Shlomo Lipetz

Lipetz was born in Tel Aviv on February 11, 1979, to Jewish parents and grew up in a very secular family.[1] He played several sports as a child and began playing baseball around age 10, when the sport was still in its early stages in Israel.[1][3] His early international experience included an Israeli youth team’s appearance in European Little League qualifiers at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, where the players wore flat sneakers, sweatpants, and T-shirts with hand-drawn numbers.[1]

Because Israeli baseball offered few role models, Lipetz said he followed delayed broadcasts on Lebanese television, sometimes relying on foil attached to the antenna to receive the signal.[1]

Youth baseball in Israel during the 1990s had limited funding and inadequate access to good practice fields, while travel to European tournaments could involve foregoing hotels.[3] Lipetz recalled sharing a gymnasium with Polish and Russian players, remembering: “And we just had to smell the sausages that the Russians brought.”[3]

After high school, Lipetz served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1997 to 2000 before pursuing college baseball in the United States.[1][3] He played for two years at San Diego Mesa College and then transferred to the University of California, San Diego, where he excelled as a closer during his final two years.[3] He was the second Israeli to play college baseball in the United States, following Dan Rothem.[3]

In the one-season Israel Baseball League in 2007, Lipetz compiled a 3–1 win-loss record and a 0.98 earned run average across 27⅔ innings, with 30 strikeouts and three walks.[1] After moving to New York, the 6-foot-4 pitcher also played in semiprofessional leagues while working at a restaurant.[3]

Lipetz represented Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, whose roster consisted almost entirely of Americans eligible for Israeli citizenship.[2] Israel defeated South Korea, the Netherlands, and Chinese Taipei in the first round, then beat Cuba in the second round before losing its next two games.[2] The team finished sixth among 16 participants despite having no player on a Major League Baseball 40-man roster at the time.[2] In July that year, Israel opened a European Championship qualifying campaign in Belgrade with a 10–0 victory over Switzerland; Israel Baseball Association president Peter Kurz singled out Lipetz among the players who stood out.[5]

In September 2019, Lipetz pitched the final inning of Israel’s 11–1 victory over South Africa in Parma, Italy, securing the team’s first Olympic qualification.[6][7] He was 40 at the time.[6] Recalling qualification, he said: “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. The Olympics. I can’t believe it. Olympics.”[1]

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place from July 23 to August 8, 2021, after postponement because of the coronavirus pandemic.[8] Lipetz was listed among Israel’s pitchers and, at 42, was the oldest player on the team.[1][9] He entered in relief in the sixth inning of Israel’s 8–1 loss to the United States.[10] Israel had gone into that game following an extra-inning defeat by South Korea.[10]

Israel entered the European Championship with only 17 players, compared with 24 on the other teams, and 10 of its players were homegrown Israelis.[11] Lipetz joined the roster in Turin as a replacement for David “DJ” Sharabi.[11] He started the semifinal against host Italy, recovered from a difficult beginning, and helped Israel win 11–5 to reach the final and secure its first podium appearance in the tournament.[11][4] In the final, he entered as a relief pitcher after Israel had fallen behind the Netherlands.[4] The Netherlands won 9–4, leaving Israel with the silver medal.[4]

Outside baseball, Lipetz entered the music industry through an internship at Oyhoo Records, a small Jewish music label led by Michael Dorf, the founder of Brooklyn’s Knitting Factory.[3] When Dorf opened City Winery in 2008, Lipetz became its third employee.[3] He later rose to vice president of programming, booking performances for a venue group that had grown to more than 10 locations by the time of his 2021 profile.[3]

Lipetz’s involvement in Israeli baseball extended from the country’s early youth teams to its first Olympic baseball appearance.[1][7] He also contributed to Israel’s 2021 European Championship silver medal.[4] By the European tournament, he had pitched for Israeli national teams at every level, linking his youth participation to the senior team’s international achievements.[11] His path through American college baseball also placed him among the earliest Israeli players to compete at that level.[3]

In an interview before the Tokyo Olympics, Lipetz described himself as Jewish by birth and affirmed his Jewish identity while emphasizing his secular upbringing.[1] He expressed pride in representing Israel and said he wished the national team also included an Arab Israeli and an Ethiopian Israeli.[1]