Holy Land Hard Ball Documentary

On Sunday, January 10 at 10:00 p.m. ET I reccomend you tune into MLB Network to watch the documentary film called Holy Land Hard Ball. The subject matter is the formation of the Israel Baseball League (IBL) in 2007 and the mission to bring professional baseball to the Middle East is the focus of the documentary.The film follows Massachusetts-based entrepreneur and IBL founder Larry Baras, and myself as director of IBL baseball operations and the IBL staff from the league’s first tryouts in Massachusetts at the Duquette Sports Academy www.duquettesports.com to the first pitch on June 24, 2007 in Petach Tikva, Israel. The IBL went on to play one 45-game season among six teams in the summer 2007.

The Directors Brett Rapkin and Eric Kesten are baseball nuts and they are terrific film makers, too. This film will make you laugh and cry and bring you closer to the families that struggled to bring baseball to the Holy Land. Granted there are better places for baseball worldwide but there are no more moving or charming places than Israel which you will see. Holy Land Hardball first premiered at the Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival on June 19, 2008 and features Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis and former Major Leaguers Art Shamsky, Ken Holtzman and Ron Blomberg. Variety said of the film, “You don't have to be Jewish or understand a box score to embrace [this] crowd-pleasing national-pastime docu.” . A preview of the film can be viewed here. www.holylandhardball.com I will join former IBL players Nate Fish and Eric Holtz in an interview together on MLB Network’s Hot Stove on Friday, January 8 at 6:00 p.m. ET.