Sunday School: Forgotten Faces of Flushing #83: Joe Ginsberg: The First Jewish Met

Last week, we looked back at Tyler Naquin, a player whose brief Mets career gave us another reminder of one of baseball's favorite traditions: convincing ourselves that every trade deadline acquisition is about to become the next great Met.

You may have noticed there wasn't any writing coming from me on the Korner this week. That's because I was in Kansas City managing my U17 baseball team at the Maccabi Games.

And we came home with our third straight gold medal.

So, needless to say, there was plenty of Jewish pride going around.

Which made this week's Forgotten Face an easy choice.

It's time to remember Joe Ginsberg, the first Jewish player to wear a Mets uniform.

And considering he played only two games for New York, that's quite a distinction.

Born Myron Nathan Ginsberg, he went by Joe. Probably a wise career move. Myron Ginsberg sounds less like a major-league catcher and more like a guy who measures you for a three-button suit while complaining about the Yankees. Joe Ginsberg sounds like somebody who might actually catch a baseball.

He wasn't a superstar.

He was something perhaps even more valuable to a baseball team: a guy who kept finding a way to stay in the game.

Ginsberg bounced around the majors, playing for Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Baltimore, Chicago and Boston. He was primarily a catcher and became known as a dependable veteran who could handle pitchers and come through in clutch situations.

By 1962, Ginsberg was 35 years old.

And then came the Mets.

On January 30, 1962, New York signed the veteran catcher to help provide experience for its brand-new roster.

Nobody expected him to become a star.

But nobody could have known that he was about to make a very different kind of history.

On April 13, 1962, the Mets played their first home opener at the Polo Grounds.

And behind the plate was Joe Ginsberg.

There is something wonderfully fitting about it.

Ginsberg had been born in New York. Eleven years earlier, he had started Opening Day for the Tigers in Detroit.

Now he was back in his birthplace, catching the first home opener in Mets history.

He went 0-for-4 that afternoon.

But his batting line really doesn't matter.

He was there.

And forever, he will be part of the answer to the question:

Who caught the first Mets home opener?

Joe Ginsberg.

Unfortunately, his Mets career didn't last much longer.

He appeared in just one other game before the Mets released him on May 1.

Two games. Five at bats.

That's his entire Mets career.

That's what makes Joe Ginsberg perfect for Forgotten Faces of Flushing.

He wasn't a Mets star.

He didn't spend years in Queens.

He didn't put up memorable numbers.

But he was there at the beginning.

And he was the first home opening day catcher and the first Jewish player to wear a Mets uniform.

After a week in Kansas City celebrating a new generation of Jewish baseball players, it seems particularly appropriate to remember the guy who opened that chapter in Mets history more than six decades ago.

Baseball has a funny way of connecting generations.

Joe Ginsberg's Mets career lasted two games.

But sometimes, two games are enough to make history.

And that's why we shouldn't forget him.