New York Mets player stumps fans with botched Hebrew tattoo
After New York Mets third baseman Mark Vientos crushed an extra innings walk-off home run earlier this month, his teammates pulled off his jersey as they celebrated. This revealed that Vientos, who is not Jewish, has a Hebrew tattoo that at first stumped observers: the word “הפלפמ” with the numbers “4:6” inked on his chest. That word is gibberish. But before long, internet commentators settled on a plausible explanation: It appears to be a misspelling of Philippians, the New Testament book, which is transliterated differently in Hebrew.
Philippians 4:6 begins, “Do not be anxious about anything,” and Vientos cited the verse on Twitter in 2017. It seems Vientos is not anxious about inside fastballs, but perhaps he should be a bit more wary of his tattoo parlor’s Hebrew proficiency.
It’s not like the Mets play in a Hebrew-free zone. Just a few days later, Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Mets game at Citi Field. And the following night, as the Mets took on the Blue Jays in Toronto, 97-year-old Holocaust survivor Irene Kurtz threw out the first pitch to Blue Jays infielder and Team Israel alum Spencer Horwitz.
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
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