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By Joey Seymour
 SAN DIEGO—Within the first few minutes of Holy Land Hardball, it is quite clear that the experiment to bring baseball to Israel is going to fail. The consensus of the Israelis interviewed at the beginning of the film, is that America’s past time is played by only fat, lazy guys and that it is a long and boring game. However, filmmakers Brett Rapkin and Erik Kesten follow the year long journey from Larry Baras’s idea to create an Israeli baseball league to the league’s first pitch. Without this film, the memory of the league would have been lost to the sands of time.
In 2006, Larry Baras, who became known for creating a bagel with no hole and filled with cream cheese, came up with the idea to bring baseball to Israel. During the first third of the documentary, the idea begins to take shape as tryouts are held, the six teams are created, promotion begins and a draft takes place. Problems begin for Baras early on as the talent level in the United States is not up to par, he cannot secure enough ball parks (only two for six teams), and the Israeli sports media sees the league as nothing more than rich Americans wanting to bring baseball to Israel, without understanding the local culture.
The film introduces us to a few of the players through their journey with the Israel Baseball League (IBL), including San Diegan, Willis Bumphus, whose story brings intrigue as he is a devoted Christian playing in Israel and adapting to the culture. The stories and lives of the players who make the league are the true captivating moments in this film. At a tryout in Miami, we meet Holocaust survivor, Ivan Cluck, who gets to live out his dream, if only for one day. Among those trying out, there are dreams to play wherever they can and a passion for baseball that have you hoping for the league’s success.
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In an effort to create a fast paced and more appealing contest for the Israeli audience, the league decided to make the games seven innings and in the case of a tie after the seventh inning, include a home run derby to break the tie. Even with attempts to tailor baseball to appease Israeli sports fans, the league which consisted of only 50 Jewish players (a mere 15 of which came from Israel), only managed to last one season. The film ends by showing the first pitch of the first game for the IBL after detailing all the last minute struggles to even get to that point.
The game was attended by 3,110 people and shown in the United States on PBS. Due to financial difficulties, the IBL folded after the 2007 season. Since then, as the film points out, there have been a few attempts to bring back the league. Israel even attempted to field a team for the 2009 World Baseball Classic, but their application was denied.
Whether or not baseball will ever find success in Israel is still left unanswered, but Holy Land Hardball brilliantly shows the heart of a player willing to travel 6,000 miles away from his children, wife, and work for the chance to play professional baseball.
Filmmakers chose to declare at the onset of the film that the league failed, thereby eliminating any element of suspense. There was not much surprise when it was revealed that Israeli customs initially refused to clear the bats, balls, and uniforms to come into the country. Nor is there surprise that ticket sales were poor because we were forewarned of the doom and gloom. Nevertheless, Holy Land Hardball will entertain anyone who loves baseball, has a dream, and is willing to go to the edges of the earth for that dream.
More information on Holy Land Hardball can be obtained by visiting www.holylandhardball.com
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