Former SF Giants and Oakland A form the bulk of Israel’s world baseball classic roster

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The World Baseball Classic rosters were officially revealed on Thursday, and the Israeli national team is full of Bay Area and Northern California-related players.

Of the 30 players on the roster, nine are either from the region or spent part of their careers with the Oakland A’s or the San Francisco Giants, led by current Giants outfielder and Palo Alto native Jock Pederson.

No, many of the players are not natives of Israel, although most of them have received citizenship. According to WBC rules, players are eligible to play for a country if they are citizens of that country, their parents were citizens of that country, or can “produce documentary evidence”. […] that he will be granted citizenship or a passport” for the country.

It essentially allows anyone with a Jewish parent, or even a Jewish spouse, to wear the blue and white Israeli attire to the biggest international baseball tournament.

Besides Pederson, another Bay Area native on board is pitcher Joey Wagman, who grew up in Danville and attended Monte Vista High School. He then competed at Cal Poly and spent four seasons with the A organization, mostly at Stockton Ports.

Speaking of Stockton, two roster members from the largest city in San Joaquin County: Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer and Ty Kelly. While Kelly last played in the Majors in 2018, Kremer is a regular in Baltimore’s starting rotation and was a key figure on the team that posted an astonishing 83-79 record in 2022. Kremer, who attended Lincoln High in Stockton and San Joaquin Delta College, spends two months of each off-season in Israel before transferring to UNLV. Most of his extended family still lives there, and his younger brother serves in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Alex Dickerson, who played in 219 games for the Giants from 2019 to 2021, is not Jewish, but his wife is Jewish, making him eligible to play for the team. Former “A” reliever Adam Kolárek is in the same boat; Kolarek is not on the list, but he is included in the designated pitchers pool, a group of players who can be added to the list in later rounds if needed.

Two other members of the roster had brief A’s: Catcher Ryan Lavarnway appeared in six games in 2017 and Danny Valencia played in 177 games for Oakland over two seasons, including a club brawl that left teammate Billy Butler with a concussion.

Lefty pitcher Jake Fishman, who made his Major League debut with the Miami Marlins last year, signed with the A’s in the minor leagues in November. He’s not the only farmhand Hey on the team; he was also joined by third baseman Zach Gelof, currently ranked by MLB.com as the team’s No. 3 prospect.

Although neither pitcher Zach Weiss nor hitting coach Kevin Youkilis have ever played for Bay Area teams, both have their own ties to the region: Weiss hit a home run to Steven Vogt in the final game of favorite Major League reserve catcher at bat, while Youkilis married to Tom Brady’s sister and owns the Loma Brewing Company in Los Gatos. Also on the coaching staff is Brad Osmus, who was a bench coach in 2022.

The Israeli team could have even more connections to the Bay Area. Burlingame native DJ Sharabi, who played at Burlingame High School, San Mateo College and San Jose State and even held his wedding at the Sholom Temple on the Burlingame Peninsula, was not selected. He played 4 1/3 innings for Israel at the Tokyo Olympics. Former Giant Kevin Pillar was initially linked with the team, but ultimately withdrew from playing, choosing instead to focus on fighting for a roster spot with the Atlanta Braves.

Israel is in Pool D, which will be played at CreditDepot Park in Miami. The team will start the pool game against Nicaragua on March 12, and then play Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela over the next three days. The top two teams from the pool advance to the quarter-finals.

The 2017 tournament saw Israel qualify for the first time and win Group A despite being a huge underdog against the likes of the Netherlands, South Korea and Taiwan. This team, which included former “A” baseman Nate Freiman, also upset Cuba in the second round, but ultimately lost to the Netherlands and Japan.

Other players linked with the Bay Area in the 2023 tournament include Livermore native Miles Mastrobuoni (Italy), right-handed pitcher Adrian Martinez (Mexico) and Stanford alumnus Tommy Edman (South Korea).

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