Ronald Mark Blomberg (born August 23, 1948), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American former professional baseball player and minor league manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a designated hitter, first baseman, and right fielder. He played for the New York Yankees (1969, 1971–1976) and Chicago White Sox (1978), and was the manager of the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox in the Israel Baseball League (2007). He was the first designated hitter in Major League Baseball history. He batted left-handed, and threw right-handed. Over eight seasons, Blomberg compiled a .293 batting average (391-for-1,333) with 52 home runs, 224 RBIs, 184 runs, 67 doubles, and 8 triples in 461 games. He added a .360 on-base percentage and a .473 slugging average. For his career, he hit .304 against right-handers, and .304 with two out and runners in scoring position, as well as .325 when the score was tied. Early and personal life Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Blomberg is Jewish with roots in Romania. Blomberg enjoyed the attention he received in New York because he was Jewish: "To be able to play in front of 8 million Jews! Can’t beat it. I lit everyone’s candles for every bar mitzvah in the city. It was like I was related to everyone. They named a sandwich after me at the Stage Deli!" Through 2010, he was seventh all-time in career batting average (behind Hank Greenberg, Ryan Braun, Buddy Myer, Lou Boudreau, Phil Weintraub, and Kevin Youkilis) among Jewish major league baseball players. High school Blomberg attended Druid Hills High School, earning four letters each in baseball, basketball, football, and track, and graduated in 1967. He was chosen for the Parade All-American teams in football, basketball, and baseball, the only person ever chosen for all three teams. He received 125 basketball scholarship offers, and John Wooden of the University of California at Los Angeles came out to meet him in person. Roger Couch, Blomberg's basketball coach, said: "Blomberg is the finest basketball player I ever saw — high school or college." He also received 100 football scholarship offers. Blomberg was selected by the Yankees with the first overall pick of the 1967 amateur draft, and signed for $75,000 ($ today). He attended DeKalb Junior College part-time, and later majored in psychology at Farleigh Dickinson University. Minor league career Blomberg played in the minor leagues from 1967 to 1971. In 1971 he was hitting .326 with a