The Aftermath

Over the last year and a half this entry has been written many times.  I had visualized what I needed to say after the great victory, the historic advance to the World Baseball Classic. Just as many players visualize the ball hitting the bat and soaring over the fence.    Just as every Israeli in the stands in Jupiter on Sunday visualized Joc Pedersons shot to right field falling for a single and winning the game.  Even in the last two days, during the euphoria hanging around after the last victory imaginations ran wild.  As I teach my 8 year olds, however, one cannot always win.  The game is played on the field and you need to focus on the effort, worry about the things you can control and not on factors out of your control.  For the most part that is what we did.  We focused on our coaching staff.  We wanted people who were not just professionals but would lend legitimacy to the team.  We wanted to project both to potential players and donors alike that this team is viable.  We wanted someone who would identify with our goals of utilizing this opportunity to promote Israel Baseball both in Israel and abroad.  We succeeded with our recruiting of Brad Ausmus as manager and Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler to our coaching staff.  I cannot visualize anyone doing a better job than Brad did, both in preparing for this tournament and in his game management all in keeping with the goals and objectives we have established.

But baseball as life is humbling.  Even when you make your best effort its not always enough.  In sport as in life sometimes the competition wins.  On Sunday Spain executed better than we did. If you concentrate on the process the results more often than not will come.  After all it was only a baseball game.  As I tell my 8 year olds some you win and some you lose, what is important is how you play.  If you play well you will win games.  I cannot blame this game on lack of effort of the players.  If anything there was too much effort.  (If Joc's ball was hit a little less harder then this post would be considerably different).  Our biggest fear was to assemble a "Jewish" all star team which had no affiliation or connection to Israel.  This did not happen.  We had 28 proud Jewish players.  To a man they all came to me and 'apologized' for not wining.  28 players and 5 coaches all came to me and Peter and thanked us for this opportunity to play for team Israel.  Peter had mentioned several times that he didn't want to change this team if we made it to the tournament.  They were really a great bunch of kids all menches. 

In the end we lost a baseball game.  But some baseball games are not just baseball games. I can feel a little what its like for an owner to just miss the playoffs.  He loses a lot of money and opportunity.  Israel Baseball hasn't lost any money, but we have lost future opportunity.  Objectively we are still much better off than we were before the tournament. More people are aware of Israel Baseball not only in the US but Israel as well.  We have made many more friends all of which have contacted either myself or Peter telling us that, while we may need to regroup, the mission must continue.  Support to build the Raanana field is still strong and MLB is still committed to helping us design and plan the field.  Had we won, we would have had many, many challenges to transform the publicity to success on the field.  Maybe its more important to build baseball in Israel the hard way, one kid, one coach, one field at a time.   If anything we have done by this tournament is proven that there is no greater bridge between the North American Jewish community and Israel than baseball.  I know I have a pension for exaggeration, but  had we won pride in Israel would have swollen to levels just below the victory in 67 and Entebbi.  In this world where people are tired of hearing about the Middle East conflict and the Jewish Identity of the North American community is weakening, baseball has now proven that it can play an important role in turning this trend.  

Gmar Hatima Tova