Challenges of Baseball in Israel
February 27, 2007, 1:33 pm |
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By Andrew L. Jaffee
Where else in the Middle East would baseball be permitted, except Israel? Anywhere else in the region, the game would be decried as a Western cultural invasion and, of course, lots of heads would have to be chopped off. You know, baseball represents all those “evil” values like apple pie, hot dogs (kosher, of course), democracy, having a good time at the ballpark, etc. Be that as it may, the new league’s founders have found “challenges:”
Ken Holtzman, Ron Blomberg and Art Shamsky are among the former major leaguers who will manage teams in the new Israel Baseball League. …
Shamsky joked about having to learn a new language so he could argue with umpires, reading out the Hebrew translations of “Are you blind?” and “Open your eyes.” …
“Getting the chance to play baseball again, it’s like getting a second chance at something most people don’t get a first chance at,” he said. “If nothing else, this will make my mother extremely happy.”
Just wait for the left-wing Jews to object…
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Categories, Tags: Israel, Fun
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February 27th, 2007 at 1:59 pm
[…] Cross-posted at netwmd.com and IsraPundit Posted by Andrew Jaffee @ 12:59 pm | […]
February 27th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
Fun. Can’t wait until this happens, though I am still trying to figure out how baseball is going to work in Israel. I mean, where are they going to play? There are no baseball fields, save one in downtown Jerusalem that is quite small and has few if any seats for spectators.
Also, I think it will be difficult to attract impatient Israelis to such a slow-moving game.
Just my observations. I am definitely looking forward to this.
February 27th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I know what you mean. Israel can move at a frenetic pace (e.g., traffic), but I would think that Holtzman, Blomberg, and Shamsky did a little research before making the committment. There are probably enough Jews with American roots in Israel to spark at least some interest.