Koufax has draft power
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.
“His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league,” former big leaguer Art Shamsky, who will manage the Miracle, told the Associated Press. “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.”
In the 1965 World Series, Koufax wouldn’t pitch Game 1 for the Dodgers because he wanted to observe the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.
The first pick in the draft was infielder Aaron Levin, 21, from San
Luis Obispo, who played for Cuesta Community College, and who was also selected by Modi’in.
No news about any other draft picks, since the league's official website says the draft wasn't scheduled to take place until Sunday. The Wikipedia entry on the league noted that a tryout took place on April 15 at Calabasas High.
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.
We have confirmed that Koufax is Jewish, by his induction into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
