Koufax Drafted By Israeli Baseball Team

(CBS/AP)  Forty-one years after he retired from baseball, Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax was the final player chosen in the draft to stock the six teams for the inaugural season of the Israel Baseball League.

Koufax, 71, was picked by the Modi'in Miracle in the draft conducted by former major league general manager Dan Duquette, who heads baseball operations for the league and is a former general manager of the Boston Red Sox.

"His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league," said former big leaguer Art Shamsky, who will manage the Miracle. "It's been 41 years between starts for him. If he's rested and ready to take the mound again, we want him on our team."

Koufax wouldn't pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series for Los Angeles in order to observe the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. In his career with the Dodgers, in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, the left-hander threw four no-hitters, including one perfect game. He retired due to arm problems after the 1966 season and was later voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Koufax has made few public appearances in recent years. His most-visible involvement with baseball in the United States has been his annual visit to the New York Mets' spring training camp in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The Mets are owned by his former high school teammate, Fred Wilpon.

The first pick in the draft was infielder Aaron Levin, 21, from San Luis Obispo, Calif., who played for Cuesta Community College. He was also selected by Modi'in.

The league begins play June 24, with the six teams playing a 45-game schedule. Players from nine nations were drafted, and about a dozen of the 120 players in the league are expected to be Israeli citizens.

Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig is serving on the Israeli league's board of advisers. Other former major leaguers managing Israeli teams are Ron Blomberg and Ken Holtzman.

[candojj1]

Having lived in Israel for 5 years and visited their movie theaters many times on Friday nights when there was nothing to do; people used to roll empty glass soft drink bottles down the aisle and watch Charles Bronson movies and hoot and holler.

Having gone to quite a few soccer matches on Saturday, Israelis don't sell concessions on Saturday because of the Sabbath.

They're also not too keen on peanuts. They do have beigelech, which is a different type of pretzel, and of course bamba which is a type of cheese puff. They're not too big on hot dogs (dogs are eaten by the Thai workers), but they do like that Schwarma in a pita with a lot of beer and plenty of fries.

No nachos or cheese.

Anyway, come to think of it there may not be enough people in the stands for concessions unless they open a "mangal" - a restaurant that serves skewered meats and shwarma with lots of beer. Of course, if there are tables around the outfield for coffee drinkers, then the teams will be in business.

Otherwise, you can get Mays, Ruth, Gerhig, DiMaggio, Hornsby, Koufax, Maris, Ford, and any other ball player and they'd have less than 500 people show up. And don't forget the sunflower seeds!

[toolmangler-2009]

This is the coolest news story I have heard all year !
Posted by old300d at 03:58 PM : Apr 27, 2007



I'm with you on that 'old300d'. Even though I have been pulling for the YANKEES more than 60 years I still recall those games as 'cherished memories"

[hazelknows]

Good luck to Sandy Koufax, always a class act. I hope Bud Selig does not have the same impact on the Israeli league as he has on Major League Baseball. Major League Baseball will have a black eye for years to come thanks to his poor leadership or lack of.

[mokemorgan]

Absolutely amazing! That is such an inspiration to ALL of us use to be 9 year olds... and 50 year olds alike... I hope he enjoys his second
chance to shine.

[larendt-2009]

And I bet he can STILL strike out anyone he wants!

[old300d]

This is the coolest news story I have heard all year !

[bdfriedman0]

At the age of 9, I became a baseball fan in 1963, and decided to root for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sandy Koufax had a 25-5 won/lost record that year, overpowering the National League's batters, and then pitched two complete-game victories to win half of the games in the 4-games-to-0 sweep of the Yankees in the World Series. Could Sandy have done anything more to make a 9-year-old fan happy? I don't think so! I can't believe that it's been 41 years since Sandy retired. I guess that I'm not a kid any more. But what great memories! Thanks, Sandy, and have a great time playing in the Israel Baseball League. I wish that I could be there to cheer for you. It would make me feel like I am an ecstatic 9-year-old boy again. - Your lifelong fan, Barry