Ron Blomberg, baseball's first designated hitter, speaks on New York, Yankees

More than 80 people joined a Temple Israel of Lawrence virtual event that featured a former New York Yankee nicknamed the “Designated Hebrew.”

Ron Blomberg spoke from his Atlanta home on July 22 about his experiences of being a Yankee for the majority of his baseball career.

Blomberg, 72, was born and raised in Atlanta. He was drafted first overall by the Yankees in 1967. Despite receiving 125 college basketball scholarships including one from John Wooden at UCLA, Blomberg signed with the Yankees for $75,000. He eventually made his debut with the Bronx Bombers in September of 1969.

Perhaps what he is most famous for took place on April 6, 1973 at Fenway Park when he was written into the Yankees lineup as the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball history. A DH hits in place of the pitcher in the batting lineup. 

Despite that moment, Blomberg said that he doesn’t have a single favorite moment of his career as he described playing for the Yankees as a dream.

“I had the opportunity to live my dream playing with the Yankees for almost eight seasons,” Blomberg said. “Being Jewish and with the Yankees was the greatest thing in the world. I met a lot of Jewish people in my time in New York and it was great.” Blomberg played for the Yankees through the end of the 1976 season. He finished his career with the Chicago White Sox in 1978.

Alan Freedman, executive director of Temple Israel of Lawrence, said  he has known Blomberg for 16 years and described him as having a great personality. “Ron is a natural born storyteller,” Freedman said. “Whether he is talking about what it meant to be a Jewish ballplayer in New York City in the 1970s, or about getting along with others in sports as well as outside of sports. These words have real meaning and application today.”

Temple Israel member Beth Friedman recalled meeting Blomberg when she was a high school senior in 1976 working on a school project about sports. “I got to go down to Yankee Stadium for a day and interview a variety of people for the project,” she said. “I got to interview my two favorite Yankees in Roy White and Ron Blomberg. It was one of the most exciting days of my life.”

Blomberg did recall that day and noted that when looking back at his career, he is most proud of having had the opportunity to make a positive impact on fans. 

“It was great to be able to play in the big leagues, but what I enjoy most is putting smiles on peoples faces,” he said. “When I go to Yankee Stadium, I like to catch balls that are hit in the stands in batting practice and give them to kids when I do meet and greets. I love seeing their faces light up even if they don’t know who I am.”