An Interview with The Israeli National Baseball Team

This story was originally published in The Hawk Eye Newspaper in June 2020 and has since been edited for content.

Israel’s first attempt at professional baseball did not fare well at all. In 2007, 6 teams played a 45 game season over the course of 8 weeks, to earn the title of Israel Baseball League champion. However, they were not accepted but instead were eventually invited to play in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. In the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, Israel defeated South Africa in their first game 7–3, Spain 4–3 in their second game, but lost 9–7 in 10 innings in the qualifying match. After winning the 4th qualifying round in 2016, Team Israel was able to participate in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Israel swept all three games of the qualifiers and was the last team to qualify for the World Baseball Classic. Their opponents in Pool A were South Korea, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. Israel’s roster included 20 MLB-affiliated minor leaguers, making up 86% of the team.

This past Summer and Fall, Team Israel reunited but this time with Israelis making up the entire team. In order to qualify for the Olympics, all members of the teams need to be passport-carrying citizens of their country. The Israelis managed to win tournament games against Russia, Netherlands, Italy, and even Germany at home. The Israelis defeated South Africa 11–1 in September to win the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) Europe/Africa Qualifier and earned a berth to the Olympics being held in Japan. In the following weeks, Mexico and South Korea both qualified to earn their spots in the pool of 6 at this year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo. Below is a series of interviews with members of the 2020 Israeli Olympic Baseball team.

The questions I asked were:

1. Why did you decide to make aliyah (move to Israel) and obtain Israeli citizenship?
2. What were some of the reasons you decided to play for Team Israel?
3. What is the best experience you’ve had as a part of Team Israel that you’ll never forget?
4. What are you most looking forward to during the Olympics?

Zachary Penprase:

1. I’ve always had a distinct connection to Israel because my great grandfather’s name is Reuben Israel. My family is from Rhodes, and seeing that 1600 Jews were taken from that island and only 200 returned, I felt I have always been tied to Israel, forever. I really made Aliyah so I could play for a chance to make it to the Olympics, but would never have been willing to without this feeling of connection I’ve always felt.
2. I decided to play for Team Israel because I knew I still could play after being retired for 5 years. I also had a feeling about how good we could possibly be. I’ve never really been a top prospect or somebody who has been selected to teams so I figured why not? Also, my wife said, “why aren’t you trying to pursue the Olympic thing?” That was definitely a sign after ignoring the opportunity for a few weeks.
3. Definitely my best experience was winning the very first tournament in Bulgaria and meeting guys who I’ve never even seen before, and creating instant chemistry with them. In the 5th inning of the 2nd game of that tournament, I was crying with gratitude and I felt extremely proud of my decision to play for Team Israel.
4. Winning a medal and upsetting the world, since we’ve already upset all of Europe.

Jake Rosenberg:

1. Wanted the adventure of living in Israel and trying something new out, also had to make aliyah to join the team.
2. I wanted to be able to rep my religion on the biggest stage possible and continue to have a baseball career.
3. Playing in our first qualifier in Bulgaria. No one really knew one another and had no idea about the journey we were gonna take. [We] surprised everyone and found ourselves in the Olympics.
4. I’m most looking forward to representing Israel and keeping Israel baseball on the map with a gold medal.

Jonathan DeMarte:

1. I decided to make aliyah to represent Team Israel and it was really important to be able to represent Israel and the Jewish people on a global stage.
2. Never really thought about playing for anywhere else, watched WBC 2017 in college, and as a Jewish player watching the team was something he felt a connection to. When asked if he would play for Team Israel, my first answer was yes, I’ll play for Team Israel.
3. My favorite part of being on Team Israel was qualifying for the Olympics and being able to be a part of the largest delegation in Israel Olympic History. Another highlight is being the first Israeli sports team to play in Germany since 1972, then beating Germany in Germany. It was an awesome experience.
4. I am most looking forward to representing Jewish and Israeli people all over the world through the biggest international stage there is. I’m also looking forward to meeting athletes from all over the world.

Blake Gailen

1. I made Aliyah in order to become eligible to play in the Olympics.
2. I reached out to play in the WBC in 2016–2017 because of my heritage and the exposure it would provide. The longer I played with Team Israel the more I identified with the culture.
3. The best experience was playing in Japan against Japan (WBC). 45,000 fans in the Tokyo Dome. Even though we lost, it was the most electric atmosphere in which I’ve ever played.
4. I’m looking most forward to living in the Olympic Village and letting all the other Olympians and learning their stories as well as competing for an Olympic medal.