How can I describe today? There is no humanly possible way without you being there – to feel the buzz, the anticipation, the smell of burgers, the loud speakers, the fans… I’ve played in front of 6,000 people before, on many professional and major league fields, with important people and scouts in attendance, with games so important that you could cut the tension with a knife. But I never have been a part of something so big, so new, so exciting in my life….and I didn’t even play. I will remember tonight forever.
We loaded up on charter buses by team, wearing our jersey’s and team hats. Upon arriving, we found about 100 or so media members running around trying to grab interviews with players, the 4 teams not plying of course, while the two teams playing warmed up on the field. There was a concession stand and 4 TV camera towers but still not nearly that many fans as they had seats for… We had some team meetings, talked with reporters and television cameras, walked around and admired the absolutely beautiful playing surface. I interviewed with the Globe Times – an Israeli economist like magazine and a woman from the Detroit Jewish News and also Nokoma Baseball Company (supplier of a lot of our equipment – we got free bats, nice batting gloves, etc.) Afterwards we were introduced on the field and the pre-game ceremonies began, ceremonial first pitch, the Israeli national anthem, the place was buzzing. When we came off the field we noticed a line stretching the entire block for entrance to the game and it remained the entire first two innings. We stood in line to get a burger from the really good concession stand and it took 50 min there were so many people there they didn’t anticipate. In fact, there were 2,000 seats, but another 2,000 people walked up and paid to get in just to stand. There were around 4,000 people there according to an official count – one word – pandemonium. The game itself wasn’t all that special except that the fans were going nuts with every play, tons of “oohs and aahs,” I mean they have never seen pro baseball in this country before. Modi’in Miracle beat the Pet Tikvah Pioneers 9-1 but the game was even more electric for the players not playing. I barely even watched the game because every time I turned around I was being mobbed by a little kid, really excited adults, or teenage girls, or 20-something guys that were huge baseball fans to sign their hat, their baseball, their program, their shirt, their arm, their baby?! Yep I signed so many autographs I don’t think I can pitch for a week, we estimated that I signed between 200-350 autographs, by the time dusk came upon us and the lights beamed down on the stadium, almost all 4,000 fans remained despite the results of the game being out of reach. An strong armed 6 foot 8 inch Dominican took the mound in the 9th and delivered 93 mph fastballs, yet, that was the first glimpse of the game I saw since the 2nd inning because I was so busy meeting fans, talking to kids, and getting wished good luck from ecstatic adults telling me how happy they were that pro baseball was finally in there country. No one, I mean no one expected this turn out, this electricity, and this much fan interest. All of our jersey’s were sold out at the concession stand in 20 min. Every team’s hat is on back order, and people were offering us hundreds of shekels for their hat, even girls were offering us dates if we gave them something – a jersey, a glove, a hat, I mean no words can explain the atmosphere.
Yes there are still problems.
Yes sometimes I wonder why I do all this?
But today I begin the most important two months of my life – I don’t need to have a crazy experience in tel aviv, going out and enjoying the city ever night or letting my social influences, such as friends and teammates here persuading me to "go out" because playing well, and playing great, and being the best will be fun enough and that’s what I plan on doing. It begins today and I can’t wait…
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