MVP. Rosen was extremely muscular, and had tremendous power and excellent bat control.
Rosen was a .285 career hitter, with 192 home runs and 717 RBIs in 1,044 games. He was selected for the All-Star Game
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
every year between 1952 and 1955. Rosen appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
in 1955
1955 in sports
-American football:* NFL Championship – Cleveland Browns won 38-14 over the Los Angeles Rams* Oklahoma Sooners - college football champions.-England:* First Division - Chelsea win the 1954-55 title.* FA Cup - Newcastle United beat Manchester City 3-1....
.
Early life
Rosen was born in Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
when he was three years old. He grew up in the southwest section of Miami, which is now the heart of Little Havana
Little Havana
Little Havana is a neighborhood of Miami, Florida, United States. Home to many Cuban immigrant residents, Little Havana is named after Havana, the capital and largest city in Cuba. The approximate boundaries are the Miami River , SW 16th Street , SR 9/West 27th Avenue and I-95...
. Rosen grew up without a father, and was raised by three women: his grandmother, mother and aunt.
Rosen suffered from asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
as a child, which prompted his family to move further south. While growing up, his two favorite baseball players were Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
and Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
. After graduating from Florida Military Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
, Rosen enrolled in the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he played for the Florida Gators baseball
Florida Gators baseball
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. The Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association , and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . They play their home games in Alfred A...
team in 1941-42. He left the university after his second semester to play minor league baseball.
Rosen enlisted in 1942, and spent 4 years in the U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
fighting in the Pacific
Pacific Ocean theater of World War II
The Pacific Ocean theatre was one of four major naval theatres of war of World War II, which pitted the forces of Japan against those of the United States, the British Commonwealth, the Netherlands and France....
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, delaying his professional baseball career. He navigated an assault boat in the initial landing on Okinawa in the bitter battle for the island. In 1946, he left the Navy as a lieutenant and returned to his emerging baseball career.
Minor league career
Rosen played for the Pittsfield ElectricsPittsfield Electrics (Canadian-American League)
The Pittsfield Electrics were a Canadian-American League baseball team in Pittsfield, Massachusetts from 1941 to 1951. From 1949 to 1950 they played as the Pittsfield Indians and in 1951 as the Pittsfield Phillies....
, where he was initially given a back-up role. Upon leading the Canadian-American League
Canadian-American League
This article refers to the original incarnation of the Can-Am League, which operated between 1936 and 1951. For the modern league, see Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball...
in home runs (16) and RBIs (86), while batting .323, however, he became known as the "Hebrew Hammer".
Rosen played for the Oklahoma City
Oklahoma city
Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Oklahoma City may also refer to:*Oklahoma City metropolitan area*Downtown Oklahoma City*Uptown Oklahoma City*Oklahoma City bombing*Oklahoma City National Memorial...
Indians in , and had one of the finest individual seasons in league history. He led all hitters in average (.349), hits (186), doubles (47), extra-base hits (83), RBIs (141), total bases (330), slugging percentage (.619), and on-base percentage (.437). He was elected Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
MVP.
In Rosen was Rookie of the Year for Triple-A
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
in the American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
.
Major League Baseball career
Rosen made his first appearance in the major leagues in at the age of 23. In 19481948 Cleveland Indians season
The Cleveland Indians season was a season in American baseball. The team won a one-game playoff against the Boston Red Sox and would then go onto win their second World Series in franchise history, its first in 28 years.-Off-season:...
, Rosen played most of the year in minor leagues
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
with the Kansas City Blues
Kansas City Blues (American Association)
The Kansas City Blues are a former minor league baseball team located in Kansas City, Missouri, in the Midwestern United States. The team was one of the eight founding members of the American Association....
, before joining the Indians in September and winning a World Series
1948 World Series
The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...
ring as a reserve behind regular third baseman, Ken Keltner
Ken Keltner
Kenneth Frederick Keltner was an American professional baseball player. He played almost his entire Major League Baseball career as a third baseman with the Cleveland Indians, until his final season when he played 13 games for the Boston Red Sox. He batted and threw right-handed...
.
When Keltner was traded in , Rosen took over as the Indians' third baseman, leading the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
in home runs with 37, hitting more than any previous American League rookie. It stood as the AL rookie record until Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...
surpassed it in 1987. He homered in four straight games in June, a feat not matched by an Indians rookie until Jason Kipnis
Jason Kipnis
Jason Michael Kipnis is an American baseball player who plays second base for the Cleveland Indians. He was called up from the minor leagues to the Indians on July 22, 2011....
did it in 2011. He also averaged a league-best homer every 15.0 at bats, and led the league as well in HBP
Hit by pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...
