Cincinnati Reds assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman made sure the right message was conveyed on opening day of Major League Baseball.
Leichman’s glove, stitched with the words “Bring Them Home Now!” in tribute to the Israeli hostages still in Gaza, was spotted a day before the Reds opened their season against the Washington Nationals this past week, as per Fox News.
Israel’s only professional coach in MLB grew up on a remote kibbutz in Israel. In 1983, Leichman’s father built on their kibbutz the baseball field of his son’s dreams. His coach growing up was Lee Siegel, whose brother Keith Siegel was kidnapped by Hamas on Oct. 7 and is still being held captive in Gaza. Leichman joined the Seattle Mariners’ player development program in 2017, became the pitching coach for the Class A West Virginia Power in 2019, and finally progressed up the ranks to assistant pitching coach for the Reds in 2022.
The now-34-year-old is best remembered for representing Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, where he pitched a perfect inning against Team USA.
