Israel at the World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic permits players who are eligible for a country's citizenship to represent that country even if they do not hold its citizenship. For Israel, this opened the roster to Jewish baseball players around the world under the Law of Return, including non-Jewish spouses of Jews who are eligible for Israeli citizenship.[6][7] Israel Association of Baseball president Haim Katz described the project as balancing the strongest possible team with the goals of serving Israeli fans, bringing Jewish and baseball communities together, and developing the sport inside Israel.[6]

The Israel Association of Baseball was invited in June 2011 to compete in the first WBC qualifiers.[6] Ahead of Israel's first main-draw appearance, association president Peter Kurz described a group of 20 professional players that included Jason Marquis, Ike Davis, Josh Satin, Craig Breslow, and Ryan Lavarnway.[7] The eligibility framework remained central in later tournaments; Israel's 2026 roster was again predominantly Jewish-American, with only one player born in Israel.[1]

Israel's first attempt to reach the World Baseball Classic ended in the qualifying round for the 2013 tournament, with Gabe Kapler serving as a coach.[8] The decisive game was a five-hour contest against Spain in Jupiter, Florida, which Israel lost 9–7 in the tenth inning. Israel had taken an early two-run lead and had beaten Spain in an earlier game that Friday, but Yunesky Sanchez's two-run single ended the campaign.[9]

Ryan Lavarnway, who had recently reached the Major Leagues, was contacted about the team but was unavailable for the September 2012 qualifier. He later recalled that Israel had led in the final inning and identified pitcher Josh Zeid as the player who surrendered the lead.[10]

Israel secured its first main-draw berth with a 9–1 win over Great Britain in September 2016.[7] Dean Kremer pitched in that qualifying tournament, appeared in the 2017 main event, and later became one of the national team's leading starting pitchers.[11] Lavarnway, who was not in the Major Leagues that September, joined the qualifying effort. He recalled that Josh Zeid addressed the assembled players about how the 2012 loss continued to trouble him, a speech that helped the team understand the significance of its attempt.[10]

The qualifying tournament was played in Brooklyn, where the meaning of representing Israel crystallized for Lavarnway when he took the field with “Israel” across his chest. Before the national anthems, players removed their baseball caps and put on kippot. Lavarnway saw children from yeshiva schools wearing tallit and kippot in the stands and said the sight made him want to be a role model for them. After qualifying, the team traveled to Israel, practiced on the country's only baseball field, and met with Israeli media.[10]

Israel entered the 2017 WBC ranked 41st in the world — the lowest-ranked team and the last to qualify. In South Korea, it won all three Pool A contests: 2–1 over third-ranked South Korea in extra innings, 15–7 over fourth-ranked Chinese Taipei, and 4–2 over ninth-ranked the Netherlands.[2] The victory over South Korea was regarded as a major upset. Ryan Lavarnway earned Pool A MVP honors, and Josh Zeid was named to the All-WBC team.[12]

Israel advanced to the second round in Tokyo, where it beat Cuba 4–1 before losing 12–2 to the Netherlands and 8–3 to Japan. Against Japan, the game remained scoreless until Japan scored five runs in the sixth inning; Israel answered with three in the ninth, including two driven in by Lavarnway's double.[13] Multiple accounts report that Israel finished sixth among 16 teams, although a 2022 Jerusalem Post retrospective described the placement as seventh.[3][4] The result earned Israel automatic entry into the next scheduled WBC without another qualifying tournament.[3]

The 2017 roster consisted almost entirely of American professionals eligible for Israeli citizenship, with all but one player born outside Israel and no player then on an MLB 40-man roster. The team and coaching staff were likewise almost entirely American, with pitcher Shlomo Lipetz and coach Alon Leichman identified as the Israeli exceptions.[3] Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated the team, while manager Jerry Weinstein described raising awareness of Israel and growing baseball there as important goals.[2][3]

The team's Jewish cultural identity was highly visible. Players wore kippot during the national anthem, fans wore “Jew Crew” shirts, and the mascot was “The Mensch on the Bench,” drawing on a Yiddish word for a responsible person of integrity.[2][3] Cody Decker described the team's cultural rapport: “On this team, I can say the most random Seinfeld reference and everyone laughs and quotes the next line. It's the only baseball team in the world that can do that.”[3]

Israel's reported sixth-place finish in 2017 qualified it automatically for the next scheduled World Baseball Classic. That edition, planned for 2021, was canceled because of concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Israel returned when the competition resumed in 2023.[1]

