Long Island Orthodox Jewish Teen Picked for Major League Baseball Career by Arizona Diamondbacks

Jacob Steinmetz, a 17-year-old pitcher from Woodmere and graduate of the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns (HAFTR) is headed to the major leagues.

Steinmetz made history last week as the first Orthodox Jewish baseball player to be drafted by a major league team. The Arizona Diamondbacks chose the Long Island native with the 77th overall pick, far higher than expected.

As reported by Dennis Waszak Jr. in The Times of Israel,

Jacob Steinmetz’s blazing fastball helped make him a baseball draft trailblazer.

The New York native is believed to be the first known practicing Orthodox Jewish player to be selected by a US major league team, going in the third round — 77th overall — to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.

The 6-foot-5 (195-centimeter), 220-pound (100-kilogram) Steinmetz, from the Long Island hamlet of Woodmere, is a 17-year-old right-hander whose repertoire features a fastball that sits in the mid- to upper-90s and a knee-buckling curveball. His draft stock rose considerably while playing for the Elev8 Baseball Academy in Delray Beach, Florida, this year after previously competing for his high school team, The Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway.

Steinmetz recently told the New York Post he keeps the Sabbath and eats only Kosher food, but plays during the Sabbath and on Jewish holidays — although he walks to games during the Sabbath rather than taking transportation. No practicing Orthodox Jewish player has made it to the big leagues.

Kvell!

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