The Israel Baseball League (IBL;

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: ליגת הבייסבול הישראלית, ''Ligat ha-Beisbol ha-Israelit'') was a six-team

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

league in

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 ...

. The first game was played on June 24, 2007.

League structure

The six league teams were the

Tel Aviv Lightning The Tel Aviv Lightning ( he, תל אביב לייטנינג) was an Israeli baseball team from Tel Aviv in the Israel Baseball League. The Lightning finished the inaugural 2007 season in second place with a 26-14 (.650) record, and lost to the M ...

Netanya Tigers The Netanya Tigers ( he, נתניה טייגרס) was an Israeli baseball team from Netanya in the Israel Baseball League. The Tigers finished the inaugural 2007 season in fourth place, 19-21 (.475), and were defeated by the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox i ...

, Bet Shemesh Blue Sox,

Petach Tikva Pioneers The Petach Tikva Pioneers ( he, פתח תקווה פיונירס) was an Israeli baseball team from Petah Tikva in the Israel Baseball League. They finished the inaugural 2007 regular season in last place (9-32; .220), and lost to the Modi'in Mi ...

, Modi'in Miracle, and Ra'anana Express. The teams played games at three

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

s. The

Yarkon Sports Complex The Yarkon Sports Complex, is located in the Baptist Village in Petah Tikva, just outside Tel Aviv. The field was used in the 2007 season of the Israel Baseball League. During this season, both the Petach Tikva Pioneers and the Ra'anana Express T ...

, seating 15,000, in the

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Village in

Petach Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...

, just outside

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 ...

, was home to the Ra'anana Express and the Petach Tikva Pioneers. Gezer Field, 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

, was home to the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox and the Modi'in Miracle.

Sportek Baseball Field The Sportek Baseball Field, was the home ground for Israeli baseball teams Netanya Tigers and Tel Aviv Lightning in the Israel Baseball League. Sportek was originally supposed to be open for the start of the IBL season in 2007, however due to cons ...

, in Tel Aviv, was shared by the Tel Aviv Lightning and the Netanya Tigers.

Players

The IBL had 120 players from nine countries in 2007: the United States (77 from 19 states), the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

(16), Israel (15), Canada (9), Australia (7),

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

, Japan, New Zealand, and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

. The league had hoped to be made up of at least 25% Israelis by its fifth year. About 40% of the league was Jewish. The league held tryouts in 2007 in Los Angeles,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Israel, and

The Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

. Those selected were current and former U.S. minor leaguers,

players from other countries, and starting

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

players. The first pick in the draft was

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

Aaron Levin, 21, who played for

Cuesta College Cuesta College is a public community college in San Luis Obispo County, California. History The first community college in the San Luis Obispo area was founded in 1916 as a San Luis Obispo High School division. It lasted until 1919 with the Uni ...

and was selected by Modi'in. The first players signed were outfielder Dan Rootenberg and pitcher

Adam Crabb Adam Crabb (born 1 June 1984) is an Australian professional baseball pitcher who played in the inaugural Israel Baseball League. Crabb was born in Barmera, South Australia, and played at the Southern Districts Baseball Club in Adelaide. He was ...

Pitcher

Sandy Koufax Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...

was the last player chosen in the draft, by the Modi'in Miracle. "His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league," said team manager

Art Shamsky Arthur Louis Shamsky (nicknamed "Sham" and "Smasher"; born October 14, 1941) is an American former Major League Baseball player. He played right field, left field, and first base from 1965 to 1972 for the Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, Chicago ...

. After the one IBL season, nine players went on to other professional leagues. These nine players were: *

Eladio Rodriguez Eladio Y. Rodriguez (born April 4, 1979) is a professional baseball player. Rodriguez formerly went under the aliases of Iván Rodríguez and Carlos Aleman. Career Rodriguez was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Boston Red Sox in 1998. ...

, who was signed by the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, and in 2008 played for their A+, AA, and AAA teams * Jason Rees, who also was signed by the

Maximo Nelson Maximo Nelson (born April 21, 1982 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a professional baseball pitcher who is currently a free agent. Nelson played for Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball from 2008 to 2012. Career Nelson played b ...

, who signed with the Japanese champion

Chunichi Dragons The are a professional baseball team based in Nagoya, the chief city in the Chūbu region of Japan. The team plays in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. They have won the Central League pennant nine times (most recently in 2011) ...

*Juan Feliciano, who turned down AAA offers from the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

to sign with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

, who signed and played with the Adelaide Giants of the Australian Baseball League *Rafael Bergstrom, who signed and played with the

Bridgeport Bluefish The Bridgeport Bluefish were an American minor league baseball team based in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The team was a member of the Liberty Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

( Atlantic League) *Jason Benson, who signed and played with the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American minor league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball. T ...

