Just a week after Team Israel's heartbreaking extra innings loss to Spain in the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifiers, Jewish baseball collectors have the opportunity to own game used cleats from one of the team's top pitcher.
Photo courtesy
of MiLB.com.
Pitcher Josh Zeid, a prospect in the Houston Astro's minor league system, is selling a pair of his Team Israel cleats.
The cleats are being sold by "stvufit" on eBay
. Starting bid is $75. Shipping is priced at $4.99. The auction runs through Saturday, October 6, 2012.
The listing says 50 percent of total price paid will be donated to charity, though it doesn't specify which organization.
Israel Baseball League veteran and Team Israel bullpen catcher Nate Fish maintains a blog, called The King of Jewish Baseball. According to Fish's "The Gear" video posting, each Team Israel WBC player was issued one pair of blue Under Armour cleats. Apparently, however, not every player wore the official issue cleats during game play.
The cleats up for bid at New Balance shoes. They match a pair of cleats shown in the background of a picture of Zeid on Fish's blog.
Photo courtesy of http://kingofjewishbaseball.wordpress.com.
Further, they match the cleats worn in a picture of Zeid pitching Friday, September 21 victory over Spain that is posted on the Israel Baseball Facebook page.
Adding to the authenticity of the shoes is the fact that the sale of the cleats was promoted by Team Israel on it's Facebook page, in a September 30 posting.
And, most important in determining the provenance of the cleats is the fact that Zeid himself confirmed ownership of the cleats to JewishSportsCollectibles.com via Twitter.
The pitcher says he wore the shoes during the last two games in the qualifiers, both against Spain, adding that he would sign a photo of himself pitching, and wearing the shoes, for the winning bidder.
Photo courtesy of HootSuite.com.
So, if you have cash to spare, and want to own a pair of size 13 cleats used by a Team Israel pitcher in the World Baseball Classic as part of your Jewish baseball memorabilia collection, bid away!
My boys and I were the lucky winners of Josh’s cleats. In addition to the cleats, Josh sent us an autographed photo, 5 autographed baseball cards, and an autographed baseball. We are going to make a display of all of the items and feature them in our Sport’s Room. Josh is truly a class act.
Greg —
Thanks for your comment and congratulations on your auction win! I’m jealous! I’d love to run a photo of you and your boys with the display. Let me know if you’re willing. In the meantime, check out the story I posted about the sale @ http://www.jewishsportscollectibles.com/2012/10/josh-zeids-wbc-cleats-sell-for-10550.html.
– Josh, JSC.com publisher