Blue Jays’ new Jewish player all smiles in busy MLB debut

Spencer Horwitz’s first career hit earned him a congratulatory phone call from Team Israel manager Ian Kinsler

Spencer Horwitz, No. 48 of the Toronto Blue Jays, bats during his MLB debut against the Texas Rangers during the third inning at Globe Life Field on June 18, 2023 in Arlington, Texas. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

By Louis Keene June 19, 2023

Spencer Horwitz spent most of his first day on the job on the base paths.

Making his MLB debut with the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday with family in attendance, Horwitz — the second Jewish player to make the majors this year — cracked a ground ball single to right field in his first at bat.

He came up again with runners on first and third two innings later, and pulled the ball softly to the right side, bringing home his first RBI on the groundout.

Horwitz, an infielder by trade but in the lineup as a designated hitter, sported a hefty .421 on-base percentage in Triple-A when the Blue Jays called him up Friday. In his next two plate appearances, he showed why, drawing a pair of walks and scoring once. Toronto lost to the Texas Rangers, 11-7.

“I probably haven’t stopped smiling for 24 hours now,” Horwitz told MLB.com reporter Keegan Matheson after his callup. “This has been a day I’ve dreamed of. I was never fully sure if it would happen, but here we are.”

A 24th-round draft pick in 2019, Horwitz grew up in Maryland, where he had massive 40-person seders with his dad’s side of the family. Today he is the 18th-ranked prospect in the Toronto farm system, according to MLB Pipeline.

The contact hitter has been a tough out at every stop.

Starting for Israel in the World Baseball Classic in March, Horwitz delivered a game-tying single in the team’s victory over Nicaragua. “We’re not just baseball players today,” he said in an interview before Israel’s first game. “We’re representing much more than that. We’re a nation that’s been through a lot, but we’ve turned a corner.”

Horwitz told a reporter Sunday that Team Israel manager Ian Kinsler reached out to congratulate him on his first hit.

Horwitz, 25, joined the Chicago Cubs’ Matt Mervis as Team Israel alumni who debuted in the major leagues in 2023. Mervis, a slugging first baseman who joined the Cubs, was recently sent back to the minors — just in time for his own bobblehead night.

The next Jewish ballplayer to be brought up could be Oakland A’s second baseman Zack Gelof. The 2021 second-round pick is batting .284 in 190 at bats this season for the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators.

Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. His work has also been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine and VICE. He is based in Los Angeles and can be followed on Twitter @thislouis.

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.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO