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Hello, Newhan

I hope that whoever designed the Shawn Green "Yom Kippur Clipper" t-shirts that were being hawked in Grand Central prior to Game 7 of the NLCS have the capability for another artistic creation.

With utility man David Newhan in the fold, the Mets now have two Jewish players on the roster. T-shirt designers want to make note than Newhan's nickname is "Son of Scribe."

Newhan is the son of a Hall of Fame honoree, Los Angeles Times baseball writer Ross Newhan. The elder Newhan has been known to get rather emotional when following his son. When in 2004, the younger Newhan homered in his first at bat back in the majors after nearly three years and two shoulder surgeries, the elder Newhan let out a yelp that columnist Bill Plaschke described as "Howard Dean-esque" (Ross was following his son's Orioles-Rockies game on the internet while covering the Dodgers)

That hit was part of a magical 2004 campaign for Newhan, one that the Mets hope he can duplicate after recovering from the broken foot that hampered him last season. It was one that he capped on September 29th against the Blue Jays. With the score tied and the bases loaded with nobody out in the last of the 9th, Baltimore got three chances to end the game. Javy Lopez failed to come through, popping out to first. Rafael Palmeiro, who had already homered twice, struck out. That left it to Newhan, who took a called strike, than lined a single to plate the game-winning run.

Another thing that happened in 2004 that may have influenced his baseball future. On five different occasions, Newhan had at least four hits in a game. Among American Leaguers that season, only Ichiro (with 10) had more. Two of those happened to come against the Yankees, whose bench coach then is the current Mets manager. Willie Randolph might also like that Newhan used to have a license plate reading "LV2TRN2."

T-shirt designers shouldn't be the only ones taking advantage of the situation that might unfold this April. I'm looking forward to seeing "Learning Yiddish with Professor Reyes" on the Diamond Vision screen between innings this season.

First up, what we should all be wishing Mr. Newhan. Mazal Tov.

True Methans know...That if both Green and Newhan make the team, it would mark the first time in Mets history that 2 Jewish players were on the roster at the same time.

Comments

Ron Kaplan said…
Three Jews, since Scott Schoenweis was signed.

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