Team Israel outfielder Assaf Lowengart in the team’s dugout during the World Baseball Classic in Miami in March 2026. (Photo credit: Jonathan D. Salant)

Jonathan D. Salant | JNS

Assaf Lowengart, the first Israeli-born professional baseball player and the only sabra on Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic, was eager to have his parents come from Timorim to see him in action in 2023.

But he broke his ankle three weeks before the tournament began and his parents stayed home.

Lowengart healed, came back to Team Israel and prepared to welcome his parents to Miami for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. But then war broke out with Iran, and his parents canceled their baseball trip for a second time.

Instead, he talks with his family before taking the field due to the time difference.

“I’m healthy, I can play and they can’t come because of the war,” Lowengart told JNS after finishing battling practice. He wore cleats inscribed with am Yisrael chai, Hebrew for “the nation of Israel lives.”

He described having a range of emotions at the same time: “special” and “awesome,” but also both “happy” and “sad.”

Lowengart got into the game March 9, playing center field against the Dominican Republic. He snagged a long fly ball off the bat of outfielder Juan Soto (New York Mets) in the final inning of the 10-1 loss.

“When you play, obviously when you get between the lines — it’s baseball,” he told JNS. “So you gotta clear the head, focus on the task at hand, win the game.”

Players said that they were aware of the ongoing war with Iran, even as their main focus all week remained on baseball.

“We obviously are in support of Israel,” outfielder Zach Levenson (St. Louis Cardinals) said, responding to a JNS question at a press conference.

Team Israel first baseman Spencer Horwitz outside the team’s dugout during the World Baseball Classic in Miami in March 2026. (Photo credit: Jonathan D. Salant)

“I try not to look at it that way,” he told JNS. “I try to just keep my eyes on the field and do what we can to play winning baseball on the field and to raise awareness for Israel.”

Dean Kremer (Baltimore Orioles), the winning pitcher in Sunday’s game against Nicaragua, was born in California to Israeli parents, regularly visits the Jewish state and acknowledges what’s going on in his ancestral homeland.

“It’s not the first time that they’ve had to deal with this and probably won’t be the last time,” Kremer said at a different press conference during the World Baseball Classic.

“But they’re a strong group of people,” he said. “We’re a very resilient group of people — my family over there holding tight as best as possible. They’re just staying strong.”

Others had different experiences. Outfielder RJ Schreck (Toronto Blue Jays) said that he hasn’t experienced much Jew-hatred.

“I have been lucky enough not really to feel much antisemitism in my life,” he told reporters. “I grew up in L.A. around a lot of Jews. Went to a couple of colleges that you meet some people that have never met Jews before, but there’s still a large Jewish population at both colleges.”

“I’m lucky to have not experienced it, and just really excited to play baseball here,” he said. “That’s been fun.”

Team Israel’s bench coach and former Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis, pushed back recently on social media against a critic who suggested he was more loyal to the Jewish state, since he wasn’t on Team USA in the tournament. (A Boston Herald reporter noted that he wasn’t asked to be part of the American team.)

“It’s kind of interesting how people just want to put stuff out there and you just gotta correct the record and just let people know that you’re proud of your heritage, you’re proud to coach this team,” Youkilis told JNS.

“Online is just online,” he said. “That’s their real world. We’re living the real world on the field, and we do this for a living because we love it.”

“Social media is a whole other world in itself where people are living a whole different kind of life,” he said.

Youkilis, who spent 10 years in the major leagues, primarily with the Red Sox, told JNS that he made no apologies for embracing his late father’s heritage.

“I’m not gonna not stand up for our Jewish heritage and our pride,” Youkilis said. “So for me, I don’t shy away from it. It’s never going to get me down, because I’m just gonna keep living my life, loving baseball, loving my family and loving my heritage.”

“With all the criticism normally directed at players at the ballpark, you develop a thick skin,” he said.

“I’ve gotten a lot of things directed at me. You can either let it bother you, or laugh,” Youkilis told JNS. “So you either have a choice to get angry and let it take on that energy, or you can just take the high road and laugh and have fun with it.”

Team Israel manager Brad Ausmus (New York Yankees) said that he wouldn’t have said anything, but Youkilis is a different kind of animal.

“That’s Youk being Youk. Youk likes to engage,” Ausmus told JNS during a press conference. “I tend to be a little more private on social media. But Youk is — I mean this in the best possible way — unique and fun to be around and fun to have around.”