| Alon Leichman אלון ליישמן | |
|---|---|
| Colorado Rockies | |
| Pitcher /Pitching coach | |
| Born: (1989-05-29)May 29, 1989 (age 36) Kibbutz Gezer,Israel | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right | |
| Teams | |
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Alon Leichman (Hebrew:אלון ליישמן; born May 29, 1989) is an Israeli former professionalbaseballpitcher who currently serves as thepitching coach for theColorado Rockies ofMajor League Baseball (MLB). He also pitches and coaches forTeam Israel and has previously served as the assistant pitching coach for theCincinnati Reds andMiami Marlins.
Leichman was formerly the pitching coach of theTacoma Rainiers (the Triple-A affiliate of theSeattle Mariners in thePacific Coast League), thePeoria Javelinas in theArizona Fall League, and other teams.
Leichman plays and coaches forTeam Israel. He pitched forUC San Diego Tritons andCypress College, leading them to the 2013CCCAA state title.[1] He coachedTeam Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, in South Korea and Japan. He pitched for Team Israel at the2019 European Baseball Championship. He also pitched for the team at theAfrica/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in 2019, which Israel won to qualify to playbaseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He pitched oneperfect inning for Team Israel againstTeam USA in the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.
Leichman was born and grew up inkibbutzGezer, Israel, about halfway betweenJerusalem andTel Aviv.[2][3][4] His parents David Leichman and Marilyn Goldimmigrated toIsrael fromNew York and Michigan respectively in the 1970s.[5][3] Leichman has two siblings, Eliora and Arishai.[6] He graduated fromGivat Brenner Regional School in 2007.[5] Following high school, Leichman served three years with theIsrael Defense Forces, from 2007 to 2010.[7][3] He is good friends with, and works out with, major league pitcherJoe Musgrove.[8] His denomination isReform Judaism.[9] He has ablack belt injujitsu.[7]
During the off-season, Leichman competes for theIsraeli national baseball team in international tournaments.
Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the2010 European Baseball Championship, in 2008. During the opening game, against Bulgaria, he started atshortstop and batted 8th, going 0-for-2 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored, before becoming arelief pitcher giving up 1 run on 1 hit in his 1 inning.[10] During the second game, against Croatia, Leichman was thestarting pitcher and went 8 innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 earned runs, while walking 5 and striking out 9, before switching to shortstop in the 9th and batted 1-for-4 while striking out 3 times.[11] During the third game, he started at shortstop against Serbia, going 0-for-2 with 2 walks and scoring 2 runs.[12] During the fourth and final game, against Lithuania, Leichman once again played shortstop and batted 5th, going 0-for-4 finishing the qualifier with a .083 batting average.[13]
Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the2012 European Baseball Championship, in 2011, and was thedesignated hitter in all five games. During the opening game, against Georgia, he batted second and hit a double in 3 at bats, with 2 RBIs and a walk.[14] During the second game, against Great Britain, batting third, Leichman went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.[15] During the third game, against Lithuania, he batted third and got a double in 4 at bats with a walk, 2 RBIs and a run.[16] In the first game of the home/away finals against Great Britain, Leichman hit a double in four at bats with a walk and scored two runs.[17] Later that same day, Leichman batted second, and went 1-for-4 with a run scored.[18]
Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the2016 European Baseball Championship. During the C-Level qualifier in 2014, he only pitched in the finals game against Slovenia, pitching acomplete gameshutout, giving up only one hit, while walking 1 and striking out 9.[19] Leichman's only appearance in the B-Level qualifier in 2015 was in the second game, against Poland, where he pitched 8 innings while giving up four earned runs, on eight hits, and struck out 5.[20]
Leichman competed on theIsrael national baseball team for qualification for the2020 Olympics. He started one game as the team played in the2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool in early July 2019 inBlagoevgrad,Bulgaria,winning all of its games and advancing to the playoffs againstTeam Lithuania in the2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the2019 European Baseball Championship.[21][22] He was 0-0 with an 11.12 ERA in 5.2 innings.[23][22]
He also pitched for the team at theAfrica/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to playbaseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[24]
Leichman was on the roster for Israel during2013 World Baseball Classic,[25] however he did not make an appearance. He was later the bullpen coach forIsrael at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier. He returned in the same role forTeam Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[26]
Leichman pitched oneperfect inning for Team Israel againstTeam USA in the2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.[27]
Leichman was the first Israeli to represent Israel in the MLB European Academy, which included coaches from MLB such asBarry Larkin,Rod Carew,Lee Smith, andBruce Hurst.[28]
Leichman attendedCypress College from 2010 to 2013, and was a member of the baseball team for three seasons.[5] He was supposed to be thecloser for the 2011 season, before he popped his elbow during his first appearance.[3] Leichman neededTommy John surgery to repair a tornulnar collateral ligament in his elbow, was out for all of the 2011 season, and pitched only11+1⁄3 innings during 2012.[7][3] He pitched for the Menlo Park Legends of theCalifornia Collegiate League, the summer college league, in order to help recover from Tommy John surgery.[3][1] While playing he earned the First-Team All-Far West League honors with a 2.18 ERA in 53 2/3 innings.[3] Leichman came back in 2013 to aid the Chargers to a State Championship, logging a 1.42 ERA over31+2⁄3 innings, highlighted by a complete-game shutout in a spot start to win the super regional.[5]
Leichman then spent three years playing for theUC San Diego Tritons, while getting his history degree atUC San Diego, until he graduated in 2016.[29] While there, he had a second operation, as the first surgery had not been successful.[2] He aided the team to back-to-back postseason appearances, while pitching in pain.[2] Career 3.50 ERA in 122 innings, striking out 85 batters to only 20 walks. As a junior, Leichman made 12 starts and 1 relief appearance, going 7-2 with a 3.71 ERA and walked just nine in53+1⁄3 innings.[30] As a senior, he made 9 starts and 5 relief appearances, working68+2⁄3 innings with 48 strikeouts.[31]
He served as a pitching coach for theYarmouth–Dennis Red Sox in the collegiate summerCape Cod Baseball League,[32][33] which won the 2016 championship.
TheLos Angeles Dodgers recruited Leichman to coach for their organization in the instructional league, helping develop Dodgers pitching prospects, in late 2016.[34]
Six months after graduating from college, Leichman was Coordinator of Organizational Learning for theSeattle Mariners' player development program in 2017, supporting the organization's minor league managers and coaches.[2][35][36] In 2018 he was the Pitching Coach of theMariners Dominican Academy in theDominican Summer League.[37][38]
In 2019, Leichman was the pitching coach of theWest Virginia Power, a Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in theSouth Atlantic League.[39][40]
In 2020 and 2021, Leichman was the pitching coach of theArkansas Travelers, a Double-A affiliate of theSeattle Mariners in theDouble-A Central.[41][42]
In 2022, Leichman served as the pitching coach for the Triple-ATacoma Rainiers of thePacific Coast League.[43]
In the fall of 2022, Leichman was the pitching coach of thePeoria Javelinas in theArizona Fall League.[44]
In December 2022, at 33 years of age, Leichman was named the assistant pitching coach of theCincinnati Reds inMajor League Baseball.[45][46] He became the first Israeli coach in Major League Baseball.[2]
On December 22, 2024, theMiami Marlins hired Leichman for the same role.[47]
On December 8, 2025, theColorado Rockies hired Leichman to serve as the team's pitching coach.[48]