Michael Peter Epstein (born April 4, 1943), nicknamed "Superjew", is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB).

Early and personal life

Epstein was born in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York, and is Jewish.Mike Epstein Stats , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref>The Big Book of Jewish Baseball - Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz - Google Books
/ref> His parents were Jack (a salesman, born in Toronto, Canada) and Evelyn (born in New York City). When he was three years old, his family moved to

Hartsdale, New York Hartsdale is a hamlet located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census. It is a suburb of New York City. History Hartsdale, a CDP/hamlet/post-office in the town of Green ...

, and then when he was 13 to Fairfax in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

.Mike Epstein , Society for American Baseball Research
/ref> Ellis Island to Ebbets Field: Sport and the American Jewish Experience - Peter Levine - Internet Archive
/ref> Epstein said of his father, who refused when Epstein was still a minor to sign a contract on his behalf with the Dodgers: "He wanted me to be a lawyer, rather than a bum."

Amateur career

Epstein played for the baseball and football teams while attending Fairfax High School in Los Angeles, graduating in 1961. Epstein attended the

University of California-Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant univ ...

, where he majored in

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

and played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

for the California Golden Bears. He graduated in 1964. Although his .375 batting average in 1963 led to a contract offer by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, he decided to finish college. The following year, he batted .384 as a senior and was named an All-American.The Big Book of Jewish Baseball - Peter S. Horvitz, Joachim Horvitz - Google Books
/ref> He represented the United States in baseball at the 1964 Summer Olympics as a demonstration sport in Tokyo.

Minor leagues

Epstein played for the Stockton Ports of the California League in 1965, and led the league in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.338) and

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s (30; tying a league record set by

Vince DiMaggio Vincent Paul DiMaggio (September 6, 1912 – October 3, 1986) was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. During a 10-year baseball career, he played for the Boston Bees (1937–1938), Cincinnati Reds (1939–1940), Pittsburgh Pirates ( ...

). He was named the league's most valuable player (MVP). Rival manager Rocky Bridges nicknamed him "Superjew" for his efforts that season. Epstein played for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League in 1966, batting .309 with 29 home runs and 102

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBIs), earning him league MVP and Rookie of the Year honors. He was also named an All Star and received ''The Sporting News'' Minor League Player of the Year Award and

Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award The Topps Minor League Player of the Year Award was presented by Topps, The Topps Company in conjunction with Minor League Baseball to a minor-league player deemed to have had the most outstanding season. It was awarded annually beginning in 1960, ...

Major leagues

Epstein was first brought up for six games by the

in , at the age of 23. After the Orioles tried in vain to convert him to the outfield (they already had

Boog Powell John Wesley "Boog" Powell (born August 17, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from through , most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyna ...

at first base), they demoted him to Rochester again. The outspoken Epstein refused to report, going home to California instead. He was traded in May 1967 with Frank Bertaina to the Washington Senators for

Pete Richert Peter Gerard Richert (born October 29, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers (1962–64, 1972–73), Washington Senators (1965–67), Ba ...

. Later that season, in his first at-bat against the Orioles, Epstein hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. In he was 4th in the league in HBP (9). In with the Senators, in only 403 at bats Epstein hit 30

s (ninth in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

), had 85

(RBIs), and hit for a .278

(and .347 with runners in scoring position) with an excellent .414 on-base percentage and .551 slugging percentage. He was fourth in the league in hit by pitch (10), and he hit a home run every 13.4 at bats. He was 25th in voting for the American League

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. This was also the only year in which the reconstituted Senators finished above .500. In 1970 he was second in the league in being

hit by a pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

(13), while hitting 20 home runs, and leading all AL first basemen in range factor (10.08). In May 1971 he was traded along with

Darold Knowles Darold Duane Knowles (born December 9, 1941) is an American former professional baseball pitcher and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecu ...

to the Oakland Athletics for Frank Fernandez,

Don Mincher Donald Ray Mincher (June 24, 1938 – March 4, 2012) was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and longtime minor league executive. He played in the majors from 1960–1972 for the "original" Washington Senators and Minnesota Twins, Cal ...

, Paul Lindblad, and cash. In 1971, while hitting 18 home runs in 329 at bats, he was hit by a pitch 12 times, leading the league. In he hit 26 home runs (3rd in the league) for the world champion Athletics. He hit a home run every 17.5 at bats (3rd in the AL), had a .490 slugging percentage (5th), a .376 on-base percentage (6th), 62 walks (10th), and was hit by a pitch 11 times (2nd). He was 16th in voting for the

. Going hitless in 16 at bats during the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

in addition to his feud with manager Dick Williams over lack of playing time resulted in the Athletics fulfilling his trade demand by sending him to the Texas Rangers for

Horacio Piña Horacio Piña García ee'-nyah(born March 12, 1945) is a Mexican former relief pitcher who played in Major League Baseball over eight seasons between and . Piña also played professionally in Mexico for all or portions of nine years. He batted ...

on December 1, 1972. Additionally the A's wanted to free up the first base position for

Gene Tenace Fury Gene Tenace (; born Fiore Gino Tenacci; October 10, 1946), better known as Gene Tenace, is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher and first baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most n ...

who was the star of that same Fall Classic. Opening batting .188 with one homer and six RBI, he was dealt along with

Rich Hand Richard Allen Hand (born July 10, 1948) is an American retired professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he played for four seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers and California Angels. Bo ...

and Rick Stelmaszek from the Rangers to the California Angels for

Jim Spencer James Lloyd Spencer (July 30, 1947 – February 10, 2002) was a Major League Baseball first baseman. Born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, the left-handed Spencer was recognized for his excellent fielding ability, but also served in later years as a d ...

and

Lloyd Allen Lloyd Cecil Allen (born May 8, 1950) is a former professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels (-), Texas Rangers (-), and Chicago White Sox (-). He was the first big league player born in th ...

on May 20. In 1973 he was seventh in the league in hit by pitch (8). On May 4, , he was released by the Angels. In 907 games over nine seasons, Epstein posted a .244

(695-for-2854) with 362 runs, 130 home runs, 380 RBI, 448 bases on balls, .358 on-base percentage and .424 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .991 fielding percentage playing every inning at first base. In 13 postseason games, he hit only .108 (4-for-37) with two runs scored, one home run, one RBI and nine walks. In 1991 he was inducted into the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

. He was inducted as a member of the United States

National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...

in 2004. Through 2010, he was sixth all-time in career home runs (behind

Mike Lieberthal Michael Scott "Lieby" Lieberthal (born January 18, 1972) is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. He batted and threw right-handed. In a 14-year career, Lieberthal played for the Philadelphia Phillies (–) and the Los Angeles Dodge ...

) among Jewish major league baseball players.

After baseball

In 2007, Epstein began a hitting school. His "rotational hitting" instruction has been used around the country, particularly on the West Coast.Hitting - Rotational Hitting - Mike Epstein Rotational Hitting
/ref>

Early and personal life

Amateur career

Minor leagues

Major leagues

After baseball

See also

References

External links