Alon Leichman ( he, אלון ליישמן; born May 29, 1989) is an Israeli assistant pitching coach of the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He also pitches and coaches for Team Israel. Leichman was formerly the pitching coach of the

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

(the Class AAA affiliate of the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

), the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the Sa ...

in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fill ...

, and other teams. Leichman plays and coaches for Team Israel. He pitched for

UC San Diego Tritons The UC San Diego Tritons are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, San Diego. UC San Diego has 23 varsity sports teams and offers student participation in a wide range of sports. As of July 1, 2020, all UC San Diego tea ...

and

Cypress College Cypress College is a public community college in Cypress, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and belongs to the North Orange County Community College District. It offers a variety of general education (55 associat ...

, leading them to the 2013

CCCAA The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...

state title."Alon Leichman Bio,"
UCSDTritons.com. He coached Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, in South Korea and Japan. He pitched for Team Israel at the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contributed ...

. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play

baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics Baseball was featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics. Six national teams competed in the tournament: Israel, Japan (host), Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republ ...

. He pitched one perfect inning for Team Israel against

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

in the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo in 2021.

Personal life

Leichman was born and grew up in

kibbutz A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...

Gezer Gezer, or Tel Gezer ( he, גֶּזֶר), in ar, تل الجزر – Tell Jezar or Tell el-Jezari is an archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (eithe ...

, Israel, about halfway between

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. His parents David Leichman and Marilyn Gold

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

from New York and Michigan respectively in the 1970s. Leichman has two siblings, Eliora and Arishai. He graduated from

Givat Brenner Givat Brenner ( he, גִּבְעַת בְּרֶנֶר, lit. ''Brenner Hill''; ar, غفعات برينر), is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located around south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional ...

Regional School in 2007. Following high school, Leichman served three years with the

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...

, from 2007-10.Alex Simon (July 12, 2016)
"Israeli Pitcher Won’t Let Go Of Baseball"
''Baseball America''. He is good friends with, and works out with, major league pitcher

Joe Musgrove Joseph Anthony Musgrove (born December 4, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played within the Toronto Blue Jays, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates organ ...

. His denomination is

Reform Judaism Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous searc ...

. He has a black belt in jujitsu.

Team Israel

During the off-season, Leichman competes for the

Israeli national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

in international tournaments.

European Baseball Championship

Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the

2010 European Baseball Championship The 2010 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball competition held in Germany from July 23 to August 1, 2010. The tournament was originally set to be held in 2009 with Russia as host. In March 2008, the Confederation of Europe ...

, in 2008. During the opening game, against Bulgaria, he started at

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...

and batted 8th, going 0-for-2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored, before becoming a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

giving up 1 run on 1 hit in his 1 inning. During the second game, against Croatia, Leichman was the

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

and went 8 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 earned runs, while walking 5 and striking out 9, before switching to shortstop in the 9th and batted 1-for-4 while striking out 3 times. During the third game, he started at shortstop against Serbia, going 0-for-2 with 2 walks and scoring 2 runs. During the fourth and final game, against Lithuania, Leichman once again played shortstop and batted 5th, going 0-for-4 finishing the qualifier with a .083 batting average. Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the

2012 European Baseball Championship The 2012 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament being held from September 7 to September 16, 2012. The Confederation of European Baseball selected the Netherlands to host the tournament. Qualification The follow ...

, in 2011, and was the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

in all five games. During the opening game, against Georgia, he batted second and hit a double in 3 at bats, with 2 RBIs and a walk. During the second game, against Great Britain, batting third, Leichman went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. During the third game, against Lithuania, he batted third and got a double in 4 at bats with a walk, 2 RBIs and a run. In the first game of the home/away finals against Great Britain, Leichman hit a double in four at bats with a walk and scored two runs. Later that same day, Leichman batted second, and went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the 2016 European Baseball Championship. During the C-Level qualifier in 2014, he only pitched in the finals game against Slovenia, pitching a

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, giving up only one hit, while walking 1 and striking out 9. Leichman's only appearance in the B-Level qualifier in 2015 was in the second game, against Poland, where he pitched 8 innings while giving up four earned runs, on eight hits, and struck out 5. Leichman competed on the

Israel national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

for qualification for the

2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. He started one game as the team played in the

2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool was the second tier of Confederation of European Baseball men competition. It featured 14 teams, competing in two groups of 6 and 8 teams in early July 2019. The two group winners, Team Israel and Team ...

in early July 2019 in

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, winning all of its games and advancing to the playoffs against Team Lithuania in the 2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the

.Scott Barancik (July 8, 2019)
">"For Israel, sweet victory; Long road to Olympic berth begins with triumph in Bulgaria,"
''Jewish Baseball News''. He was 0-0 with an 11.12 ERA in 5.2 innings. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play

in Tokyo.

