An Israeli baseball coach is going to bat for his countrymen held captive by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip for nearly six months.
Alon Leichman is an assistant pitching coach for Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati franchise, the Reds; stitched onto his new glove for the 2024 season are the words “Bring Them Home Now!”
Reds assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman is proudly representing his home country of Israel - this is his new glove for the 2024 season. pic.twitter.com/52arAlTpML
— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) March 27, 2024
The glove was spotted last week by Cincinnati news channel WCPO-TV —one day before the season opener on March 28 against the visiting Washington Nationals at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won the game by 8-2.
Opening day 2024.#bringthemhomenow @StandWithUs @StopAntisemites @BringThemHome23 pic.twitter.com/tZIPMMsu1G
— Alon Leichman (@alonleichman2) March 29, 2024
Leichman also has the Israeli flag featured on his glove.
The 34-year-old grew up in Kibbutz Gezer between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. His journey to becoming the first Israeli coach in MLB history began with Team Israel as a coach and pitcher. He threw a perfect inning against Team USA at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
He was the pitching coach at the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers—a Seattle Mariners Minor League affiliate—in 2022 before joining the Reds.
