(The Sephardic Letter) – The fifth edition of the World Baseball Classic is just days away, as players and fans around the world prepare for two weeks of competition starting Wednesday.
Jewish fans may recall that Israel stormed through the WBC in 2017, winning four straight matches as underdogs and advancing to the second round before being knocked out by Japan.
Team Israel is back for WBC 2023, with more current MLB talent on its roster than ever before. It will also face its toughest competition yet.
First held in 2006, the WBC is a quadrennial World Cup-style international tournament that has exploded in popularity in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic has postponed the event to 2021.
Ian Kinsler, Israel coach and retired four-time MLB All-Star, is happy with his team’s chances. He played for Israel at the 2020 Olympics and won the WBC with Team USA in 2017.
“In baseball, anything can happen,” Kinsler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It’s not a five-game or seven-game series. It’s a game [at a time], and if we can put together a really solid game, nine solid innings against these other teams, we have as much of a chance as anybody. I know the guys are motivated and ready to go compete, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.
Read on to find out who is playing in the Israel team, who the team will be playing and more about how the tournament works.
Join The Sephardic Letter’s Jewish Sport Report online and in Miami on March 9 for Jews First: A Celebration at the World Baseball Classic. The roundtable will feature ESPN’s Jeff Passan, former Team Israel player Jonathan de Marte and other Jewish baseball insiders.
Who is playing this year and how did they qualify?
The Dominican Republic takes on Italy at Marlins Park on March 12, 2013 in Miami, Florida. (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
The 2023 WBC will feature 20 teams – up from 16 in 2017 – split into four divisions (or pools) that will play in four locations: Tokyo, Phoenix, Miami and Taichung, a city of nearly 3 million people in Taiwan.
Two teams from each of the four pools will qualify for a single elimination bracket comprising the quarter-finals, semi-finals and a championship, all of which will take place in Miami. The first round takes place from March 8 to 15, immediately followed by the elimination round. The league game will take place on March 21.
Fans won’t be surprised to see countries like the United States, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela on the list – those three make up roughly 90% of MLB players. But there are a few less obvious countries that have qualified, including Israel.
Here are the four groups and where they will play the first round.
- Pool A (Taichung): Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Cuba, Italy, Netherlands, Panama
- Pool B (Tokyo): Australia, China, Czech Republic, Japan, South Korea
- Group C: (Phoenix): Canada, Colombia, Great Britain, Mexico, United States
- Pool D (Miami): Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, Venezuela
The qualifying rules have changed several times over the years. For this year’s tournament, all 16 teams from 2017 automatically qualified, including Israel. Last fall, the final four teams (Great Britain, Czech Republic, Panama and Nicaragua) secured a place through a 12-team, two-pool qualifying tournament.
Who is on Team Israel?
Joc Pederson was an MLB All-Star in 2022. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
Team Israel is arguably the best embodiment of the WBC’s unique eligibility rules. To play in the WBC, a player does not need to be born or be an official citizen of the country they are playing for (as is the case in the Olympics). Merely being eligible for citizenship in a given country is sufficient.
Thus, anyone eligible for Israeli citizenship can play for the Israel team. Under Israel’s Law of Return, anyone with at least one Jewish grandparent is eligible for citizenship, as are the children and spouses of Jews.
In practical terms, these rules mean that Israel’s baseball team, at least in international competitions, has historically been made up mostly of American Jews. Native Israelis still embrace the sport, which is far behind football and basketball in popularity. But Israel’s success on the international stage has helped raise the game’s profile.
The difference this time around is the wealth of professional talent on Israel’s squad roster. In fact, he has the greatest major league talent he’s ever had: Half the roster has MLB experience.
The best-known players on Israel’s roster are All-Star outfielder Joc Pederson, who hit 23 home runs and 70 batts last year; Israeli-American pitcher Dean Kremer, who posted a stellar 3.23 ERA as a starting pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles in 2022; and veteran reliever Richard Bleier, who had a 3.55 ERA for the Miami Marlins last season.
Big leaguers Jake Bird (Colorado Rockies) and New York Yankees Scott Effross and Harrison Bader had planned to play for Israel but dropped out due to injuries. Outfielder Kevin Pillar was rumored to be on the team, but he did not appear on the final roster. (Chicago White Sox ace Dylan Cease, whose father is Jewish, was also on the team’s initial list of potential players.)
Here’s the full list of all 30 players, with their current level of play – Triple-A being the entry level in the minor leagues, Single-A being the lowest.
