Mitchell Emri Glasser (; born October 15, 1989) is an

American-Israeli Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

player. He also plays for the

Israel National Baseball Team The Israel National Baseball Team () represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler. At the 2017 WBC, Team Israel came in 6th. In 2022, Israel was ranked 20th in the world. The Israel national baseball team compete ...

. In high school, Glasser was Illinois Independent School League MVP as a senior. At

Macalester College Macalester College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1874, Macalester is exclusively an undergraduate institution with an enrollment of 2,142 students in the fall of 2023. The college ha ...

, he was all-

Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC ) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division III, Division III. All 13 of the mem ...

four times, and in 2011 he was the most difficult player in

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is the lowest division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that do not offer athletic scholarships to student- ...

strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safel ...

. Glasser was drafted by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in the 39th round of the

2012 Major League Baseball Draft The 2012 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto Rico Baseball Ac ...

. He has played for the Chicago White Sox organization in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). A right-handed hitter, he plays second base, third base, and outfield. He played for Team 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 contribu ...

. He also played 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 ...

. He played primarily right field for Team Israel at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

in Tokyo in the summer of 2021, and had a .474 on base percentage which was 5th-highest at the Olympic Games.

Early and personal life

Glasser was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois, and grew up on Chicago's North Side. He is Jewish, and was actively involved in his Jewish community.Michael Ostipoff (May 12, 2018
"Glasser not full yet: Well-traveled Chicago native Mitch Glasser offers up ton of versatility for RailCats,"
''Post-Tribune''.Ron Kantowski (October 5, 2016)
"Las Vegas resident Mitch Glasser helps Israel to first World Baseball Classic berth,"
''Las Vegas Review-Journal''.
MIAC, May 4, 2012. He attended a

Jewish day school A Jewish day school is a modern Jewish educational institution that is designed to provide children of Jews, Jewish parents with both a Jewish and a secular education in one school on a full-time basis. The term "day school" is used to differentiat ...

in Chicago for 11 years. He was named after Cubs reliever

Mitch Williams Mitchell Steven Williams (born November 17, 1964), nicknamed "Wild Thing", is an American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for six teams from 1986 to 1997. He was also a studio analyst for the MLB Network from 20 ...

. Glasser's favorite baseball team during his childhood was the

. He attended the

Latin School of Chicago Latin School of Chicago is a private elementary, middle, and high school located in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery. Latin School i ...

for high school on Chicago's Near North Side, where he played shortstop on the baseball team and was Illinois Independent School League MVP as a senior."Mitch Glasser Minor & Independent Leagues Statistics & History,"
Baseball Reference. In 2019 he became an Israeli citizen, thereby becoming a dual

Israeli-American Israeli Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Israeli descent. The Israeli-American community, while predominantly Jewish, also includes various ethnic and religious minorities reflective of Israel's diverse demographics. This c ...

."Four U.S. baseball players immigrating to Israel to join Olympics bid,"
''Haaretz'', April 7, 2019.

College

Glasser went to

in Minnesota, where he majored in Psychology."Mitch Glasser - 2012 Baseball,"
Macalester College Athletics. In 2010, he batted .348 and led the

(MIAC) conference with six triples, and was named a ''

Jewish Sports Review ''Jewish Sports Review'' (JSR) was a bi-monthly magazine that operated from 1997 to 2022. Its editors were Ephraim Moxson and Shel Wallman. The magazine identified Jewish athletes, including professionals, college players, athletes in internati ...

'' All American. In 2011, Glasser led the Scots in batting average (.408) and total bases (74), and tied for the lead in home runs (4), and was again named a ''Jewish Sports Review'' All American. He ranked second on the team in RBIs (30) and hits (49). He was the most difficult player in Division III to

(only 1 time in 120 at bats), and was named MIAC Player of the Week on April 11. He was awarded MIAC all-conference honors four times. In his college career he batted .357 with 180 hits (4th in school history), 95 RBIs, and 109 runs scored in 148 games, and stole 31 bases in 37 attempts.

Professional career

Chicago White Sox

Glasser was drafted by his hometown

in the 39th round of the

. He played with the

Bristol White Sox Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in the Rookie-level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, 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 wooden ...

in 2013. After being released by the Chicago White Sox in July 2013, he played for the

Melbourne Aces The Melbourne Aces are a professional baseball team based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that competed in the Australian Baseball League. Their home field is the Melbourne Ballpark in Altona. History On 20 August 2010 it was announced ...

of the

Australian Baseball League The Australian Baseball League (ABL) is a professional baseball league in Australia. The league is governed by the Australian Baseball Federation (ABF). It uses the same name as a now-defunct competition held during the 1990s, and though it s ...

in 2014.

