Community effort on softball diamond
By Ben Rohrbach/ Townsman Sports Editor
Wellesley Townsman, Thursday, August 4, 2005

Most people with something in common look for a forum to get together.

Rabbi Moshe Bleich, like many members of the Greater Boston Jewish community, have found that forum, on softball fields around the area.

"The way the league started was that I was looking to play sports," said Bleich, who at 28 years old is the youngest rabbi in the greater Boston area. "I met Stephen Brown, and the two of us were looking for something. Turns out, there were other Jewish men at other synagogues outside of Wellesley looking to play sports. And the idea was brought up to start a league."

Bleich, Brown and a few of their peers started the league two years ago. In its first season, the 25-and-up Men's Synagogue Softball League featured eight teams. Last season, four new teams joined the league. This summer, it's up to 18 teams under commissioners Rich Pomper and Bob Alpren, both of Newton.

And Bleich's team, the cleverly named Chabad Shluggers, made it to the championship which was held Sunday at Sprague Field. After a 13-9 comeback win against Wellesley's other team, top-seeded and undefeated Temple Beth Elokim, and a 13-4 victory over Natick's Temple Israel in the first two rounds, the Shluggers faced Newton Sunday.

"We've made the playoffs every year," said Bleich, who coaches, plays shortstop and leads off for the Shluggers. "We had never made it to the championship game until this year. It was especially special, because we had a big turnover, about six new guys, so it took a while to jell. Once we did, we had a really good team."

Brown was a big part of that jelling. The 40-year-old "took some of the load off my shoulders," said Bleich. "He's got a very good baseball head. He grew up with the sport," like many of the league's members. After missing the first portion of the season for personal reasons, Brown, the former Shluggers coach, returned to pitch the final five games, replacing Matt Oliver, who pitched the first seven.

Joining Bleich, Brown and Oliver were power hitters Adam Levine, Yitz Kashnow, Chris Sandler and Quentin Packard, Steve Black in left field (Bleich calls him the team's Golden Glove), Jesse Grinberg (an Israeli who never played the game before but wins Bleich's Most Improved Player award), and consistent players Josh Bob, Carl Blanchard, Judah Cohen and Jon Kniss.

Before the game - a 17-13 loss to Newton Beth El - the Shluggers had a touching moment, one that symbolized the reason they all came together in the first place - to share time with their Jewish peers.

"We had a little last-minute prep talk which I tried to give," said Bleich. "At that point, someone on the team was kind enough to buy surprise gifts for everyone on the team - orange wristbands with each player's name and number on them."

The team wore the wristbands along with their gray pants, dark blue jerseys with white lettering and dark blue caps. The color orange, though, has meaning among the community, and among communities worldwide.

Israel is conducting what is being called a disengagement. The Israeli government is about to pull thousands of Jews from an area of the Gaza Strip and hand it over to the Palestinians.

"It's obviously a very political thing," said Bleich. "A lot of people are for it, and a lot of people are against it. The color associated with people supporting the people who are being pulled out wear orange."

On an Israeli military map, the zone currently under dispute is colored orange.

"The statement we were trying to make was less political," said Bleich. "It's more to say, 'Look, regardless of your political views - should they be taking them out, or should they not be taking them out - either way, they're going through an extremely difficult time, and they need to be supported."

But the league isn't meant to be a political forum, or necessarily a religious one, but simply one where a group of men with similar interests can share some time.

"The league has been really good for us," said Bleich, who mentioned that well over 100 fans attended the final game. "It's a good way to meet people No. 1. No. 2, even people who you know that join the team get closer. It's almost like a club for men. ... In addition, it's a way to give back to the community."

Besides the nine-game regular season (the Shluggers went 5-4 this year), Bleich and his teammates play out-of-league games and charity games, including a showdown with the Wellesley Police Department last year that raised money for the Easter Seals.

"It's a lot of fun," said Bleich. "It's good exercise. It's a way for people to meet new people and network. For us, it's also a way to strengthen our own little community. In addition to the fact that we have something in common, you need to show up, play for the same team and try to win a game. People start pulling for each other. You can tell, people on the team are closer to each other."

This year, the Shluggers are hoping for another charity game with the police to raise money for a local cancer charity, and they welcome any more potential opponents.

"We try to give back to the community, so we do charity games, and we're interested in doing more charity games."

If interested, you can reach the team by clicking the Shluggers link on wellesleywestonchabad.org, E-mailing chabadwellesley@aol.com, or calling 781-239-1076.

But watch out. They've got three years of practice under their belts.