Margo Sugarman is the Secretary General of the Israel Association of Baseball and in honor of International Women's Day, we decided to learn more about her history and contributions to baseball in Israel. Sugarman, a mother of three from Tel Mond, immigrated to Israel from her native South Africa in 1989. Her involvement in Israel Baseball began when her son, Hadar, started playing. She has since become certified as an umpire, started coaching, became Tel Mond's Regional Director, a member of the IAB Board of Directors and since 2013 the organization’s Secretary General.

She said that “seeing young kids progress through the system" is a major highlight for her. "Kids who started playing with me at 9-10 years old and have gone on to play for national teams, playing in the academy, becoming coaches… That’s a huge thing that I am very proud of."

Of course, that is one of many highlights, which also include seeing her son's team win the national championship in the Junior division with what she called a "Bad News Bears" type of team, serving as the manager of the Under-18 Team that won the European Championship Qualifier in Sweden with a lot of guys who started playing in Tel Mond, Israel's run at the 2017 World Baseball Championships and qualifying for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Sugarman explained that for her, being a woman in baseball has allowed her to forge a different bond with players than many of her male counterparts. “They are much more affectionate to me than with a man."

She told the story of how players on one of the junior teams she traveled with began calling her the team’s mom. When she challenged that they would not interact the same way with a man, the countered: "If you were a man, we wouldn't love you as much."

In closing and in honor of International Women's Day, Sugarman issued a challenge to other women in Israel who like baseball. "I think it would be nice if women took a more active role in the IAB as coaches and umpires,” she said. "I think it would be a positive thing."