Baseball

From Little League to Team Israel: Baseball takes root across the Holy Land

The number of teams and players gathered in Tel Aviv on that sunny Friday was a testament to just how far baseball has come in Israel. It was not always this way.

Young Israeli baseball players take part in a practice session as the sport continues to grow, with youth programs expanding into communities across the country.
Demonstrators gather near a barricade they created during a protest against a U.S.-backed Ebola quarantine plan on the establishment of a 50-bed facility at a Kenyan air force base that was intended to host Americans exposed to Ebola, in Nanyuki town, in Laikipia County, Kenya June 1, 2026.

Kenyan police fire tear gas during protest against US Ebola quarantine facility

Mar 28, 2019; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels players line up before the game at Oakland Coliseum

Your Investments: Opening day, leaving Egyptian exodus with great wealth, and financial optimism

Israeli pitcher-catcher duo, Ben Simons and C.J. Stubbs.

Israel closes out WBC campaign with statement victory over Netherlands


No Jews in MLB hall of fame for decades, here's who can break the streak

The ballot is voted on by members of the Baseball Writers Association of America, and to get into the Hall, a player must receive at least 75% of the vote.

 (L-R)  Ryan Braun, Ian Kinsler, Hank Greenberg, Sandy Koufax, Max Fried, Alex Bregman

Alex Bregman, Ryan Braun and other Jewish MLB stars call on fans to support Israel

“I am a Jew,” says Danny Valencia, who hit 96 home runs over an eight-year MLB career. Many other players then repeat the line.

 Tokyo 2020 Olympics - Baseball - Men - Opening Round - Group B - Israel v South Korea - Yokohama Baseball Stadium, Yokohama, Japan - July 29, 2021.

Silence is complicity in non-support of Israel - opinion

Amid all the messages from athletes and teams condemning Hamas attacks, the exceptions stand out.

 PLAYERS STAND for a moment of silence in support of Israel before Game 3 of the NLDS between the host Philadelphia Phillies and the Atlanta Braves.

Alex Bregman draws Star of David on hat during MLB playoff win

Bregman followed in the footsteps of players such as Julian Edelman and Deni Avdija, who have also sported Jewish symbols on their uniforms after crises affecting Jews around the world.

Houston Astros third baseman Alex Bregman (2) reacts after scoring a run against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first inning in game seven of the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium.

Israeli MLB player Dean Kremer says Israel will be 'in the back of my head'

Kremer became the first Israeli drafted into the big leagues in 2015 when he was selected by the San Diego Padres.

 ISRAELI-AMERICAN PITCHER Dean Kremer made his first career playoff start for the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday while thinking about family members in Israel.

San Francisco Giants fire Jewish manager Gabe Kapler after disappointing season

With Kapler’s firing, San Diego Padres manager Bob Melvin becomes the league’s lone Jewish skipper.

 San Francisco, California, United States; San Francisco Giants manager Gabe Kapler (19) walks to the bullpen during a Spring Training workout at Oracle Park.

‘Emotional support alligator’ expelled from baseball game

Wally was turned away from the stadium, despite having been invited to the game.

Cuban crocodiles (Crocodylus rhombifer) recovered from a poacher, and given by the police to the director of the crocodile hatchery, rest inside a plastic bag before being released into nature at Zapata Swamp, Cienaga de Zapata, Cuba, August 24, 2022. Illegal hunting and hybridization with American

The MLB has more Jewish players than ever

None of them will face a Yom Kippur dilemma this year, like Sandy Koufax's decision to sit out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series.

 Max Fried delivers a pitch in a spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays, March 21, 2021.

Remembering Jewish baseball legend Hank Greenberg’s 1934 Rosh Hashanah dilemma

In the end, Greenberg played. As the Tigers took the field, Jews in Detroit took their seats for Rosh Hashanah services.

 A BASEBALL team will never win a game by everyone only trying to hit home runs.

Catcher writes about how playing for Israel brought him closer to Judaism

In “Baseball and Belonging", Ryan Lavarnway chronicles his life, athletic career and how a call from Israel’s burgeoning baseball program helped him find his Judaism.

 Ryan Lavarnway, September 28, 2011.