They were a bunch of third and fourth graders in a league with mostly fourth graders. They also had less time to practice and play games due to their Sabbath commitment.
But on June 9 at South Ardmore Park, the Expos won a Lower Merion Little League championship for their age group. They became the first shomer Shabbat team in six years of Orthodox participation to win an LMLL title.
The Expos finished the regular season with the second-best record in their league, according to Gabriel Herman, who coached the team. Then they staged a three-run comeback in the semifinals to win on a walk-off hit.
“I don’t know if you’ve ever seen ‘Angels in the Outfield,’” said Herman, referring to the 1994 Disney movie about an underdog MLB team. “I feel like my kid’s team was the Jewish version of that this year.”
Given the circumstances, the Expos’ victory was a true underdog story. However, you don’t win baseball championships without good pitching, and the Expos had it.
Herman’s son Yosef Herman and another pitcher, Yosef Gross, gave the team a one-two punch, according to the coach. Beyond those two, the Expos improved over the season.
Herman and the other coaches, Craig Whitman and Craig Sherby, used practices to focus on fundamentals. Orthodox kids are often more focused on their studies, Herman said.
But the practice paid off.
Alexander Mogyoros became an outfielder who saved runs. Zeke Whitman played shortstop in most innings. Jake Hirsch developed into a catcher. Yoni Glick took on the closer role.
In the championship, Glick entered for the final two innings and showed Craig Kimbrel how it’s done.
“The kid had ice in his veins,” Herman said.
The Expos’ victory capped off the most successful shomer Shabbat campaign in LMLL history, according to league President Wally Orlov.
Around 70 shomer Shabbat kids played this year, the most since the league started making accommodations in 2019.
“The community’s embraced it. Word has spread,” Orlov said.
Orlov, who is Jewish but not Orthodox, was also league president in 2019 when an Orthodox dad, Jonathan Stieglitz, reached out. Stieglitz’s 11-year-old son loved baseball, but he had to observe Shabbat. The dad wanted to know if Orlov could help.
The president said he would try.
That spring, about 20 Orthodox boys played in a league against each other. In the summer of 2020, 25-30 Orthodox boys came out. In 2021, the number grew to 30-35.
Over time, the Orthodox kids integrated with the other players. They just couldn’t be evaluated and drafted like everyone else. They had to be placed on their own teams due to the Sabbath.
Opposing coaches understood, according to Orlov.
“Our goal is to have relative parity,” he said.
Lower Merion Little League has 1,820 players, 150 teams and 17 divisions. In addition to the Orthodox contingent, there’s a softball league and a special needs program. Girls are also allowed to play baseball.
“There’s a lot of ways we address different cohorts,” Orlov said.
The Expos had kids from Caskey Torah Academy and Kohelet Yeshiva, Orthodox Jewish day schools in Lower Merion. Around 13% of the 13,000-plus household Lower Merion Jewish community is Orthodox, according to the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s 2019 population study.
Orlov expects Orthodox enrollment in the league to grow. Right now, all the Orthodox players are boys.
“What we want to do is garner interest for a softball team as well,” Orlov said.
