Despite the deep disappointment of Israel’s baseball team over losing to the Dominican Republic on Aug. 3 at the Tokyo Olympics, the competition showed how far Israeli baseball has come in recent years to become one of just six national teams competing in the games.
Until about 15 years ago, baseball in Israel was almost exclusively the sole purview of Jewish immigrants from the United States and Canada, playing on improvised diamonds, each wearing the cap of a favorite team back home. In the ensuing years, dozens of teams have been established, with most of their players native Israelis as familiar in baseball terminology as any born-and-bred Yankees fan.
