DOWNTOWN — Jeff Aeder knows the jokes are coming regarding the Jewish Baseball Museum website he recently founded that's devoted to the Jews who have played Major League Baseball.
"It's a small one, right?" Aeder asked with a laugh.
Actually, 166 Jews have reached the Major Leagues. That includes Hall of Famers Sandy Koufax and Hank Greenberg, but also lesser-known figures like Jimmie Reese, Robert Berman and Brian Bark.
Aeder's site tells their stories and dozens more, plus includes photos, videos and other items about the best Jewish baseball players in history.
"It's a great way for people to feel more proud to be Jewish and a way to root for their favorite Jewish ballplayer," said Aeder, of Lakeview, who also founded the Wolcott School and owns Milt's BBQ, a Kosher barbecue restaurant on Broadway.
The site also contains trivia, including Kenny Holtzman earning the most career wins for a Jewish pitcher (174), Lipman Pike becoming the first Jew to make the Majors, and the White Sox having the most Jews (22) on their all-time roster. The Cubs have had 16 Jews.
"I always thought I knew a lot about baseball history and its Jewish players. But since getting involved in this project, I learned the true depth of Jewish baseball history," said the site's managing editor, Ed Sherman. "There are so many great stories that show the impact Jews have had on the game. It will be exciting to be able to tell those stories on our site."
The website could become an actual museum, Aeder said. Over the next six months, Aeder, who has a giant collection of Jewish baseball memorabilia, will gauge the site's traffic and determine whether there's enough interest to build a physical space.
"We're going to be enhancing the site; then we'll judge based upon the interest level," Aeder said. "We want to do something that's first class. It's a lot of fun to create things. It has been a fun project."
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