Pitching in the Promised Land: A Story of the First and Only Season in the Israel Baseball League (review)

My set of 2007 Israel Baseball League trading cards arrived today. I rifled through the stack searching for my buddies Aaron Pribble, Nate Fish, Dan Rothem, and Dane Wigg. In truth, I’ve never met the guys. But after reading Pribble’s delightful Pitching in the Promised Land they seemed like old teammates.

Founded by Larry Baras and Martin Berger, the Israel Baseball League (IBL) consisted of six teams—the Tel Aviv Lightning, Netanya Tigers, Bet Shemesh Blue Sox, Petach Tikva Pioneers, Modi’in Miracle, and Ra’anana Express. Organizers hired Jewish managers for each team and recruited Jewish players. Overall, 40 percent of the ballplayers were of Jewish descent, leading to a wide disparity of talent. Pribble quips, “to be a player in the IBL, one’s talent was inversely related to his degree of Jewishness. On one end, if you weren’t Jewish at all . . . you had to be very good. On the other, if you were Orthodox or, better yet, Israeli, I guessed all you needed was a heartbeat” (15). On June 24, 2007, the league began a forty-five-game season that included an all-star game and single-game elimination playoffs followed by a championship game—won by the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox. Unfortunately, disorganization plagued the league and the IBL ended the season bankrupt.

With a Jewish mother and Christian father, author Aaron Pribble counted as one of the league’s Jewish ballplayers even though he was non-practicing. He was also one the IBL’s more accomplished Jewish players, having pitched for the University of Hawaii and played professionally in the Western and Central Baseball Leagues, as well as in France. Pribble was teaching high school history when he decided to join the Israeli league during the school’s summer vacation. The book is based on a diary Pribble kept during his time in Israel. It moves chronologically from his departure from the United States to his return, focusing on the major events of the summer. Throughout the book, Pribble deftly provides the historical and cultural background needed to appreciate his journey. The writing style is very accessible, often funny. Although written informally, the clean prose allows the reader to zip through the book. Pribble’s realistic dialogue and vivid description place readers at the scene, allowing them to share his experiences.

Pitching in the Promised Land is not a straightforward history of the Israel Baseball League’s inaugural season—it goes far beyond. From a baseball perspective, Pribble provides an insider’s view of the season’s ups and downs. He focuses on major events—pivotal games, a near strike, the pennant race. The story is filled with funny anecdotes of the league’s quirkier side, such as a rain-out in the desert, poor fields, and trying to finish games before Shabbat. It introduces the league’s top players, bringing them to life through their actions and words, and shows the disorganization that doomed the league. Pribble also discusses the cultural difficulties of starting a professional league in a region that has little history, or understanding, of the game. This inside perspective and Pribble’s attention to detail makes Pitching in the Promised Land an indispensable source for any future work on Israeli baseball.

But Pitching in the Promised Land is far more than a baseball book. It’s an engaging story of a young man coming to grips with his ethnic identity and choosing his path in life. Pribble is forced to examine his Jewish identity within the first minutes of his trip. Passing through airport security before his flight to Israel, Pribble, who had not been bar mitzvahed, is classified as a non-Jew and required to undergo a special body and luggage search. The classification irks him and sets him on a path of self-reflection. Throughout the season, Pribble struggles...