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The Israel Baseball League (IBL) (Hebrew: Liget ha-Beisbol ha-Israelit) is a new professional six-team baseball league in Israel. The first game was played on June 24, 2007. The league will add a seventh team in Jerusalem in 2008.The six league teams are the Tel Aviv Lightning, Netanya Tigers, Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, Petach Tikva Pioneers, Modi'in Miracle, and Ra'anana Express.[1]
The teams play games at three ballparks. The Yarkon Sports Complex, seating 15,000, in the Baptist Village in Petach Tikva, just outside of Tel Aviv, is home to the Ra’anana Express and the Petach Tikva Pioneers. Gezer Field, about 25 minutes from Jerusalem, approximately halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, sits on Kibbutz Gezer, in one of Israel’s wine districts. It is home to the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox and the Modi’in Miracle. And Sportek Baseball Field, in the southern end of Tel Aviv’s largest outdoor public park, a 10-minute walk from seaside Tel Aviv hotels, is shared by the Tel Aviv Lightning and the Netanya Tigers.[2] A fourth field, which will be the home field for the Blue Sox, is under construction in Bet Shemesh. It is expected to be ready for the 2008 season.
The league has an eight-week, 45-game season. Bet Shemesh (29–12; .707), led by hitters Gregg Raymundo and Jason Rees,[3] 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.[3]
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.
The Israel Baseball League announced on February 20, 2008 that eight of its players who starred in the inaugural 2007 IBL season have been given the opportunity to advance their baseball careers and pursue their dreams.
"One of our stated goals has been to become the 'Go To' league for the international player. It isn't easy to establish credibility on the professional level, so it is extremely heartening to see the opportunities that have presented themselves to our players after just our first year of play," Dan Duquette said.
The eight players are:
Eladio Rodriguez, who was signed by the New York Yankees Jason Rees, who also was signed by the New York Yankees Maximo Nelson, who signed with the Japanese champions Chunichi Dragons Juan Feliciano, who turned down AAA offers from the Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, and Pittsburgh Pirates to sign with the Sultanes de Monterrey of the Mexican League Rafael Bergstrom, who signed and played with the Bridgeport Bluefish (Atlantic League) Jason Benson, who signed and played with the Newark Bears (Atlantic League) Josh Doane, who has been invited to spring training to try out for the Boston Red Sox Noah Walker, who has also been invited to spring training to try out for the Boston Red Sox The IBL had many objectives when it was launched. It particularly wanted to provide its players with a great experience while in while also showcasing their skills so that they could continue their career pursuits.
The IBL had 120 players from nine countries in 2007: the United States (77 from 19 states), the Dominican Republic (16), Israel (15), Canada (9), Australia (7), Colombia, Japan, New Zealand, and Ukraine. The league hopes to be made up of at least 25% Israelis by its fifth year. About 40% of the league is Jewish. [4]
The League held tryouts in 2007 in Los Angeles, Massachusetts, Miami, Israel, and The Dominican Republic. Those selected were current and former U.S. minor leaguers, professional baseball players from other countries, and starting college players. The quality of play is similar to low Class AA ball in the United States.
The first pick in the draft was infielder Aaron Levin, 21, who played for Cuesta College and was selected by Modi'in.[5] The first player signed was former Midwood High School and Binghamton University left-handed hitting outfielder Dan Rootenberg. He hit .407 for Binghamton during his senior year, garnering All-SUNYAC and All-State honors, played in the Frontier League, the Swiss professional league,[6] [7] and for the Pleasantville Red Sox, and in 2006 batted .351 in the Westchester Rockland Wood Bat League.[8] Right-handed 6' 5" pitcher Leon Feingold, among the players first signed, pitched for the State University of New York at Albany, and then in the Cleveland Indians system from 1994–95, was signed by the independent Atlantic League in 1999, and later pitched for the Pleasantville Red Sox.
41 years after he retired from baseball, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax was the last player chosen in the draft. Koufax, 71, was picked 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 Art Shamsky,[5] who will manage the Miracle. "It's been 41 years between starts for him. If he's rested and ready to take the mound again, we want him on our team."[9] He'll be working on 14,875 days rest, as has been pointed out.[10] Koufax would not pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series for Los Angeles, so that he could observe the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. In his career with the Dodgers he threw four no-hitters, including one perfect gameCatcher and former Boston Red Sox minor leaguer Eladio Rodriguez 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 Jason Rees led the league with 17 home runs and 50 RBIs in 130 at bats.[3] Rodriguez, 28 years old, and Rees, 24 years old, were both subsequently signed in October to minor league deals by the New York Yankees,[1] and will report to the Yankees minor-league complex in Tampa for spring training.[12] Third baseman Gregg Raymundo, who hit .292 in 7 minor league seasons and played for the Texas Rangers' and Pittsburgh Pirates' AAA teams,[13] was a close second in batting with a .459 batting averageOne of the leading pitchers was Juan Feliciano of Bet Shemesh, who had pitched for the 2005–06 Hiroshima Carp 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, held opposing batters to a .170 batting average. And 6' 6" Maximo Nelson from San Pedro de Macoris, in the Dominican Republic, led the league with 85 strikeouts; he pitched for the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2004 (posting a 6–5 record, with a 2.63 ERA).
The Hank Greenberg Award for Most Valuable Player was shared by Eladio Rodriguez and Raymundo.[14] The Commissioner's Award for Sportsmanship and Character went to Pribble and infielder Brendan Rubenstein (Ra'anana Express).[14] The Commissioner's Award for Distinguished Service was awarded to shortstop Eric Holtz of Bet Shemesh, a player-coach who also filled in as player-manager.[14] The award for best pitcher went to Feliciano, and the Most Valuable Israeli Player was pitcher Dan Rothem of Tel Aviv.[14] Leon Feingold of the Netanya Tigers was named Player Of The Year in a league-wide vote of the playersAmong the first managers of the IBL were three of the best-known Jewish former major leaguers: Ron Blomberg manages league champion Bet Shemesh (he is a former New York Yankee, and the first Designated Hitter in the major leagues), Art Shamsky manages Modi’in (he hit .300 for the '69 World Champion New York Mets), and Ken Holtzman managed Petach Tikva, a sister city of Chicago (his 174 career victories are the most in the major leagues by a Jewish pitcher), until he resigned a week before the season ended.[15] In addition, Steve Hertz manages Tel Aviv, Shaun Smith, an Australian, manages Ra'anana,[16] and Ami Baran, an Israeli originally from Chicago, manages Netanya.[