Gabriel Isaac Cramer (born November 1, 1994) is an Israeli-

Canadian-American Canadian Americans is a term that can be applied to American citizens whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country that hold dual citizenship. The term ''Canadian'' can mean a nationality or an ethnicity. Canadians ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

right-handed

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

who is currently a free agent."Gabe Cramer - 2013 Baseball Roster,"
GoStanford.com. He throws a 99 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

. He plays for the

Israel National Baseball Team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

. As a high school player Cramer was

Rawlings Rawlings may refer to: *Rawlings (company), a U.S. sports equipment company *Rawlings, Maryland, an unincorporated community in Allegany County, Maryland *Rawlings (surname) Rawlings is an English-language surname. Notable people with the name in ...

First Team All-California in 2012. He pitched for

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, and after his junior year in 2015 was signed by the Royals. Cramer pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In October 2018, he became an Israeli citizen. He pitched for Israel at the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contributed ...

. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play

baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics Baseball was featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics. Six national teams competed in the tournament: Israel, Japan (host), Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Republ ...

in Tokyo.

Early and personal life

Cramer was born in

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, to Corky Cramer and Paige Sobel."Gabe Cramer Stats, Highlights, Bio,"
MiLB.com. His parents had moved from

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, to Santa Rosa in 1992."Legacy News: Meet Paige Sobel and Corky Cramer"
''The Voice'', p. 8, October 2016. He is Jewish, and his family is a member of Congregation Shomrei Torah in Santa Rosa, where he and his brother Jake attended

Hebrew school Hebrew school is Jewish education focusing on topics of Jewish history, learning the Hebrew language, and finally learning their Torah Portion, in preparation for the ceremony in Judaism of entering adulthood, known as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. Hebr ...

and had their bar mitzvahs. In October 2018 he became an Israeli citizen, partly to help Israel’s baseball team make the

2020 Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

. As of December 2019 he was working in New York City mentoring students at a college application consulting firm, as he trained for the Olympics.

High school

He attended Santa Rosa High School (2012). There, Cramer was a four-year varsity starter, 2011 Underclass All-America third team, 2011 All-

North Bay League The North Coast Section (NCS) is a part of the California Interscholastic Federation, governing the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), eastern portion of the San Francisco Bay Area, up along the northern coast of the state of California, from Fr ...

pitcher, led the North Bay League in strikeouts in 2011, was 2012 Santa Rosa High Scholar Athlete of the Year, 2012 North Bay League Rotary Scholar-Athlete, and was named

first team all-California region in 2012. In his senior season, Cramer suffered a torn

ulnar collateral ligament Ulnar collateral ligament (or UCL), may refer to: * Ulnar carpal collateral ligament * Ulnar collateral ligament of elbow joint The ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) or internal lateral ligament is a thick triangular ligament at the medial aspec ...

, or UCL, and had "

Tommy John surgery Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction, colloquially known as Tommy John surgery (TJS), is a surgical graft procedure where the ulnar collateral ligament in the medial elbow is replaced with either a tendon from elsewhere in the patient's bo ...

" (ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction) in which the torn ligament was replaced and reinforced by another ligament from his body.Spenser Linney (February 2, 2015)
"Concern with early youth specialization grows as 'Tommy John surgeries' increase",
''Peninsula Press'' Cramer didn't pitch competitively for over a year, as he rehabilitated his arm.

College

Cramer then attended

, where he majored in Science, Technology and Society."Cramer Signs With KC,"
GoStanford.com, June 8, 2015. He didn't play at all his freshman year for the Stanford Cardinal baseball team, due to his Tommy John surgery, and in 2014 he made only two appearances."High School Baseball Recruiting - Gabriel Cramer - Player Profile"
ESPN. In 2015 in 21 appearances Cramer tied for second on the team with three saves, as he kept opponents to a .257 batting average. He was named to the 2015

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...

