JTA — Joc Pederson, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ lefty-swinging outfielder, has set a new home run record for Jewish players in the World Series.
During Game Six in California Tuesday night, Pederson blasted a homer to left field in the seventh inning of the Dodgers’ 3-1 win over the visiting Houston Astros. The shot was Pederson’s third in the series.
That moves him up in the Jewish baseball record books above the legendary Hank Greenberg, the Detroit Tiger who slugged two home runs in the 1934 fall classic.
Greenberg still holds the mark for most runs batted in by a Jewish player in one World Series — at least for now, since there’s another game left — with seven. Pederson has five.
But Pederson isn’t the only Jewish player who has made history in this series. On Sunday night, Alex Bregman, the Astros’ third baseman, became the first Jew to win a World Series game with a walk-off hit.
The Dodgers and Astros meet for a decisive Game 7 in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
(Ron Kaplan publishes Kaplan’s Korner, a blog devoted to Jews and sports.)
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