The whole point of the decade-long odyssey of building a Team Israel and trying to qualify for major tournaments like the WBC and the Olympics was to grow the game in Israel. This Olympic journey, with its joys, frustrations, funnies etc. was a big second step in the right direction to follow up the WBC journey of 2016-2017. Now comes the time to follow up on a successful Olympic journey. In the short term, the European Championships are in focus. In this piece however, I want to focus on the medium to long term. I believe that we must strike while the iron is hot. It's time to look at bringing pro ball back to Israel while Israelis are still learning to savor and appreciate the emotional roller-coaster that is baseball. Below is my rough vision of what that would look like.
My Proposal
The Basic Framework:
A smaller league is best to start. I believe that 4-6 teams encompassing Israel's main population centers should do. A 100 game season should also suffice to give the league legitimacy and time for storylines to materialize but it's not so long as to get cumbersome. It can be split into two halves of 50 games with the champions of each half playing a best of seven championship series (let us call it the Israel Series) for the league title. Should the same team win both halves then the team with the second best overall record would qualify but the winner of both halves would start with a 1-0 series lead.
The model for this is Taiwan's CPBL which currently runs with five teams (four before 2021) and does so successfully. They play two 60 game halves and winners of each half meet in the Taiwan Series. However, if the same team wins both halves then the second and third best overall teams meet in a wildcard series and the winner goes to the Taiwan Series, albeit with a 1-0 series deficit.
Scheduling
Taking into account the Israeli climate and when other sports leagues in Israel run, I believe that the ideal scenario is that the league runs from mid-March to early September. This way, it ends just in time for the high holidays. Games would run six days a week most weeks with off days on Shabbat and matinee games on Fridays so fans can get home in time for Shabbat. Further off days would be inserted for holidays or simply for rest. A one week All Star break can be inserted between halves. Rain outs can be made up by borrowing the seven inning double headers from MLB rather than CPBL's two weeks contingency. Rain outs would probably be less of an issue in Israel than Taiwan.
The championship series would work like the World Series with the 2-3-2 format. The top seed (best overall record) would get the four home games. (Games 1, 2, 6 and 7) These would be all night games save on Friday and Shabbat would be an off day. Being a short series, it's fairly easy to plan around Shabbat.
Rosters
Team rosters would contain 24 players with 10-12 pitchers and 12-14 position players. Given that a minor league affiliate system may not be feasible in the first season(s) each team would be allowed six reserves that can travel and train with the team however they would not be active for the game. They can be activated if another player is injured or demoted to the reserves.
To keep the Israeli character of the league, foreign players would be limited to eight per team. Local players would be any players who are either already Israeli citizens or are eligible for citizenship. Otherwise, they would be considered foreign. Foreign players could be recruited from any country and teams would not be obligated to use all eight slots.
The trade deadline would be 4pm local time the day before the start of the second half of the season. This would apply for in-season trading only. Trades can be made throughout the off-season which would officially begin the day after the championship series ends.
A draft would be held every year before the season to incorporate new players into the league. The draft would apply to local players only and I believe that 5-7 rounds should be sufficient.
Foreign players would be signed in much the same way as MLB free agents. They may be signed to multi-year deals but half-season contracts would not be allowed. Foreign players would be recruitable during the off-season only unless a foreign player suffers a potentially season ending injury.
An injured list would be in place for injured players. There will be a 10 day IL and a 50 day IL for more serious injuries. Replacement players may be recruited for those on the 50 day IL.
There would be no local/foreign quotas for coaching or other support staff.
Games
As is the general standard, games would span nine innings and if needed, up to three extra innings played. If the game is tied after twelve innings, it is a tie as is the case in the NPB, KBO and CPBL. They would be officiated by four man umpiring crews and fields would be what is generally seen in the main professional leagues with fences being roughly 300ft down the lines and 400ft to straightaway center. Fields should be well maintained and clean.
Fans should be encouraged to be noisy and creative with cheers, music etc. as they are in the NPB and KBO and CPBL. However, fans engaging in vulgar, racist and any other type of behavior that prevents a family environment should be ejected.
As for concessions, fans should have access to official team apparel and memorabilia. Programs should also be sold. Teams should also be encouraged to have giveaways and theme nights on occasion to further encourage attendance.
Franchises
Perhaps it is best to start on the smaller side and then expand as the league stands on firmer ground. Let us say then that there are four teams to start. The cities to start should include Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and perhaps Beersheva. Candidates for expansion can include Eilat, Ra'anana, Dimond, Nazareth, Ashkelon or perhaps a second Tel Aviv team. For sure the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem rivalry must be present.
Challenges
There are several challenges to building a successful, sustainable league in Israel. None are insurmountable but all must be considered for this enterprise to be successful.
To start, there is the failed attempt of 2007. This will probably lead to some cynicism among some people about a new attempt. However, there is much going for us that was not in 2007. There is now a track record of international baseball success and the exposure that brings. There is further enthusiasm from abroad to support the growth and development of Israeli baseball that did not exist then. There are social media networks and streaming sites that can be leveraged as powerful marketing tools that were not really available in 2007. Most importantly, there are the mistakes made back then to learn from. We would be starting not from square one but from a vantage point of having already failed before and knowing some key pitfalls.
Another important point is that there is still much work to do regarding grassroots ball in Israel. At the time of writing a few thousand Israelis are playing organized baseball and fields that can support high level organized baseball are still relatively few. Thankfully there has been a push to change this with organizations such as the JNF involved. Youth baseball enrollment is also likely to see a post-Olympic boost which hopefully will not be overly blunted by the pandemic. Further government support and funding will hopefully also be forthcoming after a successful Olympics as well.
The final challenge I feel needs highlighting is the fact that the league will need considerable exposure and public support to succeed in a country where baseball is still relatively new and unknown. Massive strides have already been made on this front just within the last decade but there is more evangelizing to do for baseball in Israel. In particular there will be a need to prove viability and support to secure TV and online streaming deals, sponsorships and a steady stream of fans to attend games and watch them throughout the season. Baseball needs to become trendy and cool among Israelis, the youth in particular. Luckily, Olympic berths and strong support from the Jewish diaspora will help push this in the right direction.
To build a league, and most importantly, for the league to sustain itself long term, it will be important to confront and surmount these and other challenges. However, the rewards of doing so would be to achieve the original end goal of establishing baseball as a popular sport in Israel.
Concluding Thoughts
Establishing a professional league is never easy and doing so in a country that is still getting acquainted with the game will be trickier still. However it is the logical next step to follow up the gains from the WBC and Olympic Games. Moreover, it is the best way to secure those gains and build on them for the long term. This way, baseball would become a career path rather than just a niche sport. Tourists from countries where baseball is popular will have an activity they can enjoy. Locals will benefit from new jobs and new teams to cheer for at home. Most importantly, it creates the backbone on which the next generation of Team Israel can be built and play competitive games on a regular basis with and against each other and from players from other parts of the world. It is best to strike while the iron is hot. This unique opportunity to have a team in Tokyo may not repeat itself until the 2028 games since baseball will likely be omitted from the 2024 games. The momentum must be exploited to the fullest so that the primary goal can be achieved. Pro ball in Israel is in my view the way to go in growing the game at grassroots level and solidifying Israel's status as a serious baseball nation. It can be done and it is worth doing.
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