The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

champion,

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

champion, All Star, and Olympian

Ian Kinsler Ian Michael Kinsler ( he, איאן קינסלר; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for ...

. At the 2017 WBC, Team Israel came in 6th. In 2021, Israel was ranked 20th in the world. The Israel national baseball team competed at the

2020 Summer 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 ...

in 2021, where it beat Mexico and finished 5th. The team will next compete in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

in March 2023 in Miami, Florida, against Team Puerto Rico, Team Dominican Republic, and Team Venezuela. Among the players who have committed to play for the team are All Star outfielder

Joc Pederson Joc Russell Pederson ( ; born April 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Atlanta Br ...

, Gold Glove outfielder

Harrison Bader Harrison Joseph Bader (born June 3, 1994), nicknamed "Tots," is an American professional baseball center fielder for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals. Born and rais ...

, and pitcher

Dean Kremer Dean Junior Kremer ( he, דין קרמר; born January 7, 1996) is an Israeli–American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). In 2015 he became the first Israeli drafted by an MLB team. He made ...

History

In the 1970s American immigrants started playing baseball in Israel. In December 1986, the

Israel Association of Baseball In Israel, baseball was historically not a popular sport, the IAB founded by Randy Kahn in 1985, is one of six nations to qualify in baseball for the 2020 Olympics has yet to be felt. There are approximately 1,000 players in 16 cities across the co ...

(IAB) was formed as a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

to develop baseball in Israel. Israel has baseball teams in all age groups from 10 to 30. In 2015, Israel senior national team pitcher

became the first Israeli to be selected in the Major League Baseball draft. He was picked by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

in the 38th round. Kremer opted to fulfill his college commitment, and play for the UNLV Rebels baseball team. After playing for the Rebels for the 2016 season, Kremer was drafted by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

in the 14th round of the 2016 draft. In 2019, Kremer reached Class AAA for the first time, pitching for the

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In 2020, Kremer made his debut for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, becoming the first Israeli citizen to pitch in the major leagues. Prior to the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

(WBC), Israel was the 41st-ranked national baseball team in the world (and ranked 16th in Europe). After its performance in the 2017 WBC, in which Team Israel came in 6th, the team was ranked 19th in the world (and 4th in Europe). The most recent ranking was released in 2021, with Israel ranked 20th in the world. The Israel national baseball team that competed at the

was composed mostly of

Israeli-American , native_name_lang = , image = , caption = , population = 110,000–150,000 , popplace = New York metropolitan area, Los Angeles metropolitan area, Miami metropolitan area, and other large metropolitan are ...

Jews with four Israeli-born players. Peres, Shapiro and Ausmus (2)

In 2019 Israel won the European Baseball B-Pool competition, with a 5–0 record. It then won the best-of-three 2019 European Qualification Playoff Series, with a 2–0 record. Consequently, it qualified for 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 ...

12-team tournament in Germany, where it came in fourth. As one of the top five teams in the Championship, it thereby moved on to compete in the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament. It won that tournament, and thus qualified to be one of six national teams that competed in 2021 in baseball at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. At the Olympics in 2021 the team faced

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

. Israel beat Mexico but finished 5th, after losing to the Dominican Republic 7-6 in the Round 2

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

. The team will next compete in the

. The senior national team manager is

Results and fixtures

The following is a list of

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

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 ...

match results currently active in the latest version of the

WBSC World Rankings The WBSC World Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in baseball and softball. The teams of the member nations of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), baseball's world governing body, are ranked based on their tournament re ...

, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled. ;Legend

2023

2021

2019

Current roster

2023 World Baseball Classic

Competitions

World Baseball Classic

2013 World Baseball Classic

Team Israel competed in the September 2012 Qualifier Round 1, in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

, against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Israel won easily in their first game. Israel then beat Spain in the winner's bracket. Spain then eliminated South Africa to earn a rematch with Israel, in the final game. Spain won the winner-take-all final game, 9–7 in 10 innings, to advance to the main tournament.

2017 World Baseball Classic

In September 2016, Team Israel competed in the 2017 Qualifier 4 round.

