In Olympics baseball qualifier, Team Israel seeks to catch trip to 2020 Games
Winner of the tournament, which runs through Sunday, goes to Tokyo; Peter Kurz, team president and general manager, tells TOI hopes are high, as team makes a flying start
NEW YORK — Ten years ago, Peter Kurz had a vision. He wanted Israel to not only have a competitive international baseball team, but to do so by winning early and often. It’s a shame Jewish baseball legend Hank Greenberg wasn’t around to see it.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic proved to be the start of an unprecedented rise for Team Israel. They entered the tournament as a true underdog, placing just 41st in the global rankings. However, with the help of a string of former MLB players, the Jewish team excelled.
To even get into the major tournament for the first time, Israel had to defeat Pakistan, Brazil and Great Britain in the 2016 qualifying rounds. Once the Jewish team made it to the World Baseball Classic, they were ranked last of 16. They played South Korea in Seoul, followed by Taiwan and the Netherlands.
They defeated Soul Korea in Round 1, Chinese Taipei the day after, and the Netherlands after a day off.
Round 2 began against Cuba, as Israel beat them 4-1. But the Netherlands bounced back in Round 2, defeating Israel 12-2, followed by an Israeli 8-3 loss to Japan. It sent Israel home, but it was the tale of a true underdog team.
Recently, a documentary entitled, “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel,” started making its way across American theaters after a soft release in December 2018.
Now, the Israel Association of Baseball is taking on its next challenge. Kurz, president and general manager, has recruited former major leaguers to play for the team, even convincing them to move to Israel under the auspices of the Israeli Law of Return.
Overall, 12 players have gotten citizenship to officially qualify for the Olympic team, including Danny Valencia, Ty Kelly, Nick Rickles and Ben Wanger.
Team Israel advanced to the current Olympic qualifier in Italy after beating France in the European Championship on September 13. Overall, the white and blue crew finished fourth in the competition.
The Europe/Africa qualifier began Wednesday, and Israel got off to a flying start, with the first match against Spain seeing Israel triumph 3-0. Israel then smashed The Netherlands 8-1 on Thursday. It was next scheduled to play against Italy, the Czech Republic and South Africa.
Whichever team wins the qualifier gets an automatic Olympic bid. The second-place team gets a chance to make the Olympics through the final world qualifying tournament.
The Times of Israel spoke to a determined Kurz, who discussed his lofty goals, speaking realistically and firmly stating why he knows this team can make the Olympics.
Times of Israel: What is it like to know Israel has a shot at making the Olympics?
Kurz: It’s been a dream come true for me. I’ve had a vision for the last 10 years to win the European championship. It’s the first time team Israel was in the Championship A pool. To be able to do it when there’s an Olympic qualifier is an incredible feeling. It’s a lot of fun.
How do you feel this team has grown to be so successful?
I’ve been working on this since before the World Baseball Classic [WBC] qualifier in 2012, when we first qualified for that. We started making contact with ex-major leaguers and minor leaguers. Today, 12 of those guys are Israeli citizens playing for Israel on the field, and it’s been exciting. They’re committed to play for Israel and be with us as part of our program. Each of them has been in Israel for at least a couple of weeks, running clinics. There are three guys coming to live in Israel afterwards. We have an academy in Israel and we’ve built fields in Israel with our WBC winnings. Our under-18 team came in first place in the European qualifiers. A lot of guys in Israel are watching this and it’s exciting.
What are your expectations moving forward?
My goal was to make the Olympic qualifiers. Now that we made it, with a five-game round-robin, each game is crucial. We have really good pitching, and we’re looking to make a good showing. Anything can happen.
Who has stood out as a leader on this team?
There is no doubt Blake Gailen is our leader. He’s done things quietly, but he’s been our best hitter. Mitch Glasser and Zach Penprase have been incredible. We have five Israeli sabras on the team, and three of them started the last game of the European championship against Spain. They’re sabras who grew up in Israel and in the program.
What’s it like to work with them compared to the former major leaguers?
We’re certainly the smartest team, with Yale and Harvard graduates
Ty Kelly and Danny Valencia are professional ball players who know to act, what to do and how to entertain. It’s a fun adventure for them because representing Israel is important for them. They’re very proud to have that uniform on their chests, especially when Hatikva is sung. We have different layers of players. We’re certainly the smartest team, with Yale and Harvard graduates.
What would it mean to you to see this team make the Olympics?
Wow. It would be an incredible 11 months of being an Olympic team. It would be 11 months of fundraising, leveraging that, being in the news, bringing the guys to Israel for practice sessions and clinics. It would be an incredible experience.
It would help baseball grow incredibly in Israel. They heard about the WBC, but going to the Olympics would be a greater experience for Israelis because they would appreciate it more. Israel hasn’t won a team sport since the 1970s.
