DODGERS Shawn Green aims for balance in life

He will miss two games this weekend in observance of Yom Kippur.
By STEVE WILSTEIN
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shawn Green is anguishing over the same conflict that confronted Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg.
The game or the synagogue? A pennant race or prayers?
In Green's case, he's torn about missing two critical games for the Los Angeles Dodgers on the highest of Jewish holy days, Yom Kippur, from sundown Friday night to sundown Saturday.
Should he play one game and abstain from the other, seeking a compromise in his commitments to his team and his faith?
Should he play both games or attend services, fast and refrain from work in solemn observance of The Day of Atonement?
Will he be criticized one way or another? No doubt, but he has to answer only to himself.
Trying to do the right thing
"It's a really tough deal," Green said Wednesday night before the Dodgers lost to San Diego 4-0 and saw their NL West lead over San Francisco shrink to a half-game.
"I've bounced back and forth and am just trying to do the right thing. It's hard to know what that is. I've really been toying with two different options: Play one of them or not play at all. I will miss at least one game."
To play or not to play on Yom Kippur is a personal decision for a Jewish ballplayer that can have a larger impact.
"It strikes a chord with each one of us who has to wonder, 'What do I do in this situation? Do I go to work? Am I going to observe my faith in a very visible way? Or do I just go with the flow?"' said Rabbi David Fine, Pacific Northwest regional director for the Union for Reform Judaism.
Koufax and Greenberg won the everlasting affection of American Jews, and the respect of many non-Jews, by observing Yom Kippur rather than playing in big games -- Koufax in the 1965 World Series as pitching ace of the Dodgers, Greenberg in the 1934 pennant race as the home run slugger for the Detroit Tigers.
"It's not quite a profile in courage, but it's still a courageous stand," said Fine, who grew up in Detroit hearing about Greenberg long after the last of his 331 home runs and his 58 in 1938. "It's when baseball players really become heroes in the eyes of those of us who watch them. It's when they go beyond good players to being real examples and role models."
Missed World Series
Koufax attended synagogue in Minnesota instead of pitching in Game 1 of the '65 Series against the Twins. Don Drysdale pitched that day and gave up seven runs in 2 2/3 innings. When manager Walter Alston came out to pull him from the game, Drysdale cracked, "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too."
Greenberg wrestled with whether to play on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. He spoke to his rabbi about it, got a dispensation to play, and hit two homers that day. The Detroit Free Press ran a banner headline, in Hebrew, that read: "Happy New Year, Hank."
On Yom Kippur, the pennant not quite clinched, Greenberg sat.
"Greenberg's decision electrified the American Jewish community, and generations of people remember that with incredible pride," said Martin Abramowitz, who recently helped the Hall of Fame organize "A celebration of Jews in baseball."