June 24, 2007
The Modi’in Miracle defeats the Petah Tikvah Pioneers 9-1 in the inaugural game of the six-team Israel Baseball League before a crowd of more than 3,000 at Yarkon Field in Petah Tikvah.
The IBL is the brainchild of American Jewish businessman Larry Baras, who came up with the idea while attending an independent minor-league game in Massachusetts. A longtime figure in the development of baseball in Israel and in the league is Dr. Bruce Maddy-Weitzman, an academic specialist on North Africa who grew up an avid New York Yankees fan in Syracuse, New York.
Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax was symbolically chosen as the last player in the IBL draft. Baltimore Orioles General Manager Dan Duquette serves as the league’s director of player development and helped identify and recruit players from around the world. Three Jewish retired major-leaguers are team managers: Ron Blomberg, Art Shamsky and Ken Holtzman.
The league’s only season is plagued by financial difficulties and low attendance. The IBL struggles to attract fans beyond a core of former Americans living in Israel. In November 2007, Commissioner Dan Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and to Egypt, resigns, as do most members of the league’s advisory board. Attempts at reviving the league are unsuccessful.
Despite the failure of the IBL, the Israel Association of Baseball claims that the sport is the fastest-growing in Israel with more than 1,000 players in 80 youth and adult leagues. The national team, largely composed of American professionals, has become a fixture in the World Baseball Classic and competed in the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021.
