Israeli Baseball YAAAAY !!!!

[Mediocrates]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3414587,00.html

Israeli baseball begins Sunday night


League’s business operation director says droves of North Americans have scheduled visit to Israel to coincide with opening game
Ynet

The Israel Baseball League is to double the seating capacity of the Yarkon Field on Sunday night to accommodate the expected 2,000 spectators for the league's Opening Night.

“Ticket requests have been awesome,” said IBL’s business operations director Bob Ruxin in a press release. “Israeli communities, youth teams and companies are organizing group outings, droves of North Americans have scheduled visit to Israel to coincide with the Opener, and we even have a fan coming in from India just to catch the first game,” Ruxin continued.

The opening game of Israel’s first professional baseball league will be televised live by the Channel 5 sports channel, with Hebrew commentary. The game will be aired in English in the US on a delayed basis on PBS affiliates in major US markets on July 1 and will be available on the IBL’s website afterwards.

“We urge spectators to come early, starting at 4:00,” Ruxin said. “Pre-game ceremonies will begin at 5:15 with the ceremonial first pitch due to be tossed at six.

Seating at the game will be unique for baseball — designed as part of the branding of baseball Israeli-style. “We will have 100 tables and umbrellas, sort of like al fresco dining. We will have bleachers; we will have individual chairs. We even have some unused dugouts outside the outfield foul lines that will serve as seating for the game,” Ruxin said.

There are six teams in the league, playing a 45-game schedule. Players from nine nations have been drafted, while about a dozen of the 120 players are Israeli citizens.

[Justcurious]

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3414587,00.html

Israeli baseball begins Sunday night


League’s business operation director says droves of North Americans have scheduled visit to Israel to coincide with opening game
Ynet

The Israel Baseball League is to double the seating capacity of the Yarkon Field on Sunday night to accommodate the expected 2,000 spectators for the league's Opening Night.

Interesting to notice that baseball in Israel is also a minor sport, just as it is in Finland. On the other hand, we have played Finnish baseball for decades with huge crowds.

The main difference between the two in my mind is that the American version is quite boring, whereas tactically and in other regards the Finnish version is way livelier. I have seen American baseball mainly on TV, though. The biggest live game was that in Cleveland long ago.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pes%C3%A4pallo

[Mediocrates]

http://www.israelbaseballleague.com/
http://www.israelbaseballleague.com/players/playerprofiles/

Mostly ex college/junior college, Australian league and Dominican pro-am players. Some management talent. Ex MLB'rs

Aficionados will note the old school mound height ~18".
They are using AL rules (DH?)
40 game season?
9 man pitching staff which would level out to what? 3 starters?

[r2sputin]

They are using AL rules (DH?)
40 game season?
9 man pitching staff which would level out to what? 3 starters?

That's weird, I'd have thought they'd play without a DH. I guess maybe they want to attract larger crowds at first, but I don't think a DH is going to contribute much to that in this league. It's not like Edgar Martinez is coming out of retirement. Or maybe I'm just basing this on my dislike of the DH position to begin with.

9 man staff would probably be 3 starters, yeah. That's reasonable given the short season. At any rate they'll probably keep pitch counts relatively low because they won't have to worry about conserving the bullpen in the long run.

[redcake]

That's kinda goofy that they're recruiting all these latin ballplayers from the get go. The Tel Aviv team only has 2 Israelis, and one of them is a pitcher. The cool thing is this will help humanize the country for the audience it will attract outside Israel.

The DH could actually allow them to bring out some celebrity major leaguers for an exhibition season.

[Mediocrates]

Some Aussies too. But clearly they have a recruiting pipeline to the Dominican Republic where baseball is bigger than anything and on any night you can see everybody and their grannies playing. These are mostly all ex college and semi pro players who probably have not actively played in a few years.

Also does anyone know if they are using wood or metal. There's a comment about having to go to a wood tourney and they didn't have the equipment. I hope it's not a metal bat league. Metal bats are the evil.

[Vitnir]

So now, just because of some American repatriates said so, we're going to have ourselves a (failing) baseball team? Come on!
We have got ourselves dozens of excellent athletes from the former USSR who are being spat on and forced to pay through their own training (till they bring an Olympic medal), while working some dead end job at minimum wage.

Let's face is - when it comes to sports, we're failures. And don't go yapping on and on about Maccabee Tel-Aviv basketball team. Nearly all of the players are bought and not Israel raised. A good share of them probably don't even have Israeli residence.... But as much as you praise them - they're not worth the sock of an average NBA player.