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

coach Jerry Weinstein served as the manager. Israel's roster included 20 MLB-affiliated minor leaguers, making up 86% of the team, more than any other team in the qualifiers even before including recent Major Leaguers. Israel won all three of their games in the qualifier, beating

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

twice and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

once. With the win, Israel advanced to play in

Pool A Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

in March 2017, against

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

, and

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. Prior to the start of the 2017 tournament,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

considered Israel, ranked 41st in the world, to be the biggest underdog in the tournament, referring to them as the "

Jamaican bobsled team The Jamaica national bobsleigh team represents Jamaica in international bobsleighing competitions. The men's team debut in the 1988 Winter Olympic Games four-man bobsleigh in Calgary, Alberta, was received as underdogs in a cold weather sport ...

of the WBC". Israel began the

round robin Round-robin may refer to: Computing * Round-robin DNS, a technique for dealing with redundant Internet Protocol service hosts * Round-robin networks, communications networks made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology * Round-robin schedu ...

tournament with wins against world # 3 Korea and world # 4 Chinese Taipei, and world # 9 Netherlands. Team Israel's first round performance afforded it a spot in the second round, in

Pool E Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky poo ...

in Japan, and ensured its participation in the 2021 World Baseball Classic tournament.

Ryan Lavarnway Ryan Cole Lavarnway ( ריאן לווארנוויי; born August 7, 1987) is an American-Israeli professional baseball catcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Oriole ...

was named Pool A MVP. In the first game of the second round, Team Israel beat Team Cuba (world # 5) by a score of 4−1. Israel lost the next two games, to the Netherlands and world # 1 Japan, and came in third in Pool E. In 2018 a documentary was released entitled '' Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel'', which covered the experience of Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

2023 World Baseball Classic

Team Israel will compete in the

in March 2023. It will play in Miami, Florida. Israel will face Team Puerto Rico, Team Dominican Republic, and Team Venezuela. American-Israeli

, a former Major League All Star and two-time

Gold Glove The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

winner, and Israeli Olympian, will manage the team. Among the players who have committed to play for the team are All Star outfielder

, Gold Glove outfielder

, outfielder

Kevin Pillar Kevin Andrew Pillar () (born January 4, 1989) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Colorado Rockies, N ...

, and American-Israelis catcher

and infielder

Ty Kelly Tyler Patrick Kelly (טיי קלי; born July 20, 1988) is an American-Israeli professional baseball utility player who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets. He plays ...

. Pitchers who will be on the team include Israeli-American

Eli Morgan Elijah Allan Morgan (born May 13, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Cleveland Guardians of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Morgan was selected by the Indians in the eigh ...

Richard Bleier Richard Sidney Bleier (born April 16, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins. In hig ...

, Robert Stock,

Jake Bird Jake Bird (December 14, 1901 – July 15, 1949) was an American serial killer who was tried and executed for the axe murders of Bertha Kludt and her daughter Beverly June Kludt in Tacoma, Washington in 1947, and has since been linked to 11 other ...

, and American-Israelis

Jake Fishman Jake Layton Fishman (born February 8, 1995) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher in the Oakland Athletics organization. Fishman was selected in the 30th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Toronto Blue Jays. He w ...

Zack Weiss Zachary Daniel Weiss ( he, זאק וייס; born June 16, 1992) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Cincinnati Reds. He has four ...

, and

Bubby Rossman Charles Irvin "Bubby" Rossman (born June 29, 1992) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball for Cerritos College and California State University, Dominguez Hills. He was selected in the ...

, while Scott Effross was slated to be on the team but injured his arm. Others who may possibly join Team Israel include All Star pitcher

Max Fried Max Dorian Fried ( ; born January 18, 1994), nicknamed "Maximus", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB). Drafted in 2012 by the San Diego Padres in the first round, seventh overall, F ...

, catcher

Garrett Stubbs Garrett Patrick Stubbs (born May 26, 1993) is an American professional baseball catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Houston Astros. Stubbs attended the University of Southern ...

, pitcher Noah Davis, pitcher Kenny Rosenberg, and outfielder

Mike Moustakas Michael Christopher Moustakas (; born September 11, 1988) is an American professional baseball infielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, and Cincinnati Reds. Moust ...

. Third baseman All Star Alex Bregman has chosen not to play in the WBC, first baseman

Rowdy Tellez Ryan John "Rowdy" Tellez ( ; born March 16, 1995) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays. In 2013, Tellez was both a '' ...

has chosen to play for Team Mexico, and Adam Ottavino has chosen to play for Team Italy.

