KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- "Jews and Baseball" is the generic-sounding title of a generic-feeling documentary.
Even Dustin Hoffman's narration is delivered in a one-note drone.
The good news is that if you can get past its blandness, Peter Miller's film delivers some interesting history and plenty of archival material guaranteed to delight fans of the game.
As you'd expect, big chunks of "Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story" are devoted to Hank Greenberg and Sandy Koufax, the two towering superstars among Jewish players. Both at one time had to choose between keeping their faith or suiting up for a playoff game on a High Holiday . . . and both went for the former.
A third Jewish giant of the game, though not a player, was Marvin Miller, who as head of the Major League Baseball Players Association waged a war for players' rights and introduced the era of free agency. Sportscaster Red Barber declared that Miller was one of the three most important men in baseball history. (The other two were Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson.)
Various talking heads -- rabbis, sports writers, etc. -- describe how in the early part of the 20th century the children of recent Jewish immigrants picked up on the national pastime, playing the game with non-Jews and accelerating their assimilation.
The Brooklyn Dodgers were particularly adept at attracting a diverse fan base. While the Yankees radiated WASP elitism, the Dodgers welcomed one and all and even staged promotions geared to their Jewish fans.
Being a Jewish player could be tough. Some hotels had no-Jew policies, and in the late '30s Greenberg endured anti-Semitic taunts from fans and opposing players. That helps explain why he was one of the first players to befriend Jackie Robinson when baseball's color barrier was broken.
Good info. But "Jews and Baseball," which opens this week, is too genteel, too reverential and not nearly exciting enough.
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