For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter or don’t know me personally, I’m Jewish. Judaism has been a big part of my life in all sorts of ways, but in no way has it coalesced with my hobbies and media consumption more than with baseball. I’ve long said that baseball is inherently a Jewish-American sport; baseball’s popularity skyrocketed when Jews immigrated in bunches to the United States between the World Wars, making baseball the best sport for assimilating Jews to follow and play. I remember the days of reading cut-outs from the New Jersey Jewish News of the stats of Jewish MLB players that my parents would send me while I was at sleepaway camp. I am a Yankees fan, through and through, but I always hold a soft spot for any Jewish professional baseball player.
So, why am I telling you this, especially on a Saturday, when I shouldn’t be on electronics according to the Torah? Well, on Thursday, the 2023 World Baseball Classic rosters were announced, and I thought it would be appropriate to go over some of the best players on Team Israel. No, most of them aren’t Israeli, but are eligible for Israeli citizenship because they have Jewish heritage, and the World Baseball Classic rules state that you can play for any country in which you could qualify as a citizen. That’s why Paul Goldschmidt and Rowdy Tellez could’ve joined the Team Israel ranks, but are instead playing for Team USA and Team Mexico, respectively.
Team Israel is in Pool D for the 2023 WBC, meaning they will play against Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. Team Israel was the Cinderella story of the 2017 WBC, and now, more prominent Jewish ballplayers are donning the Star of David for baseball’s version of the World Cup. Here are five of those players to watch.
The Coaches
Team Israel for the 2023 WBC will be coached by a couple of Jewish former MLB All-Stars that were some of my favorites growing up. Long-time Red Sox world champion Kevin Youkilis will be the team’s batting coach, while ex-Ranger and Tigers second baseman and Team Israel lineup alumnus Ian Kinsler will manage the squad. There’s really not much to say here besides the fact that it’s really cool to see these Jewish demigods (it would be pretty sacrilegious to call them gods in this post, don’t you think?) honoring their heritage by suiting up for Team Israel. They were both very good back in the day and could use their analytical and tactical sides to help Team Israel get out of what you could call the Group of Death.
The Star
There’s no doubt that Joc Pederson is the guy with the most clout on the roster. The longtime Dodger is heading back to his home team in the San Francisco Giants for the 2023 MLB season after accepting the qualifying offer of $19.65 million in November. The 30-year-old is coming off his second-career All-Star season and, in my mind, is betting on himself in ’23. Joc’s powerful bat will have to carry a Team Israel lineup that is without the aforementioned Goldschmidt, Tellez, Alex Bregman, and Harrison Bader, who was supposed to play for Team Israel before withdrawing his name from the roster a few weeks ago.
The Starter
Max Fried and Dylan Cease will not play for Israel at the 2023 WBC, but Orioles starter Dean Kremer will. The first player in baseball history with Israeli citizenship, Kremer had a solid 2022 season in Baltimore, posting an ERA of 3.23 in 21 starts. His biggest problem has been a limited number of strikeouts throughout his career (he had an abysmal 17% strikeout rate in 2022), but makes up for it with an above-average chase rate. Kremer is the de facto ace of Team Israel for the 2023 WBC. Let’s hope he can put it all together for a great tournament.
The Veteran Reliever
Richard Bleier may have just been traded by the Marlins to the Red Sox, but he will return to LoanDepot Park in Miami for Team Israel’s pool games at the start of the tournament. Bleier has been a consistent reliever for the past several years, but his claim to fame is, by far, his absurd ground ball rate. Bleier’s 62.5% career rate of inducing grounders is unheard of, and it’s about all that he does on the mound. I have a feeling that he will come in handy when it comes to facing some of the most potent Pool D hitters in the group stage of the WBC.
The Prospects
Zac Gelof and Matt Mervis headline the small, mighty group of highly-touted prospects on Team Israel's roster. Gelof is a contact-hitting infielder in the Oakland A's organization who could possibly make his debut for the A's in 2023, especially given the state of the AL West bottom-feeder's roster. Mervis, meanwhile, is a power-hitting first baseman for the Cubs organization who many believe to be the future of the franchise. We'll have to see how many reps he gets at first this year with the signing of Eric Hosmer this offseason, but the hope is that Mervis can flex his power in the Windy City in no time. Gelof is 23 and Mervis is going to be 25 in April.
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