It is the year 2020, the year anything can happen - and it just has. For while there have been numerous Jewish baseball players over the years - including MVP and Cy Young Award winners - yesterday was indeed a historical day for the members of the tribe on the baseball diamond. For the first time ever, an Israeli citizen took the mound in a major league baseball game.
Dean Kremer, son of Israeli parents, has been a member of Israel's national baseball team since he was 16 years old. In 2015 he was the first Israeli drafted by a MLB team. Up until now he was most famous for being traded to the Orioles for All-Star Manny Machado - and leading the minor leagues in strikeouts in 2018. Yesterday, however, he made his long-awaited major league debut - on the 25th anniversary of Cal Ripken breaking Lou Gehrig's amazing consecutive games streak - and it did not disappoint. He shut down the Yankees, allowing only one run (and one hit) over six innings, striking out seven and retiring 14 of the last 15 batters he faced. For more on his impressive debut - and the mazal tov introduction he received - click here: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/first-israeli-baseball-player-in-major-league-gets-first-win-641330 You can also watch a recap of the history-making game below...
Ryan Lavarnway was a Jewish player who played for Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. In November 2019 he received Israeli citizenship and was planning on being a part of Team Israel in the 2020 Olympics [Israel miraculously qualified - for more on that story click here https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/israels-national-baseball-team-making-its-way-to-the-olympics-617281]. Since receiving citizenship, Lavarnway, a veteran journeyman catcher, has played for the Miami Marlins in 2020, technically making him the first Israeli in MLB when he entered a game on August 5th (even if news media is reporting today that Kremer is the first). He is hitting .364 on the year (albeit in 11 at bats). For more on Lavarnway - and how his experience with Team Israel has influenced his Jewish identity - click here: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/sports/catching-up-with-team-israels-baseball-journeyman-ryan-lavarnway-598420.
Now imagine if we could get them on the same team; we could have our first-ever Israeli battery (pitcher-catcher combination)! Either way, it's a great day to be a Jewish fan of the national (US) pastime. And hey, Israelis are totally cut out for playing baseball - I mean we already love to spit sunflower seeds - what else is there to know?
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