And don't get me started on our football (soccer) "stars". Most of them are doing a favor coming to practice, after partying at "Whiskey Ago go" till 3am and doing the vertical rumba with some local model and staring on every gossip magazine. I don't care how many times we scored to that country no one can find on the map. Not as long as we get pi$$ed on at the EUEFA and can only drool over the Mondial.

Israel doesn't invest in sport as long as it's not somehow economic, although I can't see how can that g@y version of cricket can be economic on this side of the globe. They tried to introduce baseball to Israelis in the early 90's and we all see how far did this get. Our national sports are football (soccer) and sunflower seed cracking, not baseball. And may the ministry of Education, Sport and Culture be damned if a dime off my tax money goes paying that ridiculous baseball team.

[redcake]

Awww, these are just passtimes. You can't fault an attempt to generate revenue, and it's not like Israel hasn't already gone overboard in attempts to import culture. Sometimes sports franchises work (the Brooklyn Cyclones were the first in an entire redevelopment of Coney Island), and sometimes they don't (how many people remember the olde timers Sunshine League?).

[Vitnir]

Hah, in that case, let me import "Gorodki" - a Russian form of bowling, only you use a big wooden stick that you throw, to knock off different formations made from wood, that resemble small fortresses. Boring as hell too. :D

[redcake]

Forget Bocci ball, it's Gorodki all the way for now on!
(would it be inappropriate to dress up like a polar bear when playing?)

[KettleWhistle]

So now, just because of some American repatriates said so, we're going to have ourselves a (failing) baseball team? Come on!
I'm not a fan of baseball, but so what? There are some hockey rinks that were started by people from FSU. I know there is one in Metulla, of all places.

We have got ourselves dozens of excellent athletes from the former USSR who are being spat on and forced to pay through their own training (till they bring an Olympic medal), while working some dead end job at minimum wage. And where is it different? Most of the American Olympic participants had jobs in Home Depot (a hardware store, similar to the Israeli Home Center) as far as I remember. And pretty much every professional skier and snowboarder works at skiing resorts. Nobody is getting paid to be an athlete unless it's a big time pro sport that generates revenue.

[Vitnir]

But unlike in the states, where athletes could start small in a sports team at school, get a scholarship for it and do it in college, here one must pay their own way through a career of an athlete, unless you're a lame footballer who's shtooping *put random Israeli model name here*. Ministry of education, culture and sports funds very little of the sports that actually takes place.
I guess a big part of the problem is that gambling is illegal here, while in the states people can even gamble on their local junior soccer team if they want. We just have "TOTO".

Forget Bocci ball, it's Gorodki all the way for now on!
(would it be inappropriate to dress up like a polar bear when playing?)
Indeed! It's brown bear or Baba Yaga or to the Gulag with you! :D

[rabbisedley]

But when will Israel get really civilised and begin a cricket league? 5 days of sitting in the sun reading the paper while 11 men in whites run after a red ball sounds like just what Israelis are missing. I'm in favour! (and that way we can boycott the English cricket team because apparently they want to boycott us).

[KettleWhistle]

But unlike in the states, where athletes could start small in a sports team at school, get a scholarship for it and do it in college, here one must pay their own way through a career of an athlete, unless you're a lame footballer who's shtooping *put random Israeli model name here*. Ministry of education, culture and sports funds very little of the sports that actually takes place.
I guess a big part of the problem is that gambling is illegal here, while in the states people can even gamble on their local junior soccer team if they want. We just have "TOTO".
Gambling is very restricted in the States. Most places you can't gamble at all. And it's not like anybody who wants to be an athlete gets a scholarship. It's very few who actually get to be pro and make money. College scholarships also only cover tuition, room, and board; they are not stipends.

It is true that U.S. offers more opportunities for those who want to be pro athletes, but it's not all that great. And I still don't see what it is you are upset about. The biggest problem with the Israeli sports is that there isn't a good football league. I hope the few teams from here and there will managed to start one sometime soon, and I won't have to stay up all night watching NFL games on METV.

[Vitnir]

Heck, I just watch football but I'm more in it for the 3rd halftime. :D

[redcake]

This opening day coverage is really dry. I do think there's something peculiarabout Americans moving to Israel and trying to replicate America in Israel, but that's nothing new.

There's no way this thing will last if they can't even get these players to tuck in their shirts, or fit their uniforms. Plus the rules are straight up little league....If there's a tie game they go into a home run hitting contest.