Israel competed in Pool D in Miami in 2023 under manager Ian Kinsler. Its opponents were Nicaragua, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.[14] Israel opened with a 3–1 comeback victory over Nicaragua at the Marlins' stadium before approximately 20,000 fans, most of whom supported Nicaragua, while several hundred Israelis attended. Garrett Stubbs delivered the decisive hit.[15]

The remaining games went badly. Israel lost 10–0 to Puerto Rico and 10–0 to the Dominican Republic, with both games cut short under the tournament's mercy rule; it recorded just one hit across the two contests. A 5–1 loss to Venezuela left Israel fourth in the pool with a 1–3 record.[14] One notable moment came against the Dominican Republic, when 19-year-old Orthodox prospect Jacob Steinmetz struck out three Dominican All-Stars. Kinsler identified Steinmetz's performance as his tournament highlight.[14] Former Major League player Kevin Youkilis served as a coach.[16]

The victory over Nicaragua and Israel's fourth-place pool finish secured automatic qualification for the next WBC.[14] The roster again drew substantially on American Jewish players eligible to represent Israel under citizenship-based tournament rules.[4]

Israel's third WBC main-draw appearance came in 2026, again in Pool D. It opened with an 11–3 loss to Venezuela, rebounded with a 5–0 victory over Nicaragua, lost 10–1 to the Dominican Republic, and closed with a 6–2 win over the Netherlands.[17][18]

The Nicaragua result was the first shutout in Israel's WBC history, with Israeli pitchers combining to allow two hits. Dean Kremer held Nicaragua scoreless through the first four innings, while Noah Mendlinger went 3-for-3 with a walk and reached base four times. Harrison Bader contributed a notable sliding catch in the sixth inning.[17][19] Kremer, the only player to appear in all three of Israel's WBC main-draw campaigns to that point, said: “It's huge for us — not just for the team, but for the whole country that we're proud to represent.”[20]

Against the Netherlands, Jake Gelof drove in three runs and Matt Mervis hit a two-run double, while Israel's pitchers held the Dutch to three hits. The 15 runs Israel scored across its four games were its highest total over its previous two WBC tournaments.[18] Israel finished third in Pool D with a 2–2 record. It did not advance to the single-elimination stage, but it secured automatic entry into the following WBC.[17][18]

Israel failed to qualify for the 2013 WBC, losing the qualifying final to Spain 9–7 in extra innings.[9] It qualified for the 2017 tournament with a 9–1 win over Great Britain and then went 4–2 in the main draw; several sources place it sixth overall, while one later retrospective gives seventh.[7][3] The next scheduled edition, in 2021, was canceled.[3]

In 2023, Israel went 1–3 and finished fourth in Pool D.[14] In 2026, it finished third in Pool D with a 2–2 record and again fell short of the knockout stage.[18] The 2017 result provided automatic entry into the next scheduled edition, while the 2023 and 2026 results each secured a berth in the following WBC.[3][14]

The 2017 campaign had a lasting effect on the players and on baseball development in Israel. Lavarnway recalled that most of the team later signed up for the Olympics and established Israeli citizenship. Players returned to Israel, held youth clinics, and directed most of the team's prize money toward building fields or funding young players' travel to international tournaments. Lavarnway said participation in baseball in Israel had doubled since he first wore an Israeli uniform.[10]

The unexpected tournament run helped establish Israel as an internationally visible baseball program despite the sport's limited domestic base.[3] The national team subsequently competed in baseball at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 2021.[5]

A consistent feature of Israel's WBC teams has been their reliance on American professional players of Jewish descent who are eligible to represent Israel under the Law of Return, rather than on players born and raised in Israel.[1][4] Lavarnway recalled that Israeli media initially challenged whether the largely American players were outsiders entitled to represent the country. He said the players had not anticipated the reaction but later appreciated being asked to demonstrate that they intended to represent Israel responsibly.[10]

Public debate over the roster's national character has recurred since at least the 2017 campaign. Reporting at the time questioned whether a team of American players could represent Israel and noted that eight members had visited Israel for the first time only two months before the tournament.[2] The Israel Association of Baseball, however, said it prioritized players with an existing connection to Israel or an interest in developing one. The team's youth clinics, contributions toward field construction, and support for young players' international travel reflected its stated commitment to developing baseball inside Israel.[6][10]