- Starting pitchers: Brandon Gold (Triple-A), Colton Gordon (Simple-A), Dean Kremer (Baltimore Orioles), Robert Stock (Triple-A)
- Relief Pitchers: Richard Bleier (Boston Red Sox), Daniel Federman (Single-A), Jake Fishman (Triple-A), Andrew Gross (Double-A), Rob Kaminsky (agent libre), Alex Katz (agent libre), Evan Kravetz ( Double-A), Kyle Molnar (agent libre), Bubby Rosman (agent libre), Jacob Steinmetz (organisation des Diamondbacks de l’Arizona), Joey Wagman (agent libre), Jack Weinberger (Ligue Atlantique), Zack Weiss (Los Angeles Angels), Josh Loup (Single-A)
- Voltigeurs: Alex Dickerson (agent libre), Jakob Goldfarb (agent libre), Spencer Horwitz (Triple-A), Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants)
- Inner fields: Zack Gelof (Triple-A), Ty Kelly (free agent), Noah Mendlinger (Single-A), Matt Mervis (Triple-A), Danny Valencia (retired from MLB), Michael Wielansky (free agent)
- Catchers: Ryan Lavarnway (agent libre), Garrett Stubbs (Philadelphia Phillies)
Teams can also add relievers if they get past the first round. For Israel, these extras are: Jake Kalish (Triple-A), Adam Kolarek (Los Angeles Dodgers organization), Jake Miednik (Single-A) and the Israeli Shlomo Lipetz.
Israel’s major league experience also extends to its coaching staff. With Kinsler as manager, Israel will have former MLB and Team Israel manager Brad Ausmus and former All-Star Kevin Youkilis in the dugout, as well as veteran coach Jerry Narron.
How has Israel fared before?
Players of the Israel team celebrate their victory against the Netherlands after their World Baseball Classic first round match in Seoul on March 9, 2017. (Jung Yeon-Je/AFP via Getty Images)
This WBC will be Israel’s second. Israel was not part of the 2006 or 2009 tournaments, and although they made it into the 2013 qualifiers, they weren’t selected. Israel’s qualifying squad in 2012 included Ausmus as manager and a young Pederson in the outfield.
In 2017, Israel entered the tournament as an underdog after sweeping the qualifying tournament in September 2016. ESPN called the team “the Jamaican Bobsleigh Team of the WBC”.
With its trusty mascot Mensch on the Bench, Israel won its first four games, sweeping the first round, including a 2-1 win over hosts South Korea. Israel also beat Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands, and they opened the second round by defeating Cuba.
The proverbial Hanukkah oil seemed to be running out there. Israel lost 12-2 to the Netherlands and 8-3 to Japan in the second round, ending their Cinderella run with sixth place in the tournament.
Receiver Ryan Lavarnway earned Pool A MVP honors and pitcher Josh Zeid was named to the All-WBC team after the tournament.
At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, played in the summer of 2021 due to COVID-19, Israel finished in fifth place, beating Mexico 12-5 in its only victory.
Who is Israel playing against and what should fans expect?
Members of Team Israel react in dismay when a player from the Dominican Republic hits a game-winning single to eliminate Team Israel baseball from competition at the Tokyo Olympics on August 3, 2021. (Yuichi Masuda/Getty)
Israel are in Pool D, which includes some of the best teams in the world.
Here is Israel’s WBC schedule (all times EST.).
- Sunday March 12 at 12 p.m.: Israel vs Nicaragua
- Monday March 13 at 7 p.m.: Israel vs Puerto Rico
- Tuesday March 14 at 7 p.m.: Israel vs Dominican Republic
- Wednesday March 15 at 12 p.m.: Israel vs Venezuela
Prior to the tournament, Israel will also play two exhibition games against MLB teams, as part of MLB’s efforts to publicize the WBC. Israel will face the Miami Marlins on March 8 and the Washington Nationals on March 9; the late Nationals owner Ted Lerner will be honored at the game.
Once the WBC begins for Israel on March 12, the team will face many of Major League Baseball’s top players, including Francisco Lindor and Edwin Diaz for Puerto Rico; Ronald Acuña Jr. and Jose Altuve for Venezuela; and a really stacked Dominican squad that includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Rafael Devers and defending National League winner Cy Young Sandy Alcantara.
On paper, Israel is outmatched by its competition. But as Kinsler points out, “At the end of the day, baseball is all about the execution.” And if 2017 is any indication, opponents should never count Team Israel.