( Atlantic League) *Josh Doane, who was invited to spring training to try out for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

, and in 2008 hit .278 for Texas of the Continental League *Michael Olson, Signed as international free agent by Red Sox, but retired due to shoulder injury

2007 season

The league had an eight-week, 45-game season. Games were seven innings, with a home run hitting contest (a " home run derby") to decide a tie. There were two umpires per game, with three on Sunday nights. Most of the umpires were international, although some were Israeli. Bet Shemesh (29–12; .707), led by hitters Gregg Raymundo and Jason Rees, had the best regular season record in the league, and finished with a 2.5 game lead over Tel Aviv (26–14; .650), led by pitchers Aaron Pribble and Daniel Kaufman. On August 19, in Petach Tikva, Ron Blomberg's Bet Shemesh Blue Sox shut out Art Shamsky's Modi'in Miracle 3–0 in the IBL's inaugural championship game. Californian RHP Rafael Bergstrom (7–2, 2.44) pitched a complete game shutout for Bet Shemesh, downing Dominican RHP Maximo Nelson (5–3, 3.55 ERA) who pitched for Modi'in.

Hitting

Catcher and former

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

of Modi'in was the league batting champion (.461) and had 16 home runs in 102 at bats, and 23-year-old Australian

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

Jason Rees led the league with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 130 at bats. Rodriguez, 28 years old, and Rees, 24 years old, were both subsequently signed in October to minor league deals by the

. Third baseman Gregg Raymundo, who hit .292 in 7 minor league seasons and played for the Texas Rangers' and

' AAA teams, was a close second in batting with a .459 batting average.

Pitching

One of the leading pitchers was Juan Feliciano of

Beit Shemesh Beit Shemesh ( he, בֵּית שֶׁמֶשׁ ) is a city located approximately west of Jerusalem in Israel's Jerusalem District, with a population of in . History Tel Beit Shemesh The small archaeological tell northeast of the modern city wa ...

, who had pitched for the 2005–06

Hiroshima Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda ...

in Japan. He was 7–1, with a 1.97 ERA, and in 50.1 innings gave up only 28 hits while striking out 73. 6' 5" lefthander Aaron Pribble of Tel Aviv was 7–2, with a league-leading 1.94 ERA. Rafael Bergstrom was 7–2, with a 2.44 ERA. Daniel Kaufman, who pitched for

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

, held opposing batters to a .170 batting average. And 6' 6"

from

San Pedro de Macorís San Pedro de Macorís is a city and Municipalities of the Dominican Republic, municipality (''municipio'') in the Dominican Republic and the capital of the San Pedro de Macorís Province, San Pedro de Macorís province in the east region of the ...

, in the

, led the league with 85 strikeouts; he pitched for the

Gulf Coast Yankees The Florida Complex League Yankees are a Rookie-level affiliate of the New York Yankees, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team is composed mainly of players who are in their first year of professional baseball e ...

in 2004 (posting a 6–5 record, with a 2.63 ERA). Israel native Shlomo Lipetz (3–1) 1SV 0.98 ERA of Netanya, Mike Etkin (4–0) 2SV of Tel Aviv, and Scott Perlman(3–2) 1SV 1/13 P INH Rr of Bet Shemesh were the league's top relievers.

Awards

The

Hank Greenberg Henry Benjamin Greenberg (born Hyman Greenberg; January 1, 1911 – September 4, 1986), nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank", "Hankus Pankus", or "The Hebrew Hammer", was an American professional baseball player and team executive. He played in Major Leagu ...

Award for Most Valuable Player was shared by Eladio Rodriguez and Raymundo. The Commissioner's Award for Sportsmanship and Character went to Pribble and infielder Brendan Rubenstein (Ra'anana Express). The Commissioner's Award for Distinguished Service was awarded to shortstop Eric Holtz of Bet Shemesh, a player-coach who filled in as player-manager. The award for best pitcher went to Feliciano, and the Most Valuable Israeli Player was pitcher Dan Rothem of Tel Aviv. In a leaguewide vote of the players (referred to as the 'Schnitzel Awards'), Player of the Year was awarded to Leon Feingold.

Managers

Among the first

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the IBL were three of the best-known Jewish former major leaguers:

Ron Blomberg 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 f ...

was the manager of Bet Shemesh. Due to other commitments, Blomberg turned over managerial duties to player/coach Eric Holtz, while Scott Perlman took over as

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for several weeks during the middle of the season.

managed Modi'in and

Ken Holtzman Kenneth Dale Holtzman (born November 3, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Chicago Cubs for whom he pitche ...

managed Petach Tikva until he resigned a week before the season ended, and was replaced by Tony Ferrara. In addition, Steve Hertz managed Tel Aviv, Shaun Smith, an Australian, managed Ra'anana, and Ami Baran, an Israeli originally from Chicago, managed Netanya.

