Originally published October 6th, 2013 in Haaraetz (Yardena Schwartz)

He calls himself "The king of Jewish baseball," but for Nate Fish, being Jewish had nothing to do with his decision to make aliyah.

“I came to Israel for baseball. I made baseballiah,” he quips.

Fish says this despite the fact that nearly everyone he’s met since moving here had no idea Israeli baseball even existed until they met him.

Just three months ago, Fish was an artist and DJ living in the creative haven of Bushwick, Brooklyn, one of the hippest neighborhoods in New York City. Today he is the first full-time paid national executive director of the Israel Association of Baseball.

At first glance, it seems like the least likely job for this youthful 33-year-old who lives in an art studio in Jaffa and looks the part. He prefers colorful clothing, wears beaded jewelry and hosts art parties at his gallery-like apartment every week. But to this former minor leaguer from Ohio, leading the Jewish State's baseball operation is exactly what he was destined to do. Even before he became the director of the IAB on Aug. 1, Fish was already a major player in Israeli baseball.

He has played for and coached Israeli teams on the world stage since 2005, when he first played for Israel in the Maccabiah. In 2007 he played in the now-defunct Israel Baseball League, coached team Israel in the 2011 European Championship and played for Israel in the 2012 World Baseball Classic. It was there that the IAB’s president offered him the job of director — an offer he took a full year to accept. When he returned to Israel this June to coach the Maccabiah team, he was here to stay.

As IBA director, Fish says his main task is to expand the country’s nearly non-existent baseball scene. The IAB, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1986 with the same goal they have now: promoting and developing baseball in Israel. The group’s website still features a section titled “What is Baseball?”

For his part, Fish is tasked with doubling the number of Israeli baseball players over the next four years. The push will focus on recruiting more Israeli coaches and introducing baseball to more Israeli children. This is an ambitious goal for someone who has lived in Israel for three months and does not speak Hebrew. But back in New York, between DJ-ing and showcasing his work at art exhibitions, Fish coached traveling baseball teams and established a little league in Spanish Harlem.

“There were more kids playing baseball in that little youth group than in this entire country,” he laughs.

That little league represented just one small sliver of Manhattan’s baseball scene, yet it had 1,500 players — more than in the entire country of Israel. There are about 1,000 baseball players in this nation of eight million people, and the majority of them are either American expats, children of American expats or kids who lived in the U.S. for part of their lives because their Israeli parents’ jobs took them there. In fact, when Fish played for Israel at the World Baseball Classic, just three of his teammates were native Israelis. At least one of those Israelis now lives in the U.S.

Changing those demographics is the primary focus of the IAB’s efforts to expand baseball in Israel.

“In the past, the IAB has always been an Anglo organization, sending out messages in English,” says Fish. “The website was only in English — now we’re becoming a bilingual organization.”

The irony that Fish, who just started an ulpan Hebrew course, is leading the charge to bring more Hebrew into Israeli baseball is not lost on him. He fully acknowledges the steep climb ahead.

After watching a junior league game one recent afternoon, Fish lamented the pitiful state of young Israeli players. Their uniforms, their language, their approach to the game were all wrong, he said. “There were kids wearing baseball pants without baseball socks, so the bottom of their legs were showing,” he says with a look of utter disgust. “You had 16-year-olds playing a baseball game in jeans. When I was 16, we were dressed like major league players.”

The clearest sign of the long road ahead is the fact that there are only two regulation baseball fields in the entire country. Many games and practices are held on makeshift fields and some on farms, without dugouts, pitching mounds or base paths. The IAB is currently working with the Jewish National Fund to raise money for more fields. The JNF funded the only baseball field in Tel Aviv at the Yarkon Park sporteque, where Fish recently held a free baseball clinic for kids during the Sukkot holiday. There, IAB President Peter Kurz said that the IAB hopes to break ground on the newest field sometime in the next few months. At a cost of $4 million, the new facility in Ra’anana will be “the national home of the IAB,” according to Kurz.

Funding from the JNF and private donations account for just 10 to 15 percent of the IAB’s operations. Player dues make up about 60 percent, and 20 percent comes from the Israeli government.

So, why should anyone care about baseball in Israel?

“Israel and baseball is where traditions meet,” says Kurz, referring to America’s favorite pastime. “For parents, it’s a great way for kids to improve their English and learn more about American culture.”

