Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur make up the High Holy Days, or High Holidays, of Judaism. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year. It recently took place on Sept. 16, 2023, ushering in year 5784 on the Hebrew calendar. Rosh Hashanah is also the first of the Ten Days of Repentance, which coincide with the first 10 days of the Hebrew month of Tishri. The tenth day is Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. Those who observe this "Day of Atonement" are supposed to fast and refrain from work. Yom Kippur will fall on Sept. 25, 2023.
Sandy Koufax chose not to pitch in Game 4 of the World Series on Rosh Hashanah in 1959, and he was skipped over in the rotation in Game 1 of the 1965 World Series on Yom Kippur. Koufax's Dodgers went on to win both of those championships, and Koufax was named the MVP of the 1965 World Series. The Jewish ace pitcher also skipped starts that conflicted with Rosh Hashanah in 1961 and 1963, in addition to missing a start on the first day of Passover in April of 1959. Koufax isn't the only star player in MLB history to sit out on the Jewish High Holidays. Fellow Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg hit two home runs on Rosh Hashanah in 1934 but then chose to attend synagogue rather than the baseball diamond on Yom Kippur later that same season.
Cubs pitcher Ken Holtzman followed in Koufax's footsteps, sitting out on Yom Kippur as a rookie in 1966, the year after Koufax's World Series decision. As luck (or maybe fate) would have it, Holtzman and Koufax went head-to-head on the mound the day after Yom Kippur in 1966, and Holtzman took a no-hitter into the ninth inning while ultimately coming away with a 2-1 win over Koufax and the Dodgers. The rare loss for Koufax, who finished 27-9 with a 1.73 ERA in 1966, represented a passing of both the torch and the Torah.
Holtzman went on to be the next great Jewish pitcher, posting 17-plus wins on six different occasions and playing a key role in the Athletics' three-peat from 1972-74. Holtzman sat out on Yom Kippur in the 1973 ALCS, but he won Game 7 of the World Series against the Mets later that same postseason.
There were 17 Jewish players that made at least one MLB appearance in 2022, and the list of active Jewish players includes stars like Houston's Alex Bregman, Atlanta's Max Fried and San Francisco's Joc Pederson. Fried and Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer started against each other on May 5, 2023, marking the first time two Jewish starting pitchers have faced off head-to-head since Koufax and Holtzman's memorable clash 57 years ago. Despite the prominent Jewish representation in MLB, the last player who requested to sit out on the High Holidays was Dodgers outfielder Shawn Green on Yom Kippur back in 2001. Notably, Bregman, Fried and Pederson all played in postseason games on Yom Kippur in 2019, and all three lost.
The Jewish High Holidays generally fall in either September or October. Since this year's holidays fall on the earlier side, the MLB regular season will still be going on. Fried's Atlanta team sits comfortably atop the NL East standings while teams like Bregman's Astros, Pederson's Giants and Kremer's Orioles are still jostling for either a division title or Wild Card spot. Since none of the current Jewish MLB players have asked to sit out on Yom Kippur before, those that find themselves in tight pennant races are unlikely to do so this year, which means we won't see a potentially consequential absence like those of Greenberg, Koufax or Holtzman from the MLB annals.
While the High Holidays haven't affected the availability of the current crop of MLB players, the next Koufax or Greenberg could be right around the corner. Elie Kligman was selected in the 20th round of the 2021 MLB Draft by the Nationals and is the first Shabbat-observant NCAA Division 1 baseball player. If the Wake Forest prospect eventually makes it to the big leagues, he would be unavailable to play between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday every week, as those who observe Shabbat must refrain from work on the Jewish Day of Rest. Kligman would almost certainly ask to sit out on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as well. Koufax and Holtzman certainly don't regret doing so given the success they found after refraining from playing baseball on Yom Kippur.
