As baseball fans look ahead to the World Series, my mind is still on the multi-layered dream I lived this summer as a player in the inaugural season of the Israel Baseball League.

I signed autographs for smiling children and excited adults, helped to introduce a sport I love to a country I love, and made friends with ballplayers from around the world who share my passion for baseball. I had daily conversations with World Series-winning major leaguers, read about IBL games daily in Hebrew and English newspapers, and spent the summer doing what millions of fans fantasize about but only a select few get the chance to do.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a perfect summer. Most of the 120 players were housed and fed at Kfar Hayarok, a youth village just north of Tel Aviv where about 1,000 students live and attend school. The facilities were modest at best. The first weeks were rough. There was no place to work out, no physiotherapy on campus. The food was a problem, the laundry situation was a mess, games were postponed due to unplayable fields, and there was no ice for the players. One of my teammates was hit in the head by a line drive that ended his season, and paychecks were postponed for a few days. I also played for the Petach Tikvah Pioneers, so in addition to all these other mishaps, I felt the pain of losing far too often. [Editor's note: The Pioneers, managed by Ken Holtzman, finished in last place with a record of 9-32, 20 games behind the champion Bet Shemesh Blue Sox.]

The players were frustrated, but the situation improved as the season progressed. The players and league officials started meeting on a regular basis, and changes were made. One by one, things came together and by midseason it was all about playing ball.

Experiencing the frustration of the league's growing pains was worth it. I am grateful to have been chosen to be a member of a select fraternity that shared this summer of breathing life into the dream of bringing professional baseball to Israel.

Judging by the attendance and fan enthusiasm at many of the games, thousands of fans were grateful, too — next year there will be more. Whether you hail from or play for Petach Tikvah doesn't matter, this summer we were all pioneers.