Baseball All-Academic First Team. He mainly threw a low-90s

, a

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

, and a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

. During the summer of 2014 he pitched for the

Bellingham Bells The Bellingham Bells are a collegiate summer baseball team in the West Coast League. The team is composed of college baseball players from teams around the U.S. In recent years, the Bells have produced a number of Major League players including ...

of the

West Coast League The West Coast League (WCL) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 2005, comprising teams from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alberta. The WCL was previously named the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League (WCCB ...

, and during the summer of 2015 he pitched for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the

Cape Cod League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

. In the offseason of the Fall of 2016, he completed his degree.

Minor leagues

Cramer was signed by the Royals in 2015, following his junior year at Stanford University, as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He began his professional career in 2015, in the middle of the season with the

Arizona Royals The Arizona Complex League Royals are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Arizona. The team is compos ...

of the Rookie

Arizona League The Arizona Complex League (ACL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in and around Phoenix, Arizona, since 1988. Prior to 2021, it was known as the Arizona League (AZL). Along with the Florida Complex League (FCL), it f ...

and the

Burlington Royals The Burlington Royals were a minor league baseball team in Burlington, North Carolina, United States. They were a Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League. The team was affiliated with the Cleveland Indians from 1986 to 2006 as the Burlington I ...

of the Rookie

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wood bats, its season runs from ...

. In 2016, Cramer pitched for the

Lexington Legends The Lexington Legends are an American professional baseball team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They are a member of the South Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a "partner league" of Major League Baseball. The Legends have ...

of the Class A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

, and in June of that year he was the team's Pitcher of the Month. For the season, he was 3-2 with a 4.12 ERA, and in 43.2 innings he gave up 38 hits and had 57 strikeouts, averaging 11.75 strikeouts per 9 innings."Gabe Cramer Baseball Statistics [2013-2017]"
/ref> He throws a 97 mph

.Ron Gloster
"North Bay pitcher to throw chai heat for Team Israel Baseball,"
''J'', February 2, 2017. In 2017, Cramer pitched for the Wilmington Blue Rocks of the Class A+ Carolina League.Gabe Cramer Minor Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> He was 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA, and had 2 walks and 27 strikeouts in 13.2 innings, averaging 17.78 strikeouts per 9 innings. He spent 2018 on the disabled list with a torn

rotator cuff The rotator cuff is a group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the human shoulder and allow for its extensive range of motion. Of the seven scapulohumeral muscles, four make up the rotator cuff. The four muscles are the supraspi ...

, and was released on November 1.

Team Israel

Cramer pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in March 2017."MLB players Ty Kelly, Sam Fuld commit to World Baseball Classic roster; Team Israel stated that it is finalizing its roster for the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March in South Korea,"
''

Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner f ...

'', January 20, 2017 In one relief appearance he pitched one scoreless inning. Cramer competed on the

Israel national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

for qualification for the

."Four U.S. baseball players immigrating to Israel to join Olympics bid,"
''Haaretz'', April 7, 2019. He started one game and pitched in relief a second game as the team played in the

2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool was the second tier of Confederation of European Baseball men competition. It featured 14 teams, competing in two groups of 6 and 8 teams in early July 2019. The two group winners, Team Israel and Team ...

in early July 2019 in

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, 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

.Scott Barancik (July 8, 2019)
">"For Israel, sweet victory; Long road to Olympic berth begins with triumph in Bulgaria,"
''Jewish Baseball News''. He was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA, as in 6 innings he gave up one hit, two walks, and struck out 7 batters. He pitched for Israel at the

, starting one game and pitching two innings in which he gave up two earned runs. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play

in Tokyo. In the tournament he was 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 3.2 innings."Pitching,"
olympicbaseball.wbsc.org.

References

External links

*Gabe Cramer
"Will the Real Brad Keller Please Stand Up?"
Fangraphs, June 12, 2019. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cramer, Gabe 1994 births Living people Arizona League Royals players Baseball players from California Burlington Royals players Jewish American baseball players Lexington Legends players Sportspeople from Santa Rosa, California Stanford Cardinal baseball players Yarmouth–Dennis Red Sox players 2017 World Baseball Classic players Israeli American Israeli Canadian Israeli baseball players Canadian baseball players 2019 European Baseball Championship players 21st-century American Jews