The Baseball Talmud: Megdal: Quiet Year in Jewish Free Agency

The latest study from Megdal…

So as many of you know, the biggest prizes in this year’s free agency sweepstakes aren’t Jewish. (No, despite his size, CC Sabathia didn’t have a Jewish mother urging him to eat.) But there are two major league Jewish free agents to watch with the Winter Meetings around the corner.

The first is Brad Ausmus, the veteran catcher, who has indicated that he doesn’t want to return for a 17th season if he isn’t on the west coast. That works for the San Diego Padres, who, according to the USA Today, are interested in Ausmus as a backup to Nick Hundley.

Ausmus hasn’t been a prolific offensive player, in the sense that Sarah Palin hasn’t been a whiz on foreign geography or turkey-killing optics. His OPS+ numbers since 2001: 57, 74, 55, 63, 80, 54, 68, 60. Even his raw totals aren’t greatly inflated by Houston’s home park: just .218/.303/.296 in 2008. But in San Diego? I shudder to think what those numbers would look like in 2009. Still, Ausmus is a terrific interview, and his grandfather was a rabbi. Let’s hope he catches on.