Today is 42 days, which is six weeks of the omer: malchut she’b’yesod. First: I already wrote about Robinson here. Granted, I probably should have gone next to Mo. But this week was getting a little too East Cost heavy. And yes, while centerfielder Dave Henderson was responsible for one of the most memorable moments in postseason history as a member of the 1986 Red Sox team, this … Continue reading day 42: hendu
Today is 38 days, which is three days and five weeks of the omer: tiferet she’b’yesod. What’s that you say? First baseman Bill Buckner didn’t wear #38? In fact he did, in 1969, his first year with the Dodgers. And since Buckner wore five different numbers over his 22 year career; and since for a good while no one was interested in his #6 Boston jersey; … Continue reading day 38: billy buck
Today is 35 days, which is five weeks of the omer: malchut she’b’hod. In 2009 Oakland retired number 24 in honor of left fielder Rickey Henderson, but since Bill James said, “If you split Rickey Henderson in two, you get two Hall-of-Famers,” a good case can be made that the As should have also retired the number 35 in which he began and ended his career, donning … Continue reading day 35: man of steal
Today is 34 days, which is six days and four weeks of the omer: yesod she’b’hod. Today is the third Red Sox player I’ve highlighted (which I don’t love because I really do want to get to every team and baseball already skews too much towards the big money/market franchises). I chose the first was because he was Ted Williams and the sefirot were gevurah … Continue reading day 34: big papi
Today is 29 days, which is one day and four weeks of the omer: hesed she’b’hod. Intra-state rivalries are real in Texas: UT vs. A&M, Rockets vs. Spurs, Texans vs. Cowboys (actually not sure about that last). But even now that the Astros are in the AL, I just don’t care about the Rangers. Never have. Even though the Express decamped to Texas from Houston. Maybe … Continue reading day 29: el koja
Today is 20 days, which is two weeks and six days of the omer: yesod she’b’tiferet. I got to know Boston’s Kevin Youkilis at exactly the right time, during the 2004 season. I was living in Raleigh, N.C., at the time, teaching Latin at a boarding school, and one of my fellow dorm staff was a serious Red Sox fan. We tried to get off-campus as much … Continue reading day 20: yooouuuk
Today is 13 days, which is one week and six days of the omer: yesod she’big’vurah. I know you didn’t think I was going to choose A-Rod today. I also know you didn’t think that I wasn’t going to start with Texas. As it turns out, today’s honoree, left fielder Carl Crawford grew up in Houston and suffered the indignity all too common for people of color in … Continue reading day 13: the perfect storm
Today is nine days, which is one week and two days of the omer: gevurah she’big’vurah.* Even if Red Sox right fielder Ted Williams hadn’t worn #9, I would have considered him for the day of gevurah she’big’vurah. There’s no way this outsize figure could be the pick for anything other than a double sefirah day. I will first admit that I find these double sefirot days a bit … Continue reading day 9: teddy ballgame
Today is six days of the omer: yesod she’b’hesed. (Because of chag, I am posting this before the sixth day actually begins.) I’m biased towards players who have spent their whole careers on one team. I like loyalty, by team and by player. I like the relationship between players and fans that can develop over that kind of time. I like watching a player improve and … Continue reading day 6: the overlooked
Omertime 