Israel's Baseball Team Hopes for Olympic Medals in Tokyo

Israel's i24 news is reporting that the Israel baseball team is heading to Tokyo to be one of six countries competing for medals in the sport that few Israelis follow or even know about. The Israeli team will be playing against the United States, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

Most of the more than 40 members of the team are Jewish Americans who played in the big leagues. They got their citizenship and passports and qualified to represent Israel in the games.

As Cody Williams wrote in the New York Post,

Amid a group of stalwarts in the world of baseball, Israel has been a nation on the rise in the sport in recent years. They have shot up into the top 25 of the world rankings in recent years, including making a run in the World Baseball Classic back in 2017. However, this will be the country’s first appearance ever in the Olympics.

The major factor differentiating the 2017 WBC squad from the group heading to Tokyo is that the Olympics have stricter eligibility requirements, essentially requiring all players to be naturally born Israeli citizens or to have made aliyah (Jewish return to Israel to become a citizen). For the WBC, The Law of Return allowed virtually any Jewish baseball player to join Team Israel.

The first game between Israel and the USA is scheduled for 6 am on Friday.

Play ball!

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