By Mark D. Zimmerman
MELVILLE, New York –Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman is the first Jewish major league baseball player to get a walk-off hit in a World Series game. What other member of Bregman’s family accomplished something in baseball?
A. Bregman’s father, Sam, played baseball at the University of New Mexico. In 1989, he played on the United States team at the thirteenth Maccabiah Games in Israel.
B. Bregman’s younger brother, Anthony, played second base on the middle school team at Solomon Schechter Day School of Albuquerque, where he won the Most Valuable Player award in 8th grade.
C. Bregman’s grandfather, Stanley, was the lawyer for the Washington Senators before they moved to Minnesota and became the Twins.
D. Bregman’s mother, Jackie, attended the University of New Mexico, where she majored in physical education and worked as a trainer for the school’s baseball team. This is where she met Alex’s father, Sam, who was a player on the team.
E. Bregman’s great grandfather Samuel, who emigrated to America from Russia when he was 4, played catcher for St. Dominick’s in the Parochial League in Washington, DC, where they listed his name as Bregmanio so people would think he was Catholic rather than Jewish.