[Mediocrates]

They could still beat the Phillies.

[bararallu]

The only American game that took off in Israel is basketball. For some reason it resonates with a good deal of the public. I don't think Baseball will make it, or American Football or Rugby or Golf or Ice Hockey. Somethings just jibe and some don't with the majority. Israel is pretty much like Southern Europe in this regard, big time football fans. Myself excluded.

[Vitnir]

Oh, turns out even my town has a baseball team now! :eek:
They just lost to someone the other week - some things never change, this town stinks.

[Justcurious]

Oh, turns out even my town has a baseball team now! :eek:
They just lost to someone the other week - some things never change, this town stinks.

The situation is the same in Finland, where American football is a minor sport compared with Finnish baseball. The number of spectators on terrades is manifold. The Finnish version is known in some countries, like Germany, Estonia, Sweden, Japan et al. Let us hope it will be tried in Israel, too!

http://www.pesis.de/
http://www2.ocn.ne.jp/~xebecs/pesa2001/PESATOP.html
http://www.pesis.fi/nuorisopesis/international_site/official_international_rules/

[Aliyah1995]

Baseball will only go from being an American transplant to an Israeli sport when the following occur- the players are homegrown, hebrew is the predominate language spoken in the stands, the native-born Israeli journalists covering the game will actually have a clue what is going on, and not least of all, the players, as well as the spectators will give the Israeli national anthem, the Hatikva the respect it deserves. Until then, baseball is indeed an American transplant.

[Kenneth]

Looks like a good game, count me in as a fan so long as I'm on bat. (http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s2/WalterBoswell/baseball_twat.gif)

[Justcurious]

Looks like a good game, count me in as a fan so long as I'm on bat. (http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s2/WalterBoswell/baseball_twat.gif)

This video reminds me at the age of 13 or 14. I was striking, hit the ball and the ball ended in the middle of the specs of the catcher. Fortunately, he was not hurt, only the specs broke. Today, specs are not allowed in matches, where helmets are also used.

And, yes, the Finnish baseball is also hard and heavy.

http://www.pesis.fi/nuorisopesis/international_site/official_international_rules/

[Mediocrates]

Is Israeli baseball metal bat or wooden bat?

[Vitnir]

Concrete.













...We have a lot of sand.

[redcake]

Baseball will only go from being an American transplant to an Israeli sport when the following occur- the players are homegrown, hebrew is the predominate language spoken in the stands, the native-born Israeli journalists covering the game will actually have a clue what is going on, and not least of all, the players, as well as the spectators will give the Israeli national anthem, the Hatikva the respect it deserves. Until then, baseball is indeed an American transplant.


Yup, I think you hit the nail on the head.

Medio, The ball reacted like they were using wood, but if that's the case, then they were painted up with lots of red logos or something. All very amature.

[Mediocrates]

They could have been fiberglass wrapped wooden bats. I've been pushing for them for a while. Solves the problem that colleges use that 'wood is too expensive because we have to keep replacing them argument.' Metal bats are of course evil.

[physics]

Baseball will be a very unimportant sport in Israel. Football will rule the country.

[physics]

Let's face is - when it comes to sports, we're failures.

Speak for yourself. When you look at Israeli sports relative to the rest of the world, it's actually OKAY. Consider the size of the country. Look at how many countries don't even have sports...

Being a tennis fan, I know that Israel has had respectable success in the sport over the years, and still do!

[Justcurious]

Speak for yourself. When you look at Israeli sports relative to the rest of the world, it's actually OKAY. Consider the size of the country. Look at how many countries don't even have sports...

Being a tennis fan, I know that Israel has had respectable success in the sport over the years, and still do!

Ice Hockey is also a minor sport in Israel, but it is growing. Which one will be the winner, baseball or icehockey?

http://www.israel-hockey.com/hockeyisrael/ih_hockey_leagues.htm

[Aliyah1995]

Personally, I would like to see distance running grow. IMO there is much potential there.

[Justcurious]

Ice hockey, basket ball, American football and others in Israel have been discussed, but now that ringette is uptodate I'd like to ask, if Israeli women ever play ringette? As we know, ice hockey is common among Israeli men. Also among women?

Why then is ringette uptodate now? Well, the world championships have just been held in Ottawa, Canada, with Finland beating Canada in the final.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/sports/story.html?id=241d869d-078f-4351-8710-6074df5cc719