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February 4, 2005/Shevat 25 5765, Vol. 57, No. 23
Green swings into the Valley
STEPHANIE N. HENSCHEL
Staff Writer
The Boys of Summer will soon step back in Bank One Ballpark, and Shawn Green will be among them - only this time, he'll be batting for the home team.
The Arizona Diamondbacks signed Green from the Los Angeles Dodgers in early January.
In a phone interview Jan. 31, Green said the decision to come to the Valley was due largely to what is good for his family: wife Lindsay and their daughter Presley, 2.
The move has been a long time coming: The Arizona ball club tried to get Green two other times, with no success.
The final contract agreement states that Green will receive a salary of $30 million for three years, with a mutual option in 2008 at a salary of $10 million, according to the team's Web site. The mutual option can be bought out for $2 million, or Green can become a free agent, which means he could choose to go to any other team.
The Diamondbacks will receive $10 million for the trade, while the Dodgers will receive four minor league players from the Diamondbacks: right-handed pitchers William Juarez, Danny Muegge and Beltran Perez, along with catcher Dioner Navarro.
As the top Jewish baseball player since Sandy Koufax, Green made headlines last fall when he refused to play on Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays.
"It's the type of decision that's obviously a personal one," he said.
According to Green, colleagues and fans were supportive of his decision.
During his 12-year career with the Toronto Blue Jays, the Dodgers, and now the Diamondbacks, Green has increased his involvement with the Jewish community. While playing for the Dodgers, he took on the role of spokesman for KOREH, the Los Angeles Jewish Coalition for Literacy.
Though he did not become a bar mitzvah, Green recognizes that he is a role model for Jewish youth.
Rabbi Laibel Blotner, director of Chabad of Arizona's Mishmar program - and a baseball fan - said the addition of Green to the Diamondbacks roster "promotes Jewish pride in our city.
"It's good for the Diamondbacks, and good for the Jewish community," Blotner said. Green has publicly taken pride in his Judaism, something Blotner thinks will translate to Jewish youth and the community as a whole.
"A child going to the games, and Jewish ticket holders, they see him and they have something to identify with," he said. "It makes people think about their religion and their Jewish identity. I think it's something people can learn from."
Jeffrey Frankel, synagogue administrator and youth and young adult director at Beth El Congregation, said Green will not only bring his talent to the Diamondbacks, but that "he will bring a 'mensch-y' attitude on how to conduct himself.
"It will be very neat for me to go to a game with my 3-year-old son and teach him values and Judaica in a baseball game," Frankel said.
Green's actions indicate he is supportive of the traditions of tikkun olam. He has donated $1.5 million to the Dodgers Dream Foundation. He has plans to set up charitable foundations of his own, expressing an interest in Jewish charities, according to an article on JewHoo.com.
The right fielder has garnered many honors, including the Hank Greenberg Sportsmanship Award by the American Jewish Historical Society in 2004, as well as a nod from the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in January 2001. He was also named as a 2003 inductee into the Arizona Fall League Hall of Fame.
And the baseball veteran was no slacker in the classroom. A graduate of Tustin High School in California, Green attended Stanford University on a baseball scholarship before signing with the Blue Jays in 1991 - in the first-round selection, 16th overall, at the June 1991 First Year Player Draft.
Green said he is aware that Phoenix has a large Jewish community, but has not made contact at this point.
"I'm sure that will occur when I am in Phoenix," he said. Green said he and his family are in the process of moving and should be settled in the Valley before spring training. Practice begins Feb. 14.
According to Frankel, organizations around the Valley are already vying for Green's membership.
"In meetings with executive directors from around the Valley, we're all talking about 'Is he going to join?' and 'Where will he join?'" he said.
Overall, Green is excited about coming to the Valley. He calls his new team "a first-class organization." And he hopes to take the 2001 World Series champions back to the pennant race.
"I'm in my early 30s," he said. "I want to win a world championship."
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