By Gary Rotto
- Gary Rotto
SAN DIEGO — Baseball and kosher hot dogs. A new summer time tradition is reprised by the Jewish Federation and the
Padres. On a recent homestand, our local nine hosted a Jewish Community Day, the first one organized in conjunction
with local Jewish organizations in almost a decade.
Back when the Padres played at Qualcomm Stadium, the American Jewish Committee led the first effort. An old style organizing event where congregations and organizations preordered tickets that were distributed to their offices. And
they then had to sell and distribute the tickets to their members. It was a bit cumbersome and financially risky having
to place an order well before knowing how many tickets each group could sell.
But in this age internet age, tickets sales are incredibly easy. So when I decided to attend, I followed a weblink to a dedicated page on the Padres.com website, paid by credit card and received my confirmation via email. Not only was I able to receive my ticket at the game, but I could pick it up at a kosher tailgate event sponsored by The Place and Raphael’s Party Rents. Well,
there was one more bonus: a special edition Padres shirt with the interlocking SD logo and Padres written in Hebrew
across the front of the shirt.
Approximately 440 tickets to the game were sold through Jewish organizations and about 350 people attended the tailgate. And another few dozen attended the game as part of the Supporting Jewish Single Parents program of Jewish Family Service.
It just so happened that Assemblymember Nathan Fletcher, who represents Carmel Valley and University City, had planned a Friends and Family Day for the same game. While he didn’t receive a special Padres shirt, he did mingle with many participants, including constituents from Congregation Beth Am. Also participating in the Jewish Community Day event were Congregation Beth Israel, Ken Jewish Community, Temple Emanu-el, Beth Jacob Congregation, Congregation B’Nai Tikvah, Friendship Circle, Chabad of Coronado, Chabad of Downtown, and Jewish Federation of San Diego County.
As is tradition with any special day, representatives of the Jewish community were recognized before the game. the Miller Family, Danielle and Brian, owners
of Geppetto’s toy stores and board members with Jewish Federation and the Jewish Community Foundation were recognized on the field in a pregame ceremony. Since Sunday is usually kids day at Petco Park, their sons, Nathan and Jared were at their side.
While the Padres didn’t wear the Hebrew edition shirts on the field, they did bring their best game to the special day, besting the visiting Rockies 8-3 with Heath Bell closing out the game. Since baseball players are a very superstitious bunch, my guess is that with results like that, the Padres will invite the community next year.
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Rotto is a freelance writer based in San Diego. He may be contacted at gary.rotto@sdjewishworld.com