CINCINNATI — It’s a common American dream: To play in the Big Leagues. That's what Reds assistant Alon Leichman wanted.
What isn't common about this American Dream? Leichman's background: He's the first MLB coach from Israel.
And he's not from just any part of Israel: He grew up in a kibbutz.
“A kibbutz it’s like a collective way of living, socialist-ish. Pretty much you grow up in a place where everyone is going out and working. All the money they make goes into one pot and it’s distributed depending on your needs,” Leichman said.
It was a different upbringing than most, if not all, MLB team staff members.
"My first job third grade: go pick olives. Work at the kindergarten, work in the dairy or whatever it may be… (it's) a very collective way of living.”
So how does a kid from a kibbutz fall in love America’s pastime?
Leichman is from a kibbutz founded by Americans in the 1970s.
"You know how Israel is, everyone is coming from somewhere that wasn’t Israel. Where I’m from is just a bunch of Americans that decided to move to Israel. They decided they wanted to give their kids some of their cultural background, so they built a softball field,” Leichman said.
Softball as a kid quickly developed into a love for baseball. Despite Israel’s limited baseball resources, Leichman found a way to excel, representing Israel’s national team and playing college ball in the U.S.
“Three weeks after I was done playing college I had an offer to go play independent ball or go coach in the Cape (Cod),” Leichman said.
Leichman chose to coach and play, moving on from Cape Cod to coaching in the minors for the Seattle Mariners organization, eventually representing Israel as a pitcher in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. This past off-season, Alon got the call from the Reds that changed his life. Leichman was flying back to his hometown, located between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
“It was the night before I was flying back to Israel. And then David called me, and was like 'hey can you make it tomorrow for an interview in Cincinnati' and I was like ‘yeah let me change my flight real quick,’” Leichman said.
“I think that people who understand what baseball in Israel is, can understand what it means to have an Israeli in the Big Leagues, and here it is just sign and make your dream come true pretty much,” Leichman said.
It's a dream that took a kid from Kibbutz Gezer to Great American Ball Park.