Management

The League was the brainchild of Larry Baras, a businessman from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Martin Berger, President and Chief Operating Officer, was a

trial attorney. The league's Director of Baseball Operations was

Dan Duquette Dan Duquette (born May 26, 1958) is an American baseball executive. He is the former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. He is also the founder of the Dan Duquette Sports Academy ...

, former

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of the

and

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

; currently with the Orioles. Berger and Duquette were involved in selecting the inaugural season players. Bob Ruxin was Director of Business Operations; Ruxin has served as vice president of a sports products and management business. Leon Klarfeld was Director of Israeli Operations; he is a resident of Even-Yehuda, and has been involved in Israeli Baseball for over 20 years, was the president of the Israel Association of Baseball (IAB) between 1994 and 2002, and is a certified

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...

for the

Confederation of European Baseball The World Baseball Softball Confederation Europe, known as WBSC Europe, was established on February 10th, 2018 during a Congress of the Confederation of European Baseball and the European Softball Federation in Val d’Europe, France. the establi ...

. Jeremy Baras was the Director of Game (fan) Experience. The Commissioner was Dan C. Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. The league's Board of Advisors included:

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the Commissioner Emeritus of Baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth Commissioner of Baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served as ...

(Major League Baseball Commissioner), Wendy Selig-Prieb (former

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

owner), Marshall Glickman (former president of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Portland Trail Blazers The Portland Trail Blazers (colloquially known as the Blazers) are an American professional basketball team based in Portland, Oregon. The Trail Blazers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Con ...

and former president of a minor league baseball team), Professor

Andrew Zimbalist Andrew S. Zimbalist (born October 16, 1947) is a U.S. economist and author of twenty-four books. He is the Robert A. Woods Professor of Economics at Smith College. Biography Zimbalist received his B.A. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, ...

(baseball economist),

Marvin Goldklang Marvin Goldklang is a minority owner of the New York Yankees and the majority owner of the Pittsfield Suns in Massachusetts. He is also the principal owner of the Charleston RiverDogs, the New York Yankees’ affiliate in the Class A South Atlant ...

(minority owner of the

and principal owner of four minor-league teams), Randy Levine (President of the Yankees), and

Marty Appel Martin E. Appel (born August 7, 1948), is an American public relations and sports management executive, television executive producer, and author. Appel's career has included sports public relations (including as Public Relations Director for ...

(former

NY Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

director). On November 15, 2007, Kurtzer and nine advisory board members (including Zimbalist, Goldklang, Levine, and Appel) resigned. They commended Baras for having the vision to bring pro baseball to Israel, but in their letter of resignation, summing up the concerns of all, Goldklang and Zimbalist wrote that: "it has become apparent that the business leadership of the league has ceased to perform in an effective, constructive or responsible manner and has failed to manage its capital and other resources in a manner likely to produce successful results." The advisers who resigned said the league was unwilling to provide financial information. Berger, the league president, said: "They were asking us for things that we didn't have yet. We haven't done our financials for this year. We are upset and disappointed that they're leaving, but we are going ahead for next year. We have been talking to people who potentially are going to purchase the teams."

Media coverage

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

aired the opening game, which had attendance of 3,112, on a one-week delay (July 1, 2007), in Boston, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, and Miami.

MLB.com MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. (a subsidiary of MLB). MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports column ...

carries coverage of the league's games. Aaron Pribble, who pitched for the Tel Aviv Lightning, kept a journal of his summer in the IBL. After the season was over, Pribble created a book of his journey titled ''Pitching in the Promised Land''., a review of

Footnotes

External links

* Documentary, "Holy Land Hardball". https://web.archive.org/web/20090824082445/http://www.hulu.com/watch/91195/holy-land-hardball
"Holy Land Hardball"
(film). 24/6 Studios Productions LLC. Retrieved 2010-08-20
The Israel Baseball League

"Israel Baseball League: An Idea Who's (sic) Time Has Come"Announcement of NY Yankees signing of two IBL players after first Israel Baseball League season

"The new ball game", interview with Dan Kurtzer, 3/13/07

"Israel Baseball League starts in June", 4/11/07

"St. Louisan plays big role in IBL", 4/11/07

"The Dream Comes True: Israel Baseball Season Starts in 2 Weeks", 6/10/07
*

Nate Silver Nathaniel Read Silver (born January 13, 1978) is an American statistician, writer, and poker player who analyzes baseball (see sabermetrics), basketball, and elections (see psephology). He is the founder and editor-in-chief of ''FiveThirtyEight' ...

, "L'Chayim to the IBL"
BaseballProspectus.com, 7/2/07Biblemetrics—Blog for Israel Baseball League Statistical Analysis
{{Baseball in Israel Baseball in Israel Sports leagues established in 2007 Baseball leagues in Europe

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

Sports leagues disestablished in 2007 Defunct baseball leagues 2007 establishments in Israel 2007 disestablishments in Israel