Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Bobblehead of Israel Olympic baseball pitcher can now be yours

The Israel Baseball Shop has released a limited edition bobblehead of Team Israel pitcher Shlomo Lipetz. The longest-tenured member of the Israeli National Baseball Team, Lipetz has played for the Israeli Baseball League since pitching in its inaugural season in 2007.

The bobblehead, sponsored by custom yarmulke company Klipped Kippahs, features a mid-sidearm pitch and Lipetz dressed in his #12 Team Israel uniform. The pitcher’s name is written on the mound in Hebrew.

“Shlomo Lipetz holds a legendary place in the evolution of baseball in Israel,” said Zack Raab, the marketing manager of the Israel Baseball Shop. “We decided this would be a fun and memorable way to celebrate his continued success with the Israeli National Team and commemorate his soon-to-be-cemented status as an Israeli Olympian.”

The collectible bobbleheads are individually numbered and are expected to ship both within the United States and internationally in late July to early August. Lipetz’s image is also featured on a t-shirt that says ‘Shlo Motion.’

The shop’s other merchandise includes hats, sweatshirts and t-shirts with player’s names and numbers and affords the opportunity to buy a mass-produced jersey with “Katz” or “Rosenberg” across the back.

Lipetz, 42, has been playing baseball since falling in love with it as a child on a visit to New York City and starting a team in his hometown of Tel Aviv. He played in the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers and pitched the final out of the September 2019 Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier that gave Team Israel a spot in Tokyo.

“I don’t think anyone expects baseball to become the leading sport in Israel — it’s a niche sport,” Lipetz told the Forward in March 2017. “What we can expect and hope for is that the number of people playing will continue to grow.”

Now headed to the Olympics with Team Israel, one of six countries competing in the sport, Lipetz said that the opportunity to represent the Jewish state in Tokyo is “fulfilling a dream I never dreamt of having.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.