European Baseball Championship

2019 European Baseball Championship

Team Israel won the 2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool 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 five of its games. It thus advanced to the playoffs against Team Lithuania in the 2019 Playoff Series at the end of July 2019 for the last qualifying spot for the

. "Meet the Senior National Team Coach: Eric Holtz,"
IAB - Israel Association of Baseball. Israel won the best-of-three playoff series 2–0, and thereby qualified for the

. In preparation for possible qualification by Israel 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 ...

, 10 American baseball players made ''

aliyah Aliyah (, ; he, עֲלִיָּה ''ʿălīyyā'', ) is the immigration of Jews from Jewish diaspora, the diaspora to, historically, the geographical Land of Israel, which is in the modern era chiefly represented by the Israel, State of Israel ...

'' in 2018 in order to qualify under the citizenship requirement for the 2019 European Baseball Championships and the Olympics. The players were Corey Baker,

Eric Brodkowitz Eric Brodkowitz is an American-Israeli free agent professional baseball pitcher. He plays for the Israel National Baseball Team. Pitching for the Yale Bulldogs, he was named to the 2018 First Team All-Ivy League Team as a unanimous selection. ...

Gabe Cramer Gabriel Isaac Cramer (born November 1, 1994) is an Israeli-Canadian-American professional baseball right-handed pitcher who is currently a free agent.Blake Gailen Blake Shane Gailen (בלייק גיילין; born March 27, 1985) is an American-Israeli hitting coach for the Arizona Complex League Dodgers and left-handed former professional baseball outfielder. He also plays for the Israel National Basebal ...

Alex Katz Alex Katz (born July 24, 1927) is an American figurative artist known for his paintings, sculptures, and prints. Early life and career Alex Katz was born July 24, 1927, to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York, as the son of an émigré who ha ...

Jonathan de Marte Jonathan de Marte (born April 29, 1993) is an American-Israeli professional baseball pitcher and pitches for Team Israel. He is 6-1 and weighs 205 lbs.Jon Moscot Jonathan Solomon Moscot (ג'ון מוסקוט; born August 15, 1991) is an American-Israeli former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the Cincinnati Reds in 2015 and 2016, and who played internationally for Israel national baseba ...

, Joey Wagman,

, and Jeremy Wolf (who lives in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

).">"Israel's baseball team has a secret weapon – and it may get it into the Olympics,"
''Haaretz''. They were followed in 2019 by Jeremy Bleich,

Nick Rickles Nicholas Jay Rickles (born February 2, 1990) is an American-Israeli coach for the Milwaukee Brewers organization, and a former professional minor league and current Team Israel baseball catcher.Danny Valencia Daniel Paul Valencia (דני ולנסיה; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israeli national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota T ...

, and Ben Wanger. In Round 1 of the 2019 European Baseball Championship, Israel went 4–1 (defeating world # 18

the Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Cz ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, and

while losing to

). The team thereby advanced to the Championship's eight-team playoffs, with Mitch Glasser leading all Championship batters in runs with 7, and Blake Gailen tied with Germany's Marco Cardoso for the lead in hits, with 8. In the Championship playoffs, Israel defeated Team France in the quarterfinals, lost to Team Italy in the semi-finals, and came in fourth. In the Championship, Joey Wagman led all pitchers with a 0.00 ERA over 10.2 innings.

2021 European Baseball Championship; silver medal

At the 2021 European Baseball Championship held September 12–19, 2021, in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, Israel won the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

. Third baseman

Assaf Lowengart Assaf Lowengart ( he, אסף לוונגרט; born March 1, 1998) is an Israeli baseball player. He is a shortstop for the Mansfield Mountaineers in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. He also plays for Team Israel, and most notably duri ...

led the Championship with 13 RBIs and tied for the lead in home runs with four, second baseman

Mitch Glasser Mitchell Emri Glasser (born October 15, 1989) is an American-Israeli baseball player who is a free agent. He also plays for the Israel National Baseball Team. In high school, Glasser was Illinois Independent School League MVP as a senior. At ...

was 5th with an on base percentage of .615, and shortstop

was 5th with seven walks. Joey Wagman led the Championship with 18 strikeouts and tied for the lead with 16 innings pitched, and Ben Wanger tied for the lead with two wins.

