Team Israel baseball fans in Miami. (Courtesy of Israel Baseball Americas)
The World Baseball Classic comes around every few years and gives fans the chance to watch high-level, ultra-competitive baseball before the Major League Baseball season starts later in the spring. The teams that dominate the competition are predictable — the United States, Japan, the Dominican Republic and Cuba have all been powerhouses, for the most part, since the event was created in 2006.
But in 2017, a new team entered the field: Team Israel.
That year, Team Israel went on a Cinderella run that included wins over South Korea and Cuba on the way to a sixth place finish. It helped spark a love of Team Israel baseball that is still going strong today, exemplified by the fan turnout for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, said Israel Baseball Americas COO Adam Gladstone.
“The really cool thing for me was walking onto the field pregame and seeing so many of our fans from Baltimore that made their way to Miami to be a part of this. A bunch of my son’s teammates came down. The local president of one of the banks in Baltimore came down. [Four] of our advisory board members came down. It was really neat to see.”
This year, Israel failed to advance beyond the group stage, but had a respectable performance. The team finished 2-2, with wins over Nicaragua and the Netherlands and losses to the Dominican Republic and eventual champion Venezuela. However, most importantly, the team made Israel proud, stood together as a team despite international pressure on the world’s only Jewish state, and ensured that Team Israel will be on the field in 2030, too.
“Obviously, with Dean Kremer’s success for us in that win against Nicaragua, we qualified for the next World Baseball Classic,” Gladstone said.
Baltimore Oriole Dean Kremer, a dual citizen of the U.S. and Israel with two Israeli parents, pitched 4 1/3 scoreless innings in that game on March 8, surrendering just two hits and striking out four.
“Dean stepped up. It was personal for him, and he showed how much of a big league pitcher he is,” Gladstone said.
Gladstone said that having Kremer put on the blue Team Israel jersey and represent the country is huge — especially for Jewish Orioles fans. He said it could definitely help carry some Jewish fan momentum to Camden Yards this summer.
Adam Gladstone’s son with Dominican All-Star and former Baltimore Oriole Manny Machado. (Courtesy of Israel Baseball Americas)
“Abolutely. Being side-by-side with Dean these last couple of years while he’s been in Baltimore, as we’ve attended events together, the reception that he gets and the admiration he receives and the look that he gets from little kids who look up to him is the thing that’s most important to him. He wants these kids to know if he can do it, they can do it,” Gladstone said.
With a whole crop of young Jewish baseball players watching Israel on the world stage, there is hope in the organization that the team can grow in skill moving forward, too.
Gladstone said that Israel is already competitive against the best teams in the world, and that he hopes that skill gap only gets smaller.
“Turthfully, the last time we played those quality of teams, we were overmatched. Now, the score may not look like it because we gave up a grand slam to the Dominican Republic, but that could have been a 5-1 or 6-1 ballgame,” Gladstone said. “We uncovered a nucleus of about four or five guys that it was some of their first time playing with us. And these guys are, we feel, potential Major League players. For them to have such a positive experience at an early part of their career, once they make it to the big leagues, will only reinforce their wanting to be involved.”
With all that is going on in the world, it’s a brave thing to wear a jersey that identifies you as Jewish and Israeli. The players on the team, however, are used to tuning out what’s happening around them and focusing on the game, Gladstone said.
“Any of us who have worked at the Major League level, you get very much insulated from outside noise. I think that’s what makes you a professional, and to be honest, we didn’t feel any of that [political pressure],” he said. “Our security was second to none, and we had zero issues. We didn’t see any demonstrations against us — all we saw was support.”
Ultimately, the 2026 World Baseball Classic and the fan support that Team Israel got in Baltimore and beyond serves Israel Baseball Americas’ largest goal — grow the game in Israel. This year, the organization is fielding U-12, U-15, U-18 and U-23 teams, as well. Its working on qualifying for the 2028 Summer Olympics, which is hosting baseball for the second time since it was removed after the 2008 Olympic Games. There’s even going to be a collegiate summer league team playing in the well-established Ripken League in summer 2027, supported by Israel Baseball Americas.
Baseball in Israel is in a good place, and this World Baseball Classic demonstrates that.
“It just goes to show you how not far off we are as we continue our upward progression,” Gladstone said.