Alex Bregman proud to be a Jewish ballplayer

FORT MYERS, Fla. – As one of fewer than 190 Jewish men to ever play Major League Baseball, Alex Bregman thought he knew how much his presence in the game mattered.

Then came Oct. 7, 2023.

The terrorist organization Hamas, which took control of the Gaza strip in 2007, invaded southern Israel. Aided and abetted by Gazan civilians, Hamas slaughtered over 1,200 people and took over 250 hostages, including many dead bodies, back to Gaza.

It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, and greatest loss of life of any day since the State of Israel was reestablished in 1948. The death toll included citizens of more than 30 countries, including 46 Americans. There were also 12 Americans among the hostages.

Bregman woke up that Saturday morning preparing for his Houston Astros to host the Minnesota Twins for Game 1 of the ALDS that evening, but his focus quickly shifted. He took in the news in horror, and carried the weight of it with him to work, where his team tried to help him through an unfathomable situation.

“(Manager) Dusty (Baker) called me into his office,” he told the Herald. “We talked about the tragedy and the attack that day. Multiple teammates at the time in Houston came up to me and were like, ‘You have all of our love and support, and anything we can do for you,’ and it meant a lot, honestly.”

Bregman decided to make a statement without saying a word, and grabbed a Sharpie.

“I put the Star of David on my cap and wore it throughout the playoffs,” he said. “I got more hate for that than anything else in my entire career.”

Yes, more than he did for his part in the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal.

Bregman’s upbringing in Albuquerque, N.M., fell somewhere between Reform and Conservative Judaism.

“I had my bar mitzvah when I was 13, and my sister and brother had their bat and bar mitzvah as well,” he said. “We celebrate all the holidays and go to temple on Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah, and celebrate Hanukkah together every year.”

His Jewish identity was also tied to his love of baseball. Dodgers legend Sandy Koufax, who famously refused to pitch on Yom Kippur even though they were in the World Series, was his favorite Jewish player. The Bregmans even named their black labrador Koufax.

“I loved (Kevin) Youkilis, too,” he said. “Hank Greenberg, I never got to watch him play but my dad and grandfather used to always tell me about him.”

Greenberg was the original Yom Kippur abstainer, in a place and time of prevalent antisemitism. Playing for the Tigers in virulent antisemite Henry Ford’s Detroit in the 1930s,

Since Oct. 7, Bregman can relate.

“I have never faced antisemitism in any clubhouse that I’ve been in. I have had a ton of support from all of my teammates with everything, so it’s been really nice. The support has been amazing from all teammates and coaches and organizations,” he said. “But there’s a lot of antisemitism out there (in the world).”

The tragedies of Oct. 7 and the ongoing aftermath have profoundly changed how Bregman sees his place in the world. He knew that Jewish representation in sports mattered, but he’s more active and vocal in his representation now.

“One hundred percent, after the last year and a half, I feel like it’s made me want to do more, for sure,” he said. “Being able to play professional baseball and be in the big leagues to begin with is a blessing in and of itself, but it’s an honor to be a Jewish baseball player.”

He started doing more in Jewish communities, and is looking forward to continuing that now that he’s with the Red Sox.

“After October 7 I went and talked to a bunch of kids at a synagogue in Houston, and just shared my story, my professional baseball journey with them, and my faith, and everything like that,” he said. “It was really cool. I never thought I would ever do that. I’m not really, really religious, but I am religious. I don’t go to temple all the time, but I am proud of being Jewish. And I didn’t realize what kind of impact I could have in the Jewish community until I did that.

“And then last year, we had an off-day in the Mexico Series. I went to the Jewish Community Center down there in Mexico City and spent a lot of time with some kids there, and had a fantastic time. I can’t wait to do the same in Boston.”

He looks at past moments from his career through new eyes, too. Like the ‘22 World Series between the Astros and Braves, when he, Garrett Stubbs, Joc Pederson, and Max Fried made MLB history; it was the first time as many as four Jewish players had ever played in the same postseason series. When Bregman batted against Fried in Game 6, it was the first time a Jewish batter had ever faced a Jewish pitcher in the World Series. Bregman capped off the moment by flying out to none other than Pederson in right-field.

“Sometimes there are things that happen over the course of a season or your career that you look back on like, ‘I didn’t even realize at the time,’ but looking back on it, it’s pretty cool and pretty special,” he said.

Major League Baseball has become more Jewish in recent years. In 2022, the Jewish Journal noted that over the past decade, an average of 14 Jewish ball players were in the majors each season, the highest average of any decade since baseball’s Modern Era began in 1901.

Even so, Jews make up approximately 1% of all players in MLB history. Worldwide, Jews are 0.02% of the global population. And antisemitism is rising around the world.

It can be difficult balancing baseball life and Jewish life, especially now that he feels called to do more for the latter. But that’s also how he knows that it’s important.

“This game has given me a platform to talk about and stand up for what I believe in,” he said. “I don’t take that for granted.”