Posted on September 4, 2021
I’m a big baseball fan, so it’s not surprising that I have a collection of baseball cards of Jewish major leaguers or a library of baseball books that I turn to repeatedly, even though I know the score. You can understand, then, that I was intrigued by an article in the Jewish Journal about Chaim Bloom, the 36 year old General Manager of the Boston Red Sox (https://jewishjournal.org/2021/09/03/the-chaim-bloom-interview/). I hope you find it as informative as I did, especially concerning the intertwining of Judaism and baseball. After the article, take a look at the baseball books in my library. They’re divided into two parts: 1. Jewish baseball books; and 2. Baseball books in general.
The Chaim Bloom Interview: ON BASEBALL, FAMILY AND JUDAISM
Chaim Bloom is the general manager of the Boston Red Sox. He grew up in Philadelphia, went to Jewish day school and Yale. At 36, he is considered one of the brightest minds in baseball and has focused on rebuilding the team’s farm system and putting it in a position to win multiple World Series. He spoke to the Journal about baseball, family and Judaism.
Happy New Year, Chaim! How will you and your family be spending Rosh Hashanah this year?
Happy New Year to you and all of your readers! This year we’re going to stay local. My wife is from the area and so we’ll have plenty of family and friends around.
The High Holidays are in the middle of a pennant race this year. Do you typically attend synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Also, will you be praying for the Red Sox to win the World Series this year?
Typically I do – though last year was obviously very different because of the pandemic. The timing of the High Holidays is not always ideal as far as the baseball calendar is concerned, but it’s made for some very interesting memories over the years – it’s a good thing if they fall in the middle of a pennant race because it means we’re in the hunt! It seems more than a little presumptuous to think that God is focused on who wins the World Series. But it never hurts to pray for a little wisdom to make good baseball decisions.
Regarding High Holiday meals, what’s your favorite meal for Rosh Hashanah and can you describe your typical pre-fast dinner before Yom Kippur?
I am not too picky when it comes to holiday meals – I’m pretty easy to please!
You’re the son of an eye doctor and a French and Hebrew teacher. You went to Jewish day school growing up in Philadelphia. What kind of Jewish values have stayed with you from your childhood, and would you recommend Jewish day school for families that want to raise their children with a strong Jewish identity?
The two things that come to mind immediately are the centrality of family and the responsibility we have to the world around us. Both of those are important in my personal life but they’re also critical to how I think about my work. Every child is different and has different needs, but I really value both the Jewish and general studies education that I got from the day schools I attended.
You met your wife Aliza at Yale and have two sons. Can you talk about Judaism in your home now, kashrut, and how important it is in your family today?
We are proud of our Jewish identity and it’s important to us that our children are proud of theirs and understand it as well. Both my wife and I are fortunate to come from families that are involved in the Jewish community and we know how wonderful a thing that is to pass on to children. We’re also lucky that we’ve had great examples of how to be committed Jews and active members of secular society at the same time.
When you were a baseball executive in Tampa, you lived close enough to the ballpark to make Shabbat with your family and then return for the game. Are you still able to do that?
I’ve done it a few times, but there’s no doubt it’s taken a lot longer since we went back to full capacity. But that’s a price I’m more than willing to pay for the energy our crowd brings!
Are there any life lessons that come from your love of baseball that make you a better husband and father?
Plenty – I like to think I learn things in each aspect of my life that I can apply to the other. Patience, humility, and an awareness of what we can and cannot control are a few that come to mind.
You keep kosher. How hard is that to do at Fenway and on the road?
Because I eat dairy and fish outside of the house, I make do just about anywhere. There are a few instances where I’ve been with colleagues at a barbecue joint eating only potato salad and cornbread and that’s led to a few questions. But other than that, I do fine.
You went to Yale and studied Classics. Is there any relationship between Classics and baseball, and how did you decide you wanted to have a career in baseball?
I knew I wanted a career in baseball before I picked my major – it worked for me, but I can’t say I’d necessarily recommend it as a path into this game! My Classics education taught me how to think, how to read carefully and how to learn, and in those respects it’s been tremendously valuable, especially in a business that is so unpredictable.
This is your second year with the Red Sox. There’s obviously a ton of pressure on the GM of the Red Sox to compete, and win the World Series. How do you deal with that, and what are your goals as GM?
I don’t think I could possibly want to win the World Series more than I already do. This is an incredibly competitive line of work, but that’s part of why it’s fun! No team has a more passionate fan base than we do, and that just adds fuel to my fire. I’m in this to win championships, and I think the best way to do that is by building an elite organization, top to bottom, that fields contending teams on an annual basis.
There’s been a rise of antisemitism in recent years in the U.S. Have you experienced any during your career and if so, how have you dealt with it?
Luckily, I haven’t ever felt that personally. I’m not naïve about what’s out there in the world and so I don’t take that for granted, but I’ve been fortunate to be surrounded by great people my whole career who have been curious and welcoming. The best way I can pay forward my good fortune in that regard is by trying to make our game more welcoming to folks who don’t see themselves represented on the field or in the front office as much as they should – especially with regard to gender, race or sexual orientation. We are making progress, but as an industry we still have a long way to go.
Lot of books have been written that describe the deep meaning of baseball and how it reflects life. Do you think there’s any Torah in baseball?
There’s Torah in everything, right? I love that our sport is looked at that way, that people find it so meaningful. This is a really special game. The fact that I get to do what I do for a living means that on top of all of the other wonderful things about baseball, I get to add the opportunity to work together with great people to accomplish something amazing.
Baseball books in my library:
- Jewish baseball books: The Catcher Was A Spy by Nicholas Dawidoff; The Baseball Talmud by Howard Medal; and You Gotta Have Balls by Brandon Steiner.
- Baseball books in general: Total Baseball by John Thorn, Peter Palmer, Michael Gershman, and David Pietrusza; Bottom of the 33rd by Dan Barry; Moneyball by Michael Lewis; The Unwritten Rules of Baseball by Paul Dickson; The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract by Bill James; Baseball in the Garden of Eden by John Thorn; The Teammates by David Halberstam; The Original Curse by Sean Deveney; The Only Game in Town, edited by David Remnick; The Armchair Book of Baseball edited by John Thorn; and Baseball is a Road to God by John Sexton with Thomas Elephant and Peter Schwartz, with a foreword by Doris Kearns Goodwin.