A few weeks ago, Rafael Bergstrom was pitching the Bet Shemesh Blue Sox to the first championship in the history of the Israel Baseball League. He didn't have much time to revel in the experience: Shortly thereafter, the six-foot, five-inch Bergstrom set another mark when he became the first IBL player to sign a professional contract with an American team.

In a telephone interview with NJ Jewish News from his new accommodations with the Bridgeport (Conn.) Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League, Bergstrom described his three months in Israel as "pretty special. It was an interesting season. It couldn't have ended any better."

The lanky right-hander enjoyed a regular season record of 7-2 for Bet Shemesh, tying him for most wins in the league. He struck out 56 and walked only 16 in 51 2/3 innings and finished fourth in earned run average at 2.44. He struck out eight and walked none in his complete game 3-0 shutout over the Modi'in Miracle on Aug. 19 for the title.

Israel was not Bergstrom's first "foreign assignment." After a tryout that didn't pan out with the Colorado Rockies following his graduation from the University of California-San Diego, he took some time off to tour Europe, where he played two seasons in Germany before moving on to Australia. "I really embraced the opportunity for seeing new places and meeting new people," he said.

After the IBL season ended, Bergstrom traveled to Egypt, where he received an e-mail from Martin Berger, head of player personnel for the IBL, informing him his presence was requested immediately by the Bridgeport team. "So I hopped on a plane, and here I am."

The quality of play is quite different in Connecticut. "I've gone from being one of the veteran guys to the rookie," said Bergstrom, who turned 26 on Sept. 5.

Bergstrom admitted the IBL suffered growing pains, which he attributed to "the chaos of that first couple of weeks, where this is a brand-new league…. [T]here was all this negativity at the beginning, [but] as we got midway into the summer we realized, we're here playing baseball. There's not too much bad about it. By the end of the season, they had taken care of most of the problems. Of course, it always helps when you're winning."

Led by former Yankees favorite Ron Blomberg, Bet Shemesh spent the entire season in first place.

Bergstrom said he doubts he'll return to Israel next year, hoping to continue his career in the United States. "There are a lot of other things in life I want to do, but while I have the capability to play and I continue to see myself improving, I'll see how far I can go with it," he said.

Nevertheless, he is grateful for the opportunity to have played in the land of his ancestors. "I've never really been a practicing Jew," he said, "but my grandparents were both over there helping refugees from France." His grandfather also served in the Israeli army. "I felt like when I did get there and saw everything I had an instant connection to it; it definitely made me feel more Jewish. Going to the Western Wall in Jerusalem on a Friday night was pretty amazing."