Goody Rosen

Goodwin George Rosen (August 28, 1912 – April 6, 1994) was a Canadian professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) before and after World War II for the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants. He batted and threw left-handed.

Early years Rosen was born in Toronto, Canada, to Russian Jewish immigrants from Minsk (now, Belarus), Samuel and Rebecca Rosen, was the fifth of eight children and was Jewish. Rosen played in the city's playground leagues, including two years with the Elizabeth Playground team under Bob Abate, and attended Parkdale Collegiate Institute. His older brother Jake was a boxer who fought out of New York and Chicago in the 1920s under the name Johnny Rosen. Another brother, Willie, had a tryout with the Syracuse Chiefs in 1941. As a teenager, Rosen was a top player in Toronto's Jewish Fraternal Softball League. Rosen drove to Tampa, Florida, to try out with some minor league professional baseball teams, but he was told he was too small (5 ft 9 in) and returned to Toronto to play for the St. Mary's senior team.

Professional baseball Rosen turned professional in 1931, signing a contract with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, but did not stick with the team. In 1933, while weighing only 135 pounds, he hit .301 while playing for the Louisville Colonels of the AAA American Association,

When Grimes joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937, he convinced the team to acquire Rosen in August for $10,000 ($ today) and a player. Rosen hit .312 in 22 games with the Dodgers. That season he had a .325 batting average (3rd in NL), 197 hits (2nd), 126 runs (2nd), 11 triples (3rd), 606 at-bats (6th) and a .460 slugging percentage (6th), a .379 on-base percentage (9th), 14 sacrifice hits (10th), 12 home runs and 19 outfield assists. Before the end of the season, he was sent down to the Jersey City Giants of the International League.

In 551 games in six seasons, Rosen posted a .291 batting average (557-for-1916) with 310 runs, 71 doubles, 34 triples, 22 home runs, 197 runs batted in, 218 bases on balls.364 on-base percentage and.398 slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .989 fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions. The deal was made, and Rosen played for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1947.

Toronto softball, Ontario baseball In 1948, Rosen switched to softball, playing for the Daltons in the Toronto Ki-Y (Kiwanis-YMCA) senior league and then joining the Levys in the Beaches Fastball League, winning the league championship in 1949. Rosen started the 1950 season playing for the world champion Tip Top Tailors team in the Beaches League but then returned to baseball as player-manager of the Galt Terriers of the Intercounty Baseball League. He was named manager of the Ontario all-star team that played the Intercounty Maple Leafs in an exhibition game in August. Rosen returned to softball and the Beaches League in 1951, playing for Peoples Credit Jewellers, then officially retired.

After his retirement he owned and ran the Dunsway Restaurant in Toronto at Bloor and Dundas Streets for a time. He died of pneumonia in Toronto's Sunnybrook Hospital on April 6, 1994, at age 81 and was buried at Beth Tzedec Memorial Park.

Achievements Rosen was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in in its second year.

His .291 career batting average was eighth-best of all Jewish major leaguers, through 2010. He held the distinction of being the only Jewish-Canadian major leaguer for almost 70 years until London, Ontario-born Adam Stern suited up for the Boston Red Sox.