World Baseball Classic

Leichman was on the roster for Israel during

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

, however he did not make an appearance. He was later the bullpen coach for

Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tourname ...

qualifier. He returned in the same role for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Olympics

Leichman pitched one perfect inning for Team Israel against

in the

in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

Earlier playing career

MLB European Academy

Leichman was the first Israeli to represent Israel in the MLB European Academy, which included coaches from MLB such as

Barry Larkin Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player. He played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2004. He briefly played in the minor leagues before making hi ...

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins ...

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the name of: Arts, entertainment and media *Lee Smith (fiction author) (born 1944), American author of fiction *Lee Smith (film editor) (born 1960), Australian film editor *Lee Smith (musician) (born 1983), American drummer *Lee Smith ...

, and

Bruce Hurst Bruce Vee Hurst (born March 24, 1958) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is best remembered for his performance for the Boston Red Sox in the postseason, where he won two games while allowing only two run ...

College

Leichman attended

from 2010–13, and was a member of the baseball team for three seasons. He was supposed to be the closer for the 2011 season, before he popped his elbow during his first appearance. Leichman needed

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

to repair a torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

in his elbow, was out for all of the 2011 season, and pitched only 11.1 innings during 2012. He pitched for the Menlo Park Legends of the California Collegiate League, the summer college league, in order to help recover from Tommy John surgery. While playing he earned the First-Team All-Far West League honors with a 2.18 ERA in 53 2/3 innings. Leichman came back in 2013 to aid the Chargers to a State Championship, logging a 1.42 ERA over 31.2 innings, highlighted by a complete-game shutout in a spot start to win the super regional. Leichman then spent three years playing for the

, while getting his history degree at

UC San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

, until he graduated in 2016. While there, he had a second operation, as the first surgery had not been successful. He aided the team to back-to-back postseason appearances, while pitching in pain. Career 3.50 ERA in 122 innings, striking out 85 batters to only 20 walks. As a junior, Leichman made 12 starts and 1 relief appearance, going 7-2 with a 3.71 ERA and walked just nine in 53.1 innings. As a senior, he made 9 starts and 5 relief appearances, working 68.2 innings with 48 strikeouts.

College coaching career

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox

He served as a pitching coach for the

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox The Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox, or Y-D Red Sox, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Red Sox play thei ...

in the collegiate summer

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

, which won the 2016 championship.

Minor league coaching career

Los Angeles Dodgers organization

The

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

recruited Leichman to coach for their organization in the instructional league, helping develop Dodgers pitching prospects, in late 2016.

Seattle Mariners organization

Six months after graduating from college, Leichman was Coordinator of Organizational Learning for the

' player development program in 2017, supporting the organization's minor league managers and coaches. In 2018 he was the Pitching Coach of the Mariners Dominican Academy in the

Dominican Summer League The Dominican Summer League (DSL) is a branch of affiliated Minor League Baseball which is played in the Dominican Republic. The league was founded in 1985. After the demise of the Venezuelan Summer League after the 2015 season, it is the only L ...

. In 2019, Leichman was the pitching coach of the

West Virginia Power The Charleston Dirty Birds are an American professional baseball team based in Charleston, West Virginia. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a partner league of Major League Baseball. The Dir ...

, a Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. In 2020 and 2021, Leichman was the pitching coach of the

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, also known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are affiliated with the Seattle Mariners as members of the Texas League. History The team succeeded ...

, a Class AA affiliate of the

in the

Double-A Central The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

. In 2022, he was the pitching coach of the Class AAA

of the

. In the Fall of 2022, Leichman was the pitching coach of the

in the

Major league coaching career

Cincinnati Reds (2023-present)

In December 2022, at 33 years of age, Leichman was named the assistant pitching coach of the

. He became the first Israeli coach in Major League Baseball.

References

External links

*
"Whicker: Cypress College gets lift from Leichman,"
May 15, 2013. *Dave Boyce (August 1, 2012)
"The Natural Israel Pitch Brings His Love of Baseball to Menlo Park Legends"
*Becca Weinberg (May 26, 2020)
"From Kibbutz Gezer to MLB: Alon Leichman’s Baseball Journey; Alon’s unique path to the Mariners and how it has influenced his coaching,"
''Lookout Landing''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leichman, Alon 1989 births Living people Baseball coaches Baseball pitchers Cape Cod Baseball League coaches Cincinnati Reds coaches Cypress Chargers baseball players Israeli baseball players Israeli Jews Israeli Reform Jews Jewish baseball players Major League Baseball pitching coaches Minor league baseball coaches UC San Diego Tritons baseball players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players for Israel

Personal life

Team Israel

European Baseball Championship

World Baseball Classic

Olympics

Earlier playing career

MLB European Academy

College

College coaching career

Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox

Minor league coaching career

Los Angeles Dodgers organization

Seattle Mariners organization

Major league coaching career

Cincinnati Reds (2023-present)

See also

References

External links