Seeing the group of about 20 kids who came out to the free clinic in Tel Aviv, it was clear that they could use the training. The boys, aged between 8 and 14, looked a little gawky and awkward. Throughout the day’s lessons, Fish had to remind them to adjust their stance and “look athletic.”

Eventually, Fish sees baseball becoming just as popular in Israel as soccer or basketball.

Soccer is by far the country’s most popular sport, and the 85-year-old Israel Football Association boasts an estimated 30,000 players. Israeli basketball players have gone on to play in the NBA. Yet not only has an Israeli baseball player never played in the MLB, not a single Israeli has even played in the American minor leagues.

But, Fish points out, neither soccer nor basketball began in Israel. Everything starts somewhere. “People introduced soccer programs and basketball programs, and it caught on. And now, a couple generations later, people think of those sports as being very Israeli,” he says. “I think we’re a generation away from people thinking of baseball as an Israeli sport.”

Originally posted on Apple Podcasts

Ladies and Geetles, Faithful Readers, Loyal Patrons;

I am going to tell you something that may surprise you - despite all appearances, opinions, and my own best efforts, I DID NOT PLAY MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. I know. I know. It can be a lot to take in. For me as well. I dreamed of being a Big Leaguer– still dream, ahem, occasionally and only slightly embarrassingly, at forty-something years old. Picture this, ME IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES in a panic looking for a sock in the clubhouse as the first inning starts, but in the league, no less, sure it’s not a dream this time… until I wake up. The initial relief about the sock gives way to the familiar dull disappointment that it was just a dream. Alas, I am not, and never will be, a Grande Leaguer. They didn’t want me, so I did what any totally-sane and not-at-all-heartbroken person would do, I stood outside for ten years then snuck in the backdoor.

The first time I ever walked in a Major League clubhouse was in 2012 when Israel was invited to qualify for the World Baseball Classic for the first time. At the end of training camp, Ausmus called me into his hotel room and told me I was on the team– sort of, I could catch bullpens and get into a game IF EVERY OTHER PLAYER ON THE TEAM GOT HURT. I was in! Ever since, I have been hanging with legends and superstars. I skipped the INCREDIBLY DIFFICULT AND OFTEN PAINFUL PROCESS of playing Major League Baseball and went straight to being a former major league player.

My high-school teammate, Matty Guerrier, who played ten years in the League, once told me, “When we leave one city, we leave our bags in the room, and when we arrive at the next city, it’s waiting for us there.” Wow. I thought, I will DEFINITELY NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT. But just last week, we left Port St. Lucie for Miami, and when I walked into my new hotel room, there it was, MY VERY OWN BAG, faithfully waiting for me like a golden retriever.

For a kid who dreamed of going to the Major Leagues, Team Israel and the World Baseball Classic have given me a second, third, and fourth chance. Team Israel is MY Big Leagues. To everyone who helped me sneak in the backdoor, thank you.

Maybe now I can stop dreaming. It’s real… I think… wait… where’s my sock?

Ladies and Geetles, Faithful Readers, Loyal Patrons;

I am pleased to announce that I have finally found my rightful role with Team Israel. It only took twenty years. It’s not idiot-superhero, despite popular opinion. It’s not even expert-reverse-golf-cart-operator. I am listed, for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, as batting practice pitcher. That’…

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At the 2023 World Baseball Classic, cameras caught Nelson Cruz, now the GM of Team Dominican, saying to his teammates in the dugout during a game, “I would pay to play in this tournament.”

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Originally posted by 700 Club Israel: https://cbn.com/video/stories/inside-israel-baseball-preparing-world-classic

Ladies and Geetles, Faithful Readers, Patient Patrons, it is I, your favorite idiot superhero, wanderer of Earth and OTHER PLACES, King of all Jewish Baseball, elated to announce, after too-long a break— from writing, that is, not from King of Jewish Baseball…ing, a duty I have been performing unceasingly s…

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They say every baseball season is a marathon. And it is. 162 games. Then playoffs, if you’re lucky. Back and forth across a continent, everyone eventually hypnotized. But if every season is a marathon, every tournament is a spiritual journey. A season packed into a week. A s…

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It is not as impressive as other baseball stories, but it is much, much weirder.

When I was a kid, I was two things. I was a Jew, and I was a baseball player. More exactly, I was a Jew OR I was a baseball player. There …

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A towering, bearded Canadian man, who stood 6 feet, 7 inches tall and tossed blazing fastballs with his right hand for all of 2 2/3 innings for the Montreal Expos one summer, started a baseball school for the richest kids in New York City.