(10). He batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
.287 and had 116 runs batted in, while coming in 5th in the league with 100 walks
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
and a .543 slugging percentage. His 100 walks were still a team rookie record for a right-handed batter, through 2010. Despite his home run title, he only came in 17th in the American League MVP Award voting.
In he led the league in games played, and was 5th in the league in RBIs (102), extra-base hits (55), and walks (85). He batted .265, with 24 home runs. He hit four grand slam
Grand slam (baseball)
In the sport of baseball, a grand slam is a home run hit with all three bases occupied by baserunners , thereby scoring four runs—the most possible in one play. According to The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, the term originated in the card game of contract bridge, in which a grand slam involves...
s, a team season record that was not broken until Travis Hafner
Travis Hafner
Travis Lee Hafner is a left-handed hitting designated hitter for the Cleveland Indians of the American League Central Division. His nickname, "Pronk", was given to him by former teammate Bill Selby during spring training of when people sometimes referred to him as "The Project" and other times...
hit five in 2006.
Rosen led the American League with 105 RBIs and 297 total bases
Total bases
In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....
in . He also was 3rd in the league in runs (101) and slugging percentage (.524), 5th in hits (171) and double
Double (baseball)
In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....
s (32), 6th in home runs (28), and 7th in batting average (.302). On April 29, he matched the team record, which still stood through 2010, of three home runs in one game. Still, he only came in 10th in the American League MVP Award voting.
In , Rosen led the American League in home runs (43), runs batted in (145; still a record for an Indian third baseman, through 2010), runs (115), slugging percentage (.613), and total bases (367). He also came in second in OBP, and third in hits (201), and tied for 8th in stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s. He also had a 20-game hitting streak. Defensively, he had the best range factor of all third basemen in the league (3.32), and led it in assists (338) and double plays (38).
He batted .336, and missed winning the batting title – and with it the Triple Crown
Triple crown (baseball)
In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...
– on the last day of the season—by less than a percentage point. Still, his overall excellence was enough to earn him the American League MVP Award by an unprecedented unanimous vote.
In he hit an even .300, led the league in sacrifice flies
Sacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....
with 11, was 4th in SP (.506), and 5th in home runs (24), RBI (102), and obp (.404). He also hit consecutive home runs in the All-Star game despite a broken finger, earning him the game MVP. His five home runs in the game matched the record set by Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
five years earlier, which still stood through the 2011 season.
Hall of Fame manager Casey Stengel
Casey Stengel
Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel , nicknamed "The Old Perfessor", was an American Major League Baseball outfielder and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in ....
said of him: "That young feller, that feller's a ball player. He'll give you the works every time. Gets all the hits, gives you the hard tag in the field. That feller's a real competitor, you bet your sweet curse life." Cleveland won the pennant, but lost the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. In spite of Rosen's 5th straight year with 100 or more RBIs Cleveland cut his $42,500 ($ today) salary to $37,500 ($ today) for 1955.
In Rosen was in the top 10 in the league in at-bats per home run, walks, and sacrifice flies.
By 1956 back problems and leg injuries caught up with Rosen and he retired at just 32 at the end of the season.
Later life
After retiring in , he became a stockbroker.Rosen reentered baseball 20 years later as a MLB
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
executive. He was president (and chief operating officer) of the Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
(1978–79), then the Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
(1980–85), then president and general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
of the Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
(1985–92). His maneuvering brought San Francisco from last place in to the NL West title in and the NL Pennant in .
Rosen's wife of 19 years, the former Teresa (Terry) Ann Blumberg, died on May 3, 1971; he has been married to his second wife, Rita (née Kallman), for over 37 years. He has three sons, Robert in Lake Mary, Florida, Andy in New York and Jim in Los Angeles, as well as a stepdaughter, Gail, and a stepson, David. He also has four grandchildren. His son Andy is a musician who performs under the stage name Goat
Goat (musician)
Andy Rosen, stage name Goat, is an American singer, best known for his song Great Life which appeared on the soundtrack of the film I Know What You Did Last Summer....
. Rosen occasionally consults for baseball teams, including a stint with the Yankees as special assistant to the general manager in 2001 and 2002. He was featured in the 2010 movie narrated by Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
called Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story is a 2010 American documentary film narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Peter Miller...
