Synopses & Reviews
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 coachs 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 Americas pastime far, far afield from home.
Learn about Holy Land Hardball, a documentary on the Israel Baseball League.
Review
“A touching and enlightening tale of political and cultural awakening, conveyed through the vehicle of baseball. . . . [A] unique voyage of discovery, both on and off the diamond, and populated by a rich cast of characters, from Pribble’s Yemeni girlfriend to his Canadian guide in Palestine to his Australian, Dominican, and Israeli teammates.”—Robert Elias, author of The Empire Strikes Out --Dan Duquette
Review
“Aaron Pribble has written what I call the Oy! Testament, a true, detailed accounting of his year playing ball in Israel, of all places. Chock-full of color about Jewish life in the Promised Land, it delves into the politics of new settlements in this volatile region, from the perspective of a Californian with a Jewish mother and Christian dad, all painted against the backdrop of our national pastime in the desert.”—Steven Travers, author of The 1969 Miracle Mets --Robert Elias
Review
“Pitching in the Promised Land is a thrilling odyssey of sport, religion, love, and politics, of finding common ground on the baseball field in the most unlikely of places—Israel. In his debut memoir, Mr. Pribble has established himself as a gifted storyteller with extraordinary insight, observation, and humor.”—Logan Miller and Noah Miller, authors of Either You’re in or You’re in the Way --Steven Travers
Review
"Mr. Pribble makes his adventure into a fascinating tale, full of both difficulties and thrills. Pitching in the Promised Land makes good reading."—Dorothy Seymour Mills, NY Journal of Books Dorothy Seymour Mills
Review
"[Pitching in the Promised Land] takes us on an interesting and enjoyable jaunt through a unique moment in Israeli and baseball history."—Donald H. Harrison, San Diego Jewish World James Bailey - Baseball America
Review
"Hilarious."—Dan Duquette --Donald H. Harrison - San Diego Jewish World
Review
"Aaron Pribble, a former professional baseball player turned schoolteacher, who starred for the Tel Aviv Lightning in the Israel Baseball League's only season, provides readers with a front row seat and his own unvarnished take on the upstart league."—Jonathan Papernick, Jewish Daily Forward NY Journal of Books
Review
"This is, of course, much more than a baseball story. Pribble relates his romantic involvement, developing bonds of comradeship, and his efforts to consider his own Jewish identity within an Israeli society still striving to resolve its own contradictions. Pribble consistently hits the right notes, conveying his experiences with humor, irony, and a sense of novelty."—Jay Freeman, Booklist Joshua Platt - Jewish Book World
Review
"Pribble tells his story with wit, a little self-deprecating humor, and an eye for detail. . . . It's hard to imagine a better introduction to a far-off land and its age-old conflicts."—James Bailey, Baseball America Jay Freeman - Booklist
Review
“Pribble has managed to bring together intriguing autobiographical information with a lively record of the crack at exporting American baseball to Israel. His enjoyable book is an eminently successful merger of these two elements.”—Morton I. Teicher,
National Jewish Post & Opinion Morton I. Teicher
Review
"With a writing style that is approachable, warm, effective, and engrossing, Pitching in the Promised Land will likely appeal to both Jewish seamheads and casual fans."—Joshua Platt, Jewish Book World Jonathan Papernick - Jewish Daily Forward
Review
"[Pribble's] 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 from home."—Shofar Donald H. Harrison - San Diego Jewish World
Review
"This longtime attorney remains a gentle, always enthusiastic questioner, interested in his subjects' love for the game, their experiences with anti-Semitism and their connection to their faith."and#8212;Kirkus
Review
"Jews have played a key role in baseball history, as has been frequently noted. There is now a celebratory tone to the topic, and this book is firmly within the new tradition."and#8212;Library Journal
Review
"American Jews and America's Game is a highly personal, heartfelt collaborative exploration between the interviewer, his subject and its participants and devotees."and#8212;Andrew P. Fleischer, Jewish Journal
Review
and#8220;The historian Jacques Barzun was right when he said, and#8216;Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.and#8217; Larry Ruttman knows that too, and that is why I chose to write this Foreword to his book American Jews and America's Game. His stories cover almost one hundred years of American history and the place of American Jews in that history. . . . This is a book that celebrates familyand#8212;baseballand#8217;s, yours, and mine.and#8221;and#8212;from the foreword by Allan H. and#8220;Budand#8221; Selig, Commissioner of Major League Baseball
Synopsis
Most fans donand#8217;t know how far the Jewish presence in baseball extends beyond a few famous players such as Greenberg, Rosen, Koufax, Holtzman, Green, Ausmus, Youkilis, Braun, and Kinsler. In fact, that presence extends to the baseball commissioner Bud Selig, labor leaders Marvin Miller and Don Fehr, owners Jerry Reinsdorf and Stuart Sternberg, officials Theo Epstein and Mark Shapiro, sportswriters Murray Chass, Ross Newhan, Ira Berkow, and Roger Kahn, and even famous Jewish baseball fans like Alan Dershowitz and Barney Frank.and#160;
The life stories of these and many others, on and off the field, have been compiled from nearly fifty in-depth interviews and arranged by decade in this edifying and entertaining work of oral and cultural history. In American Jews and Americaand#8217;s Game each person talks about growing up Jewish and dealing with Jewish identity, assimilation, intermarriage, future viability, religious observance, anti-Semitism, and Israel. Each tells about being in the midst of the colorful pantheon of players who, over the past seventy-five years or more, have made baseball what it is. Their stories tell, as no previous book has, the history of the larger-than-life role of Jews in Americaand#8217;s pastime.
About the Author
Larry Ruttman, Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society,and#160;is the author of Voices of Brookline, a national finalist for the Award of Merit of the American Association of State and Local History. He has practiced law in Boston for more than fifty years and produces and hosts a television interview show in his hometown of Brookline, Massachusetts.