Joplin Blasters

On May 19, 2015, Glasser signed with the Joplin Blasters of the

American Association of Independent Professional Baseball The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor lea ...

in the team's inaugural season. He made 85 appearances for the team, batting .265/.362/.306 and 11 sacrifice hits (tied for second in the league) and 8 hit-by-pitch (tied for 9th)."2016 American Association - Season Review,"
Baseball Cube. In the final game of the season Glasser played all nine positions in the field. In 2016 Glasser had the best season of his four-year professional career for the Blasters. He batted .317/.411 (7th in the league)/.417 with 47 RBIs and 16 stolen bases and leading the league with 16 hit-by-pitch.Levi Payton (August 19, 2016)

''The Joplin Globe''.Case Keefer (October 17, 2016)
"Diamond diplomat: Southern Nevada high school coach helping popularize baseball in Israel,"
''Las Vegas Sun News''.

Cleburne Railroaders

In 2017 he played for the

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

of the American Association. Glasser batted .282/.380/.352 with three home runs, 33 RBIs, 18 stolen bases, and 14 HBP (4th in the league) in 347 at bats, playing 37 games at third base, 30 at second base, and 21 in the outfield. After the season, Glasser was traded to the

Winnipeg Goldeyes The Winnipeg Goldeyes are a professional minor-league baseball team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The Goldeyes play in the American Association of Professional Baseball, which they joined in 2011. Previously, the Goldeyes were members of ...

of the

Gary SouthShore RailCats

Glasser was later traded to the

Gary SouthShore RailCats The Gary SouthShore RailCats are a professional baseball team based in Gary, Indiana, in the United States. The RailCats are members of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The Ra ...

of the

later in the season. For Gary, he batted .228/.343/.283 in 2018.

Sioux Falls Canaries

Glasser was waived by the RailCats on June 21, 2018, and claimed by the

Sioux Falls Canaries The Sioux Falls Canaries are a professional baseball team based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The Canaries are members of the North Division of the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major ...

of the American Association. In 2018 between the RailCats and the Canaries, he batted .273/.359/.302 with 28 RBIs, 10 HBP (tied for 6th in the league), and 6 sacrifice hits (tied for 9th) in 341 at bats. He played 62 games at second base, 20 at third base, 3 in the outfield, and one at shortstop. Glasser later re-signed with the Canaries for the 2019 season, and also served as the team's hitting coach. The team agreed to let him play for Team Israel in their European qualifying tournament in Bulgaria in July 2019. Canaries manager Mike Meyer said: "We were putting together his contract this year and he said he would be missing potentially 15 games for the qualifiers. I said that it was an amazing opportunity, and that we were going to make it work."Jack Williams (July 15, 2019)
"Canaries player chases Olympic dream with Team Israel,"
''Sioux Falls Argus Leader''. Playing for the Canaries in 2019, he batted .264/.363/.338 with 3 home runs and 38 RBIs, while playing 45 games at third base, 24 at first base, 10 at second base, and one game in right field. He was released by the team on January 7, 2020. On April 30, 2020, Glasser signed with the Chicago Dogs of the American Association. He was released prior to the season on July 3, 2020. On May 3, 2021, Glasser re-signed with the

of the American Association as a non-roster invitee to training camp. He was later named as the team's bench coach for the 2021 season, thus becoming a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

for the second time in his career. Playing for the Canaries in 2021, Glasser batted .286/.407/.397 with 2 home runs and 28 RBIs, while playing 28 games at second base, 11 in right field, 10 in center field, five in right field, three at first base, and two at third base. He was released by the Canaries following the season on January 31, 2022.

Team Israel

By virtue of his Jewish heritage, Glasser played for the

Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tourname ...

qualifier. Glasser appeared in the first and second games of the qualifier as a late-inning defensive replacement, and did not have an at bat. Glasser competed on the

Israel national baseball team The Israel National Baseball Team () represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler. At the 2017 WBC, Team Israel came in 6th. In 2022, Israel was ranked 20th in the world. The Israel national baseball team compete ...

for qualification for the

2020 Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. He started all six games at second base as the team played in the

2019 European Baseball Championship - B-Pool Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

in early July 2019 in

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, 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 cultura ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, 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 batted .421 (6th in the tournament)/.586 (4th)/.842 (4th) in the B-Pool tournament with 10 runs scored (tied for 1st), 8 walks (2nd), 2 doubles (tied for 4th), and 9 RBIs (3rd) in 19 at bats. He played for Team Israel at the

. He also played 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. He played second base and batted .200/.261/.250 with 6 RBIs (tied for 4th) in the tournament. He played primarily right field for Team Israel at the

in Tokyo in the summer of 2021, and had a .474 on base percentage which was 5th-highest at the Olympic Games. He batted .412/.474/.588 in 17 at bats.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasser, Mitch 1989 births Living people Baseball players from Chicago Bristol White Sox players Jewish American baseball players Joplin Blasters players Cleburne Railroaders players Gary SouthShore RailCats players Sioux Falls Canaries players Latin School of Chicago alumni Melbourne Aces players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Chicago State Cougars baseball coaches Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics American expatriate baseball players in Australia Olympic baseball players for Israel 21st-century American Jews