.
Jewish heritage
Rosen was tough, an amateur boxerBoxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, and had a reputation for standing up to anyone who dared insult his ancestry.
Rosen told the sportswriter Roger Kahn that as a young player in the minors he had moments when he wished his name were not as obviously Jewish as Rosen. But after he became a major league star, he actually considered changing his name to Rosenthal or Rosenstein so that no one could possibly mistake him for anything but a Jew.
In 1951, the television impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
Ed Sullivan
Ed Sullivan
Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan was an American entertainment writer and television host, best known as the presenter of the TV variety show The Ed Sullivan Show. The show was broadcast from 1948 to 1971 , which made it one of the longest-running variety shows in U.S...
, in his popular newspaper column, wrote about Rosen: "Of Jewish parentage, he is Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
. At the plate, you'll notice he makes the sign of the cross with his bat." Enraged, Rosen insisted on a full and public retraction, pointing out that the mark he always made with his bat was the letter "x."
Once a White Sox opponent called him a "Jew bastard." Sox pitcher Saul Rogovin
Saul Rogovin
Saul Walter Rogovin was a professional baseball player.Rogovin was a pitcher over parts of 8 seasons , with the Detroit Tigers, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies...
, also Jewish, remembered an angry Rosen striding belligerently to the dugout
Dugout (baseball)
In baseball, the dugout is a team's bench area and is located in foul territory between home plate and either first or third base. There are two dugouts, one for the home team and one for the visiting team. In general, the dugout is occupied by all players not prescribed to be on the field at that...
and challenging the "son of a bitch" to a fight. The player backed down.
Rosen challenged an opposing player who had "slurred [his] religion" to fight him under the stands. When a Red Sox catcher called Rosen anti-Semitic names, he called time and "started toward him, to take him on." Hank Greenberg
Hank Greenberg
Henry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
recalled that Rosen "want[ed] to go into the stands and murder" fans who hurled anti-Semitic insults at him. The 2010 documentary Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story
Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story is a 2010 American documentary film narrated by Academy Award winner Dustin Hoffman, written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow, and directed by award-winning documentary filmmaker Peter Miller...
highlights Rosen, who in it is frank about how he dealt with anti-Semitism: "There's a time that you let it be known that enough is enough. . . . You flatten [them]."
During his career, Rosen declined to play on the High Holy Days
High Holy Days
The High Holidays or High Holy Days, in Judaism, more properly known as the Yamim Noraim , may mean:#strictly, the holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ;...
.
In a 1976 Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine article, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Rosen was the third baseman on Stein's Jewish team.
Through 2010, he was fourth in career home runs (behind Sid Gordon
Sid Gordon
Sidney "Sid" Gordon , known as "Sid," was a stocky, powerfully built American right-handed Major League Baseball outfielder, third baseman, and first baseman....
), sixth in RBIs (behind Lou Boudreau
Lou Boudreau
Louis "Lou" Boudreau was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...
), and eighth in hits (behind Mike Lieberthal
Mike Lieberthal
Michael Scott "Mike" Lieberthal , nicknamed Lieby, is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He batted and threw right-handed....
) among all-time Jewish major league baseball players.
Quotes
- "The greatest thrill in the world is to end the game with a home run and watch everybody else walk off the field while you're running the bases on air."
- "Oh great, the one time I'm at (Yankee StadiumYankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
) I have to miss Al Rosen hit a home run!" —Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
on "I Love LucyI Love LucyI Love Lucy is an American television sitcom starring Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Vivian Vance, and William Frawley. The black-and-white series originally ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on the Columbia Broadcasting System...
", aired October 1, 1956
Awards
- Member of the Cleveland Indians Hall of Fame .
- Member of the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (19801980 in sports1980 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup:** Men's overall season champion: Andreas Wenzel, Liechtenstein** Women's overall season champion: Hanni Wenzel, Liechtenstein...
). - Member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of FameInternational Jewish Sports Hall of FameThe International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
. - Member of the Texas League Hall of Fame .
See also
- Cleveland Indians all-time rosterCleveland Indians all-time rosterThe following is a list of players, both past and current, who appeared at least in one game for the Cleveland American League franchise known as the Blues , Bronchos , Naps and Indians ....
- List of Florida Gators baseball players
- List of New York Yankees owners and executives
- List of select Jewish baseball players