In the foyer of my home hangs a large piece of art featuring the most successful Jewish baseball players of all time. Most die-hard Jewish baseball fans would struggle to name every player in the rendering and there aren’t even enough uniformed players in the group to field a full roster. However, for seven days in March, young Jewish baseball fans like my 13-year-old son could name the entire starting lineup of Team Israel. This underdog group of a few former major leaguers and career minor leaguers took the baseball world by storm going undefeated in the first round of the World Baseball Classic.
This team made up of all Jewish players (at least one grandparent would suffice) and a few actual Israelis was unique. Some referred to them as the United States JV squad, but as Team Israel player Nate Freiman wrote in a Player’s Tribune article, “The Mensches of March,” these guys wouldn’t even make that team if it existed. Freiman beautifully summed up what this experience meant for him, his teammates and Jewish baseball fans around the globe. “So there we were, flying high and talking nonstop about whether they’ll make a movie about us someday.” Someone even suggested calling the movie “Jewsiers,” a play on the popular mid-1980s film “Hoosiers” about Indiana high school basketball. The team that had to get batting practice from local coin-operated batting cages before the World Baseball Classic began somehow became a miracle team during those seven days of March.
From the team’s iconic large stuffed “Mensch on a Bench” doll to their decision to exchange their baseball caps for team yarmulkes during the playing of Israel’s national anthem before games, Team Israel became a source of pride for the Jewish community in the days surrounding the holiday of Purim, remembered as a miraculous triumph over a wicked persecutor who sought to exterminate the Jewish people. (Freiman compared the team’s success with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, albeit a seven day miracle instead of eight.) I was curious about how this team of MLB has-beens and never-will-bes embraced their Jewish heritage and represented Israel, a country many of them had never visited. I also wanted to know if the team experienced any anti-Semitism or criticism for representing Israel, the little nation that so many love to vilify. I had the opportunity to talk to Peter Kurz, the President of the Israel Association of Baseball, and ask him about the making of this Jewish baseball team that was compared to the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team.
First of all tell me a little bit about your role with Team Israel and how you got involved with the team?
Peter Kurz: For the past 4 years I’ve been the President of the Israel Association of Baseball and before that I was the Secretary General of the IAB for 8 years. So obviously when I came down to get a general manager for team Israel 5 years ago for the qualifiers, the president at the time said you’re the only one left standing so you might as well be it. So I started right away and I’ve been in that position ever since and I’m very happy with it.
This team made up of all Jewish players (at least one grandparent would suffice) and a few actual Israelis was unique. Some referred to them as the United States JV squad, but as Team Israel player Nate Freiman wrote in a Player’s Tribune article, “The Mensches of March,” these guys wouldn’t even make that team if it existed. Freiman beautifully summed up what this experience meant for him, his teammates and Jewish baseball fans around the globe. “So there we were, flying high and talking nonstop about whether they’ll make a movie about us someday.” Someone even suggested calling the movie “Jewsiers,” a play on the popular mid-1980s film “Hoosiers” about Indiana high school basketball. The team that had to get batting practice from local coin-operated batting cages before the World Baseball Classic began somehow became a miracle team during those seven days of March.
From the team’s iconic large stuffed “Mensch on a Bench” doll to their decision to exchange their baseball caps for team yarmulkes during the playing of Israel’s national anthem before games, Team Israel became a source of pride for the Jewish community in the days surrounding the holiday of Purim, remembered as a miraculous triumph over a wicked persecutor who sought to exterminate the Jewish people. (Freiman compared the team’s success with the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, albeit a seven day miracle instead of eight.) I was curious about how this team of MLB has-beens and never-will-bes embraced their Jewish heritage and represented Israel, a country many of them had never visited. I also wanted to know if the team experienced any anti-Semitism or criticism for representing Israel, the little nation that so many love to vilify. I had the opportunity to talk to Peter Kurz, the President of the Israel Association of Baseball, and ask him about the making of this Jewish baseball team that was compared to the Jamaican Olympic bobsled team.
First of all tell me a little bit about your role with Team Israel and how you got involved with the team?
Peter Kurz: For the past 4 years I’ve been the President of the Israel Association of Baseball and before that I was the Secretary General of the IAB for 8 years. So obviously when I came down to get a general manager for team Israel 5 years ago for the qualifiers, the president at the time said you’re the only one left standing so you might as well be it. So I started right away and I’ve been in that position ever since and I’m very happy with it.
