September 27, 2016

For the first time ever, Team Israel qualified for the World Baseball Classic with a 9-1 trounce over Great Britain in the qualifying competition — held in Brooklyn over the weekend.

Israel was undefeated in the four-team qualifying tournament – beating Britain in the preliminary round and again in the qualifying rounds; and passing Brazil in the semifinals.

The World Baseball Classic is a quadrennial event similar to soccer’s World Cup. The 16-team event is scheduled for March in South Korea. Israel will be matched up against Taiwan, South Korea, and the Netherlands.

Team Israel’s oldest player is pitcher Shlomo Lipetz, 37, and its youngest player is pitcher Dean Kremer, 20.

More on Israel Association of Baseball