Olympics

2020 Olympics

Because Team Israel finished in the top five in the 2019 European Baseball Championship, it earned the right to participate in the 2020 Olympics qualifiers. That

tournament took place in Italy between September 18 and 22, 2019. As the winner of that tournament it qualified to be one of the six national teams that competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. The Israeli team started strong at the September 2019 Africa/Europe Qualifying Event, by defeating all three 2019 European Baseball Championship medalists - world # 8 Netherlands, world # 16 Italy, and Spain, before losing to the Czech Republic. In its final game, Israel beat South Africa 11–1 in a game that was stopped in the 7th inning due to the

mercy rule A mercy rule, slaughter rule, knockout rule, or skunk rule ends a two-competitor sports competition earlier than the scheduled endpoint if one competitor has a very large and presumably insurmountable scoring lead over the other. It is called th ...

. Team Israel won the tournament with a 4–1 record. It thereby qualified to be one of six national baseball teams that competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. First baseman/DH

Danny Valencia Daniel Paul Valencia (דני ולנסיה; born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israeli national baseball team. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota T ...

batted .375 and led the tournament in runs (7), home runs (3), RBIs (9), walks (5), and slugging percentage (1.000), and starting pitcher Joey Wagman tied for the tournament lead with two wins, and led in complete games (1) and strikeouts (14) as he had an 0.56 ERA in 16 innings. Every member of the 24-member Team Israel that competed to qualify in the Olympics was Israeli, with four of the players native-born. The others made ''

'' to Israel, under Israel's

Law of Return The Law of Return ( he, חֹוק הַשְׁבוּת, ''ḥok ha-shvūt'') is an Israeli law, passed on 5 July 1950, which gives Jews, people with one or more Jewish grandparent, and their spouses the right to relocate to Israel and acquire Isra ...

, which gives anyone with a Jewish parent or grandparent or who is married to a Jew the right to return to Israel and be granted Israeli citizenship. Native-born Israeli team member Shlomo Lipetz observed:

"There is no other country like Israel that carries an identity as it does with Jews around the world. We’re not the only team here with citizens that don't live in the country. There were other teams like Spain that had 22 Venezuelans and two Spaniards. But they didn't have that connection. This wasn't just a group of people, All-Stars who came together. It was people who all had a Bar Mitzvah. We were joking around that everyone will post their Bar Mitzvah photo."

At the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021, Israel beat Mexico and finished fifth after going 1-4 and losing to the Dominican Republic 7-6 in the Round 2 Repechage. The Israel national baseball team that competed at the

was composed mostly of

American Jews American Jews or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by religion, ethnicity, culture, or nationality. Today the Jewish community in the United States consists primarily of Ashkenazi Jews, who descend from diaspora J ...

who were dual American-Israeli citizens, in addition to four Israeli-born players. Danny Valencia tied for the lead in the Olympics with three home runs, tied for second with six runs and seven RBIs, and had the fourth-best slugging percentage (.778), Ryan Lavarnway had the 5th-best slugging percentage (.700), and Mitch Glasser's .474 on base percentage was 5th-best at the Games.

Player records

Most capped players since 2016

Most hits since 2016

Most runs scored since 2016

Most home runs since 2016

Most runs batted in since 2016

Past rosters

2020 Olympics

2017 World Baseball Classic

International tournament results

World Baseball Classic

European Baseball Championship

Other competitions

;European Under-21 Baseball Championship *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

: 9th *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

: 4th (host nation) ;European Juveniles Baseball Championship *

: 3rd *

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

: 7th *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

: 4th ;European Junior Baseball Championship *

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Israel National Baseball Team National baseball teams in Europe

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 ...

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

History

Results and fixtures

2023

2021

2019

Current roster

2023 World Baseball Classic

Competitions

World Baseball Classic

2013 World Baseball Classic

2017 World Baseball Classic

2023 World Baseball Classic

European Baseball Championship

2019 European Baseball Championship

2021 European Baseball Championship; silver medal

Olympics

2020 Olympics

Player records

Most capped players since 2016

Most hits since 2016

Most runs scored since 2016

Most home runs since 2016

Most runs batted in since 2016

Past rosters

2020 Olympics

2017 World Baseball Classic

International tournament results

World Baseball Classic

European Baseball Championship

Other competitions

See also

References