Koufax Curse

The namesake of the curse comes from Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax who famously sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series to mark Yom Kippur.

[1] The term was coined by writer Armin Rosen during the 2019 Major League Baseball postseason, after three Jewish players–Joc Pederson, Alex Bregman, and Max Fried–opted to play on Yom Kippur only for their teams to lose.

[2] Professor Howard Wasserman, a professor and baseball enthusiast, wrote in the National Journal, the official publication of the Society for American Baseball Research, detailing 18 pitchers and 18 position players who were Jewish and what they did when they faced the decision to play on Yom Kippur and whether the curse actually existed.

Perhaps this warrants a new approach to Yom Kippur — teams should welcome and encourage Jewish players to sit these games.

The media can retire the historic narrative of a dilemma between team and faith or of a player letting his teammates down by missing one game that could decide the season.