Pitching in the Promised Land

Aaron Pribble

Description

It was the first (and last) season of professional baseball in Israel. Aaron Pribble, twenty-seven, had been out of Minor League Baseball for three years while he pursued a career in education when, at his coach’s suggestion, he tried out for the newly formed Israel Baseball League (IBL). Of Jewish descent (not a requirement, but definitely a plus) and former pro, Pribble was the ideal candidate for the upstart league. In many ways the league resembled the ultimate baseball fantasy camp with its unforgettable cast of characters: the DJ/street artist third baseman from the Bronx, the wildman catcher from Australia, the journeymen Dominicans who were much older than they claimed to be, and, of course, seventy-one-year-old Sandy Koufax, drafted in a symbolic gesture as the last player.

After falling in love with a beautiful Yemenite Jew, enduring an alleged terrorist attack on opening day, witnessing a career-ending brain injury caused by improper field equipment, participating in a strike, and venturing into the West Bank despite being strongly advised against it, Pribble must decide whether to forgo a teaching career in order to become the first player from the IBL to sign a pro contract in the United States. His is a story of coming of age spiritually and athletically in one short season in the throes of romance, Middle Eastern politics, and the dreams of America’s pastime far, far afield from home.

Learn about Holy Land Hardball, a documentary on the Israel Baseball League.

Sujets

• Béisbol
• Israel
• Jewish studies
• Baseball

Informations

• Publié par: Nebraska Paperback
• Date de parution: 01 avril 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780803235496
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 5 Mo

Extrait

pitching in the promised land

PITCHING IN THE PROMISED LAND

a story of the first and only season in the israel baseball league

Aaron Pribble

university of nebraska press | lincoln and london

©2011by the Board of Regents of the  University of Nebraska. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-  in-Publication Data Pribble, Aaron,1980–  Pitching in the promised land: a story of the first and only season in the  Israel baseball league / Aaron Pribble. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references.  isbn978-0-8032-3472-7(cloth: alk. paper) 1. Pribble, Aaron,1980–2. Jewish baseball  players — Israel — Tel Aviv — Biography. 3. Baseball — Israel — I. Title.Tel Aviv.  gv865.p75a3 2011 796.357092 — dc22 [b] 2010032735

Set in Janson by Bob Reitz.  Designed by Nathan Putens.

For Mom and Dad and Big Al, my little brother

And Abner said to Joab, “Let the young men now arise, and play before us.” And Joab said, “Let them arise.”

II Samuel2:14

Contents

 first half 1 Five3 2Kfar Hayarok6 3 Tel Aviv Lightning10 4 Opening Day16 5 Safety First22 6 Call from the Pen25 7 Al Quds29 8 Nokona Wreckin Crew34 9 Arm Trouble40 10 Fun and Games46 11Huelga! Huelga!50 12 The Mighty Black Sox57 13 Shabbat Shalom62 14 Sabras69 15 Sportek73 16Para Bailar La Bomba79 17 The Love Doctor85 18 Rainout in the Desert91 19 Blooming the Desert97 20 Bus Ride101 21 Three Fields of Wheat106 22 Losing Sucks112

 all-star break 23 Flirting with Ramallah119 24 All-Star Game129

 second half 25 Progress Report; or, Every Five Days139 26 Fourth Time’s a Charm145 27 The Clara Fashion Bar151 28 The Road to Peace158 29 Home Run Derby163 30Tikkun Olam170 31 The Rookie176 32 Clinched180 33 A Day in Palestine185 34 Playoffs199 35 All Good Things206 36 The Schnitzel Awards211 37 Sportsmanship and Character218 38Yalla228

 Epilogue233  Acknowledgments237

pitching in the promised land