Alon Leichman

Alon Leichman (; born May 29, 1989) is an Israeli former professional baseball pitcher who currently serves as the pitching coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He also pitches and coaches for Team Israel and has previously served as the assistant pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds and Miami Marlins.

Leichman was formerly the pitching coach of the Tacoma Rainiers (the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Pacific Coast League), the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League, and other teams.

Leichman plays and coaches for Team Israel. He pitched for UC San Diego Tritons and Cypress College, leading them to the 2013 CCCAA state title. He coached Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, in South Korea and Japan. He pitched for Team Israel at the 2019 European Baseball Championship. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He pitched one perfect inning for Team Israel against Team USA in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021.

Personal life Leichman was born and grew up in kibbutz Gezer, Israel, about halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. His parents David Leichman and Marilyn Gold immigrated to Israel from New York and Michigan respectively in the 1970s. He graduated from Givat Brenner Regional School in 2007. He is good friends with, and works out with, major league pitcher Joe Musgrove. His denomination is Reform Judaism. He has a black belt in jujitsu. During the second game, against Croatia, Leichman was the starting 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. During the third game, he started at shortstop against Serbia, going 0-for-2 with 2 walks and scoring 2 runs. 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.

Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the 2012 European Baseball Championship, in 2011, and was the designated 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. During the second game, against Great Britain, batting third, Leichman went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. 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. 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. Later that same day, Leichman batted second, and went 1-for-4 with a run scored.

Leichman competed for Israel during the qualifying round of the 2016 European Baseball Championship. During the C-Level qualifier in 2014, he only pitched in the finals game against Slovenia, pitching a complete game shutout, giving up only one hit, while walking 1 and striking out 9. 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.

Leichman competed on the Israel national baseball team for qualification for the 2020 Olympics. He started one game as the team played in the 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool in early July 2019 in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, winning all of its games and advancing to the playoffs against Team Lithuania in the 2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the 2019 European Baseball Championship. He was 0-0 with an 11.12 ERA in 5.2 innings.

World Baseball Classic

Leichman was on the roster for Israel during 2013 World Baseball Classic, however he did not make an appearance. He was later the bullpen coach for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier. He returned in the same role for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Olympics Leichman pitched one perfect inning for Team Israel against Team USA in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

Playing career

MLB European Academy Leichman was the first Israeli to represent Israel in the MLB European Academy, which included coaches from MLB such as Barry Larkin, Rod Carew, Lee Smith, and Bruce Hurst.

College Leichman attended Cypress College from 2010 to 2013, and was a member of the baseball team for three seasons. While there, he had a second operation, as the first surgery had not been successful. As a senior, he made 9 starts and 5 relief appearances, working innings with 48 strikeouts.

Coaching career Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox He served as a pitching coach for the Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox in the collegiate summer Cape Cod Baseball League, which won the 2016 championship.

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers recruited Leichman to coach for their organization in the instructional league, helping develop Dodgers pitching prospects, in late 2016.

Seattle Mariners Six months after graduating from college, Leichman was Coordinator of Organizational Learning for the Seattle Mariners' player development program in 2017, supporting the organization's minor league managers and coaches. In 2018 he was the Pitching Coach of the Mariners Dominican Academy in the Dominican Summer League.

In 2019, Leichman was the pitching coach of the West Virginia Power, a Single-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the South Atlantic League.

In 2020 and 2021, Leichman was the pitching coach of the Arkansas Travelers, a Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the Double-A Central.

In 2022, Leichman served as the pitching coach for the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League.

In the fall of 2022, Leichman was the pitching coach of the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League.

Cincinnati Reds (2023–2024) In December 2022, at 33 years of age, Leichman was named the assistant pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds in Major League Baseball. He became the first Israeli coach in Major League Baseball.

Colorado Rockies (2026–present) On December 8, 2025, the Colorado Rockies hired Leichman to serve as the team's pitching coach.