Baseball Comes to Israel
by Michael HoffmanTuesday, June 26th, 2007
Apropos of nothing, the big news for me today is that there is now professional baseball in Israel. You can watch an interview at this link about it, and below are some articles.
A Successful Start for Professional Baseball in Israel - The Jerusalem Post
Holy cow! Israel makes its pitch -LA Times
It’s an old joke, so indulge us with a chuckle, or a groan. But do you know where to find baseball in the Bible?
Why, in the very first sentence: In the big inning …
Baseball in the Holy Land? No joke, not as of today. This is Opening Day for the Israel Baseball League, the first professional serving of bats and balls in the land of milk and honey.
The Israeli sports scene leans to Europe, to soccer and basketball. Maccabi Tel Aviv, the country’s foremost basketball club, is a five-time European champion. When the World Cup starts, Israel stops.
The Americans are not deterred, at least not the ones dedicating time and money to launch the league.
“Baseball in Israel would be a heartwarming and great story,” Commissioner Bud Selig said. “You’re going into a part of the world where baseball hasn’t been popular.”
Selig is on the league’s advisory board. The director of baseball operations is Dan Duquette, former general manager of the Boston Red Sox and Montreal Expos. The commissioner is Daniel Kurtzer, former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt.
Kurtzer often gives speeches on Middle East diplomacy and the prospects for peace, and audiences applaud politely. Then he mentions he’s running a new baseball league, and the crowd goes nuts.
“It’s now a family joke: It’s about time I’m doing something worthwhile with my life,” Kurtzer said.
Shalom Baseball - The Baltimore Sun
Shalom, baseball
This score just in from Israel: Modiin 9, Petah Tikvah 1.The Israel Baseball League debuted yesterday before 3,000 fans on a field near Tel Aviv, and it was baseball as usual - except some things get lost in translation.
“How do you say ‘home plate?’ ” asked one of the announcers in Hebrew on the cable telecast of the game. Apparently, some terms don’t translate, so the announcers just ended up using English for ball, strike and out.
Among the league’s 120 players on six teams, only 20 are Israeli-born. And one fan, Natan Tamari, 23, who came out to watch after seeing the sport while growing up in the United States, said baseball is unlikely to catch on among Israelis. “In my opinion, it’s impossible,” he said.
Still, it was a day to celebrate, said former Boston Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette, one of the league’s executives.
“It’s a proud day for Israel, because this is the first professional game in 5,000 years,” Duquette said.
Though Mr. Flip is happy to hear about baseball reaching Israel, he believes American football would be even better, if only so that the end zones truly could be referred to as the Promised Land.
Compiled from wire and Web reports by Mr. Flip, who figures he now knows where Shawn Green will end up playing after a couple more seasons.
June 26th, 2007 at 9:36 pm
[…] Original post by michael […]
June 27th, 2007 at 3:09 am
I was at the Opening Game and the first Gezer game. It was a really great night both times. Huge and then smaller crowd. Each with a different “feel” Both great.