Before there was baseball in Israel, there was Shlomo Lipetz. A 7-year-old Lipetz fell in love with the sport back in 1986, after visiting New York City and catching his first game. When he returned home, he helped start the first team in Tel Aviv. Three years later, he played on Israel’s first national team…
Team Israel’s 3-0 start to the World Baseball Classic is one of the most improbable stories in baseball history. But are they the greatest underdog sports story of all time? We take a look at five of our favorites from the Olympics and other international competitions: 5) Swiss beach volleyball Switzerland is a dominant country…
The day before Team Israel kicked off the 2017 World Baseball Classic with an upset win over South Korea, manager Jerry Weinstein, pitcher Jason Marquis and third baseman Cody Decker held a press conference to discuss the team’s preparation for the tournament. Decker brought along the team’s 5-foot tall mascot, Mensch on a Bench. He…
Israel’s World Baseball Classic squad is almost entirely made up of American Jews, but the team has put on a heartwarming display of Israeli pride and camaraderie before each of their games at the tournament. During the playing of Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem, the players took off their baseball caps and replaced them with…
To call Team Israel an underdog at the World Baseball Classic (WBC) would be something of an understatement. ESPN called the squad a cross between the Mighty Ducks and the Jamaican bobsled teams. Bookmakers listed Israel at 200-1 to win a tournament that has just 16 teams. Goliath, meet David. It’s time to hop on…
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