Coach Ophir Katz will lead 18 players to Macerata, Italy, for the U18 European Baseball Championship next week, marking the first time that Israel will play at that level. Nine teams will compete at the event, which was rescheduled from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Israel will compete against the Netherlands, Lithuania, Italy and France in Group A. Group B features Austria, the Czech Republic, Spain and Germany.
Israel qualified for the European Championship by winning the U18 qualifier in 2019 in Sweden. Only two players, pitcher Ivri Margolin and outfielder Uri Shani, remain on the roster from the 2019 squad.
The team is comprised of Aviv Bobrov (Misgav), Oren Bobrov (Misgav), Noah Cohen (IMG), Tomer Erel (Tel Aviv), Kai Friesem (Lev Hasharon), Jake Goodman (Tel Aviv), Ariel Lambert (Jerusalem), Nadav Machlin (Lev Hasharon), Ivri Margolin (Misgav), Noam Moore (Jerusalem), Akiva Moss (Jerusalem), Yedidya Rabinowitz (Jerusalem), Avinoam Sachs (Hashmonaim), Aviad Schechter (Ra’anana), Michael Segal (Modiin), Uri Shani (Tel Aviv), Dovid Solomon (Jerusalem) and Itai Spinoza (Fayetteville Manlius, NY).
Michael Maiocco and Natan Bash are assistant coaches. Yoav Shani is the Team Manager and David Friesem is the Equipment Manager.
Israel's national baseball team will play one game near the United States capital as part of its pre-Olympic training. Team Israel will face the Bethesda Big Train at Shirley Povich Field in Bethesda, Maryland, on Sunday night July 18 at 9:13 P.M. The late start was scheduled so the game will begin after nightfall on the Jewish day of mourning, Tisha B’Av.
For information about tickets and/or sponsorship of the July 18 Israel-Bethesda Friendship Game, please email Big Train founder and team president Bruce Adams .
The game is one of nine Team Israel will play in the United States before traveling to Japan for the Olympics. The team will also play in Brooklyn, New York, on Sunday July 11; Pomona, New York, on Monday, July 12; Hartford, Connecticut, on Wednesday-Thursday, July 14-15; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday, July 16; Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 17; Aberdeen, Maryland, on Monday, July 19; and Central Islip, New York, on Tuesday, July 20.
“My sister lives in Bethesda, and I know the area. Because of that, the opportunity to bring my Team Israel family to play here in front of my family is especially meaningful,” Team Israel GM Peter Kurz said. “We were supposed to play here a year ago before COVID-19 forced the postponement of the Olympics and I must thank Bruce Adams for working tirelessly with us to ensure we could make this game happen in 2021.”
Founded in 1999, the Bethesda Big Train is a member of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League, an amateur summer wooden bat baseball league in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Region. The club was named in honor of Baseball Hall of Famer Walter Johnson, whose nickname was The Big Train.
“We are so honored to be able to host the Israel National Baseball Team as the team prepares for the 2021 Olympics,” said Adams said. “Famed Washington Post journalist Shirley Povich would be so proud to have this game played at this ballpark we named for him. It will be such a meaningful event for our greater Washington community.”
Team Israel will have as many as 28 players in total plus some of the top local talents of the next generation for the training camp and exhibition games. The roster is ripe with players known to baseball fans in the United States; there are eight players with previous Major League Baseball experience plus several current minor league players.
Team Israel will compete in baseball at the Olympic Games for the first time. It is the first team to represent Israel at the Olympic Games since 1976 when Israel's national soccer team played in Montreal. The six-team Olympic Baseball Tournament will run from July 28 through August 7.
You can help Team Israel on its journey by supporting the 25th Player campaign. Go to IsraelBaseball.com for more information. Official Team Israel baseball apparel can be purchased at teamisraelbaseball.com.
2021 exhibition schedule and ticket info
Sunday, July 11 at 4:00 PM vs. New York’s Bravest @Maimonides Park; Brooklyn, New York
Israel's national baseball team will continue its pre-Olympic tour of the Northeastern United States when it plays the Cal Ripken League All-Stars in an exhibition game at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Maryland, on Monday, July 19. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium is the home of the Aberdeen IronBirds, the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.
The game will be Teal Israel’s second against a selection of Ripken League All-Stars during its training camp games. The first will be in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday, July 16. Those games are among nine that Team Israel will play in the United States before traveling to Japan for the Olympics. Games against the New York Boulders in Pomona, New York, on Monday, July 12; against the Bristol Blues and Ocean State Waves in Hartford, Connecticut, on Wednesday-Thursday, July 14-15; and the Susquehanna Valley Stars in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 17, have already been announced. More games will be revealed in the coming days.
“We are very appreciative of the opportunity to bring Team Israel to Aberdeen, Maryland, and provide an opportunity for fans from Baltimore to Delaware to see us play before heading to Japan," said Adam Gladstone, Team Israel's Assistant GM and Director of Baseball Operations. “For those of us from this region, it’s a homecoming, and to partner with the Ironbirds and the Ripken Family will make this event even more special.”
Now in its 16th season, the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League is an amateur summer wooden bat baseball league in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Region. The Cal Ripken League All-Stars team that will face Israel's best will be a selection of the top performers from the six teams in the league.
“The entire staff of the Aberdeen IronBirds could not be more excited to host such a storied and prestigious event,” said Tyler Weigandt, the IronBirds’ Senior Manager of community and media relations. “We are honored to have Team Israel utilize our facility as a part of their preparation for the Olympics as they tour the Northeastern United States this summer. We have worked exceptionally hard during this very long offseason to ensure a fun and safe environment for all of our guests. July 19th is fast approaching and we cannot wait to have Team Israel and the Cal Ripken League All-Stars experience all that the newly renovated Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium has to offer.”
Team Israel will have as many as 28 players in total plus some of the top local talents of the next generation to expose them to a training camp atmosphere. The roster is ripe with players known to baseball fans in the United States; there are seven players with previous Major League Baseball experience plus several current minor league players. Some players who should be well known to fans of the area include Danny Valencia, who spent two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, and Ryan Lavarnway, who also played for the Orioles in 2015.
Team Israel will compete in baseball at the Olympic Games for the first time. It is the first team to represent Israel at the Olympic Games since 1976 when Israel's national soccer team played in Montreal. The six-team Olympic Baseball Tournament will run from July 28 through August 7.
You can help Team Israel on its journey by supporting the 25th Player campaign. Go to IsraelBaseball.com for more information. Official Team Israel baseball apparel can be purchased at teamisraelbaseball.com.
Team Israel to open exhibition schedule in Brooklyn
Israel's national baseball team will begin its exhibition game schedule in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games at the home of the Brooklyn Cyclones, Maimonides Park, on Sunday, July 11. The opponent will be New York's Bravest – FDNY Baseball with the first pitch scheduled for 4:00 P.M.
Makor Disability Services, which operates quality residential, community, and vocational programs for babies through seniors with developmental disabilities in New York, will be a co-host of the game and share in the proceeds.
Ticket information will be released at a later date. For information about sponsorship opportunities or VIP packages, please contact Makor at (917) 796-7361.
This game will be the first of nine that Team Israel will play in the United States as part of its training camp before the Olympics. Games against the New York Boulders in Pomona, New York, on Monday, July 12 and against the Bristol Blues and Ocean State Waves in Hartford, Connecticut, on Wednesday-Thursday, July 14-15, the Ripken League All-Stars in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on Friday, July 16, and the Susquehanna Valley Stars in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, July 17 have already been announced. More games will be revealed in the coming days.
"I cannot wait for the first pitch in Brooklyn!" Team Israel GM Peter Kurz said. "Maimonides Park was the site of great success for Team Israel at the 2016 WBC qualifiers and we are confident that this series of games in July will be the start of even greater things for us. Plus, we know how the people of Brooklyn feel about our team and I am sure the atmosphere for this game will be electric."
The Brooklyn Cyclones are a Minor League affiliate of the New York Mets and play in the High-A East league. Many future stars have passed through Maimonides Park on their way to greatness in the Major Leagues.
Team Israel last visited Maimonides Park for the 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifying Round in September 2016, when it edged Brazil and defeated Great Britain twice to advance to the main round of the WBC the following spring. Nine players from Team Israel's expanded roster for the Olympics – from which the final 24-man squad that will play in Tokyo will be chosen – played in those 2016 qualifying games. They are Jeremy Bleich, Scott Burcham, Blake Gailen, Mitch Glasser, Dean Kremer, Jared Lakind, Ryan Lavarnway, Nick Rickles and Josh Zeid. After qualifying for Pool A of the WBC in South Korea, Israel defeated the host team, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands to reach the quarterfinals.
Several players on the Team Israel roster have connections to New York, including outfielder Jeremy Wolf, who played for the Cyclones during the 2017 season.
“My grandfather used to watch Jackie Robinson and Duke Snider at the Polo Grounds and then having him watch me play in Brooklyn was one of my favorite experiences as a baseball player,” Wolf said. “Being Jewish and wearing number 18 as a Cyclone was such a thrill and I’m honored to come back to Coney Island as a member of Team Israel!”
Team Israel will have as many as 28 players in total plus some of the top local talents of the next generation to expose them to a training camp atmosphere. The roster is ripe with players known to baseball fans in the United States; there are seven players with previous Major League Baseball experience plus several current minor league players.
Team Israel will compete in baseball at the Olympic Games for the first time. It is the first team to represent Israel at the Olympic Games since 1976 when Israel's national soccer team played in Montreal. The six-team Olympic Baseball Tournament will run from July 28 through August 7.
You can help Team Israel on its journey by supporting the 25th Player campaign with donations made via Jewish National Fund-USA. Go to IsraelBaseball.com for more information. Official Team Israel baseball apparel can be purchased at teamisraelbaseball.com.
About Israel Baseball
The Israel Association of Baseball was founded in 1986 and has overseen the growth of the sport in the country ever since, culminating with Team Israel’s historic qualification for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. The IAB is a member of The Israel Olympic Committee, The Confederation of European Baseball (CEB), the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), Major League Baseball International (MLBI) and Little League.
As part of the expansion of baseball activities in Israel, the IAB is building new fields in conjunction with the Jewish National Fund-USA’s Project Baseball, and looks forward to the completion of the new Bet Shemesh complex, which will host international tournaments, as well as the Raanana field, which will be a joint baseball-soccer facility, both slated for 2021. There are also plans to expand the Sportek Tel Aviv field and to add lighting. For further information, please contact the General Manager, Peter Kurz, at .
About Makor
Since 1978, Makor Disability Services (formerly known as Women’s League Community Residences) has been committed to operating quality residential, community, and vocational programs for babies through seniors with developmental disabilities. It affords opportunities for service participants to maximize functional, social and intellectual potential through individualized programming, and by living in an atmosphere of understanding and acceptance. Makor actively encourages service participants' choice and expression, and full integration within the general community. We are proud to share that Makor is awarded the COMPASS Award for excellence in care by the New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities. This designation is held by only four agencies out of 800 in the state. For more information, please visit www.makords.org.
