If the Israel Baseball League looked better on paper than it worked out in real life, it certainly looks even better on the big screen. The rousing documentary Holy Land Hardball certainly showed how a filmmaker's touch can hone the ragged edges of reality into sharp, compelling drama-- and now, new inspiration is about to be wrung from the IBL desperation as a standout IBL player is about to get the documentary biopic treatment on his own.
Columnist Mike Sullivan reports on Seacoast Online, the website for the Portsmouth, New Hampshire Herald, that local Ari Alexenberg, the 45-year-old southpaw pitcher for the Petach Tikva Pioneers, "could be headed for Hollywood":
"Steve Sanger of Portsmouth-based Sanger Communications is making a movie of Alexenberg's story, which has been well documented in these pages. Alexenberg pitched professionally overseas at the age of 45 after not playing competitive, organized baseball until he was 23 — and that's just one part of his odyssey. Alexenberg is Jewish — his parents and a brother live in Israel — and fiercely proud of his heritage. The film will explore both his Jewish heritage and love of baseball. According to Sanger, 'the film is "in the can'" and currently being edited.'
"...Alexenberg also reported that he was contacted recently by a literary agent about a book deal."
"...Alexenberg also reported that he was contacted recently by a literary agent about a book deal."
Ari has tracked his baseball progress on a well-written blog. We reported last month that he says he won't be returning to Israel for the four-team, 20-game, three-week, momentum-keeping mini-season that may or not get underway on July 27th.
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