 |
 |
 |
|
|
Ron Blomberg, Ken Holtzman, and Art Shamsky -- former pro-baseball players and managers of the new Israel Baseball League
|
|
|
|
|
|
| By Israel Insider staff and partners February 26, 2007 |
|
| |
 Bookmark to del.icio.us |
| |
Former major leaguers Ken Holtzman, Art Shamsky and Ron Blomberg will manage three of the six teams in the first season of the Israel Baseball League, the nation's first foray into professional baseball.
The inaugural season will begin June 24, 117 days from today, with a 45-game schedule covering eight weeks and culminating in a championship.
The three managers met at a press conference today in New York, where they were joined by the league's Commissioner, Daniel C. Kurtzer, the former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt and Israel; Dan Duquette, the former General Manager of the Montreal Expos and Boston Red Sox, who serves as Director of Baseball Operations; and Larry Baras, the Boston businessman who conceived the league. Mr. Baras is Managing Director, IBL and IBL Community Foundation.
Also in attendance today was one of the 120 players who will populate the league's rosters -- Leon Feingold, a New Yorker who will realize a dream by playing pro-ball in Israel. He is representative of the players who have been signed out of Dan Duquette's tryout camps. Tryouts will continue March 6-7 in the Dominican Republic, and April 15 in Los Angeles.
The teams will be the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, and the Modi'in Miracle, (sharing Gezer Field in Kibbutz Gezer), the Tel Aviv Lightning and Ra'anana Express (sharing Sportek in Tel Aviv), and the Netanya Tigers and the Petach Tikva Pioneers (sharing Baptist Village Field in Petach Tikva).
In bringing three ex-major league stars to the helm of the clubs, the league is reaching out to people with deep roots in the professional game.
Ken Holtzman is the Jewish pitcher with the most wins in major league history with a lifetime 174-150 record, compiled over 15 seasons (1965-1979), with the Cubs, Athletics, Orioles and Yankees. (Sandy Koufax won 165 games). Holtzman hurled two no-hitters for the Chicago Cubs.
Art Shamsky played for the Reds, the Mets, the Athletics and the Cubs over eight seasons, (1965-1972). He was a member of the 1969 "Miracle Mets" and once hit four consecutive home runs for the Reds in 1966.
Ron Blomberg was the nation's number one draft pick in 1967 and spent eight seasons in the majors with the Yankees and White Sox (1969, 1971-76, 1978), earning a footnote of fame as baseball's first designated hitter.
Diversity
Not all of the managers and players have Jewish heritage; a large number of international players have been signed to play in the league, hailing from all over the world, with varying degrees of playing experience.
"Over time," said Baras, "as Israel grows more accustomed to the sport, we expect to see a greater percentage of Israeli athletes on the rosters. For now, we want to field strong, competitive teams that will attract international notice, and position the nation to be a participant in the World Baseball Classic one day."
Bet Shemesh and Modi'in both are heavily populated by former Americans, mostly from New York, and both have very active amateur league programs. Former Yankee Blomberg will manage Bet Shemesh, and former Met Shamsky will manage Modi'in, with a strong rivalry among Yankees and Mets fans already taking hold.
Holtzman will manage the Ra'anana, and Steve Hertz, who pitched briefly for Houston in 1964 and who is the head coach at Miami Dade Junior College will manage Tel Aviv. Shaun Smith, head coach of the Auburn Orioles, the highest level of play in Australia, will manage Netanya. The sixth manager, who will manage Petach Tikva, is expected to come from within Israel.
Leon Feingold, a 33-year old right-handed pitcher out of SUNY Albany, has an especially colorful background. At 6'6 and 245 pounds, he has been ranked 12th by the IFOCE -- the International Federation of Competitive Eating! He has played in the Cleveland Indians organization. At Oceanside High School in 1990, he shared a homeroom with future NFL quarterback Jay Fiedler and future St. Louis Cardinals farmhand Steve Frascatore -- three pro-athletes in one homeroom.
"Feingold comes out of one of the tryout camps we have held over the last six months," said Duquette. "Some of the talent to emerge from the camps has been eye-opening. As word spread about this new opportunity to compete on an international stage, players traveled great distances to seek roster spots. At our last tryout, in Miami in December, we offered contracts to almost half the players who attended. We believe the caliber of play in our first year will approximate a good Independent League to Class A level and will give the Israeli people an excellent introduction to well played baseball." |
|
 
|
|
|
|
Click on the blue headline to read a Talkback comment and respond to it. Click on the  icon to send a private email to the talkback writer. The icon appears only if the writer has decided to be contacted. If no popup window appears, please make sure your popup blocker allows israelinsider.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
