When the Dodgers face the San Francisco Giants this weekend in a three-game series beginning in San Francisco this weekend, most Jews will be in synagogue for the holiest day of the year.
What will Shawn Green do?
The first baseman has declined to discuss his Yom Kippur plans with reporters. "I’m not talking about it yet," Green told ESPN on Sunday after the Dodgers played Colorado. "I don’t want the media making a big deal out of it."
But the media is making a big deal out of it, and by Tuesday night, a Dodgers official said that Green will sit out Saturday’s game — but will still play on Friday night, the Los Angeles Times reported. Yom Kippur, of course, begins at sundown on Friday night. The unnamed official said Green felt he’d be letting down his team if he skipped two games.
As of press time, Green had not yet made an announcement regarding his final decision.
The $24,000 "will he or won’t he play on Yom Kippur" question follows Green around like his Jewish fan club ever since he skipped a crucial game on Sept. 26, 2001 — because of Yom Kippur — which ended a streak of 415 consecutive games played. Dodger Sandy Koufax refused to pitch the first game of the 1965 World Series due to Yom Kippur.
