Out of Left Field: Jews and Black Baseball by Temple religion professor Rebecca Alpert received rave reviews in JWeekly: "The author puts the Jewish fascination with baseball into cultural context, explaining that 'because of its role as part of America’s civil religion, baseball provided an entryway for new immigrants to become absorbed in the American way of life. Jewish men became boxers and basketball players to protect themselves on the street and to prove their masculinity, but playing or even following baseball made them American.'"