Israel unveils expanded roster for Tokyo Games

Team Israel General Manager Peter Kurz has submitted an expanded roster of 44 players to the World Baseball Softball Confederation from which the 24-man traveling roster for the Olympic Games will be selected. The WBSC is baseball’s global governing body and the organizer of the baseball competition at the Olympic Games.

Israel’s roster includes all 24 players from the team that clinched Israel’s Olympic berth by winning the WBSC Baseball Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier in September 2019 in Italy.

There are 12 players who return from Israel’s entry at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, which reached the quarterfinals. The next generation of Israeli baseball players is also represented with six players who helped Israel finish in first place at the European Championship U18 Qualifier in 2019 in Sweden.

Alongside nine players who have played in the Major Leagues are four players who are currently serving in the Israel Defense Forces under the distinguished athlete designation and three more who will be drafted in the same class in the coming year.

Team Israel will have its first training camp in May in Arizona and will then meet again in early July in New York, where it will play a series of exhibition games before flying to Tokyo for the Olympics.