2017 World Baseball Classic Pool E

Before reaching the second round in Tokyo, Team Israel had completed the opening round in Seoul with a perfect 3–0 record, finishing first in Pool A.[3] Their wins came against South Korea, Taiwan, and the Netherlands, highlighted by a dramatic ten-inning victory over South Korea in the opening game.[3] Israel had entered the tournament ranked 41st in the world, described as the only participating team outside the global top 20.[3]

The squad was composed chiefly of American Jews competing under the tournament's eligibility rules.[4] The team's stated mission extended beyond winning; player Ryan Lavarnway recalled that the aim was to help grow baseball in Israel, where the sport was not widely played.[5][4] As their opening-round wins accumulated, Lavarnway described the atmosphere: "Everybody's now freaking out. We're a Cinderella story."[5]

Pool E opened for Israel with a 4–1 victory over Cuba, extending the team's overall tournament record to 4–0.[6] Cuban media reacted poorly to the defeat, and Lavarnway noted it was the first time the team encountered significant pushback from another country's press, with critics dismissing Israel as "America's B-team."[5] Israeli media, by contrast, had grown enthusiastic as the team advanced, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly congratulated the squad.[5][7]

Israel's second game brought a sharp reversal. The Netherlands scored ten runs by the fourth inning and won 12–2, handing Israel its first loss of the tournament. Nate Freiman hit a solo home run in the fourth inning for Israel, and the team added one more run in the eighth, but the result was never in doubt.[6]

In the final Pool E game, Israel faced Japan before a crowd of more than 40,000 at Tokyo Dome.[8] Israel held Japan scoreless through four innings, but Japan scored five runs in the sixth and won 8–3.[9] A win would have forced a tiebreaker with implications for pool advancement; instead, the defeat ended Israel's tournament run.[9] Japan and the Netherlands advanced from Pool E to the semifinals in Los Angeles.[8]

Israel finished sixth among the sixteen teams in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.[7] Its victories over South Korea, the Netherlands, and Cuba made the early rounds a surprising run before elimination by Japan.[10] The campaign also illustrated baseball's reach beyond its traditional strongholds.[2]

For Lavarnway, the tournament carried meaning beyond the results. He recalled that Israeli media embraced the team as it advanced and that the players intended to help grow baseball in Israel rather than simply win and leave.[5] Later retrospectives characterized the campaign as a Cinderella-like run and noted that, after beating Cuba, the squad had begun to believe a semifinal berth was possible.[10]

Coverage of Israel's campaign combined a Cinderella narrative with debate over the composition of the team. Later retrospectives emphasized that one of the tournament's lowest-ranked entrants won its first four games and began to dream of reaching the semifinals after defeating Cuba.[10]

Because the roster consisted largely of American Jews, some critics questioned whether it authentically represented Israel as a nation. Player Ty Kelly addressed the criticism directly, saying: "We represent Israel, and represent ourselves, in the best way we can, but we cannot please everyone."[3] The roster complied with World Baseball Classic rules allowing players eligible for Israeli citizenship to represent the country without already holding citizenship.[3]