H…

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Originally posted by Side Retired Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6NInpsydvjVu8Ky2e3PiO0?si=r-UX60wER3aYcYGxKMy-Og

Originally posted on Menschin With The Boys: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6c6PVYmZUSLbogN3jZu05J?si=l1FGlPYfRjySmrA8yinA9Q

Hosted by Rabbi Erez Sherman

Originally posted by Jewish Baseball - More Than A Game Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1nAzt1gWHYE3RRU3zZI9k7?si=t7kBkSFnQvmbdp3e_oc_xQ

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Nate discusses representing Team Israel in the Olympics, and the World Baseball Classic, the feeling of responsibility of playing for Jews around the world, the Israel Baseball America program, being the first manager of the beloved Savannah Bananas, his art and writing, and much more!

The Jewish Lens:

Twitter: https://x.com/TheJewishLens

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Jonathan Rosen:

Facebook: jrosen18

Twitter: houseofrosen

Instagram: houseofrosen

Website: http://www.houseofrosen.com/

By: HOWARD BLAS

JULY 1, 2024 17:14

Updated: JULY 2, 2024 00:26

When Nate Fish was about to head off to Japan with Team Israel for the 2020 Olympics (played in 2021 due to the COVID pandemic), Jeremy Newberger, CEO of Ironbound Films, handed him six camcorders and asked him to give them out to players to film their experiences in the Olympic Village and at the Games. Fish was instructed to send the memory cards back when they returned from Tokyo.

‘Israel Swings for Gold’

“I had no idea if we got enough footage or even if the cards were received,” said Fish, who has worn many hats for Israel baseball. Fish has served as the Olympic team’s third-base coach, a member of Team Israel for three World Baseball Classics, and head coach of the Israel National Team.

He is currently CEO of the newly created Israel Baseball Americas, a non-profit organization that aims to create a pipeline of talent for the Israel National Team program, and provide human and financial resources to the Israel Association of Baseball.

“18 months later, I was invited to the premiere of the ‘Israel Swings for Gold’ film in Atlanta. It was awesome!”

Daniel A. Miller, along with Newberger and Seth Kramer, also co-directed and produced “Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel,” the 2018 documentary about the underdog Israel National Team competing for the first time in the World Baseball Classic. Miller recalls the camera hand-off story and the ongoing collaboration differently.

Miller emphasizes the confidence he and his team had in Fish to deliver under unique circumstances.

Capturing the moment

“It was COVID at the time and the Olympic Village was secure and there was no media allowed, and we were thinking of how we could follow the team. We knew that Nate was a big social media type and was media savvy. He got exactly the right things from the team. They captured everything!”

Fans of Team Israel and those who love a good Israel and Jewish story packed the Carole Zabar Center for Film at the Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan last Tuesday to view the recently released 77-minute film of the footage.

Through their skilled camera work, viewers witness the players flying to Japan – on the same flight as rival Teams USA and Dominican Republic. The film shows team members giving each other haircuts, eating in the Olympic Village dining room, and waiting in a long line for much needed pre-Opening Ceremonies alterations to their uniforms.

The players film themselves jumping on the carefully constructed Japanese cardboard beds to see how many players it would take to break the bed.

The film takes the audience through each game, sharing footage of exciting wins, and disappointing losses. Players try to maintain a sense of normalcy on and off the field, though it quickly becomes clear that their experience as Israelis is anything but normal.

Munich olympics 1976

Footage of Munich’s 1976 Olympics incorporated into the movie helps viewers appreciate the significance of the Israeli flag display in the Olympic Village for the first time since 1976. In addition, the 2020 Olympics paid tribute to the murdered Israeli athletes at the Opening Ceremony for the first time since 1976.

Viewers learn the painstaking process of how players are kept safe throughout their stay in Japan. They wear tracking devices at all times, they pass through facial recognition machines, and their bus is searched regularly by dogs and security officials.

The film shows the audience firsthand how Israeli athletes were regularly rebuffed by athletes from other countries. When athletes regularly exchange pins from other countries, most refuse pins from Israel. Israeli players frequently encountered Palestinian flags and chants of “Free, Free Palestine” in their travels.

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Nate Fish, aka the King of Jewish Baseball, has had quite the baseball journey.

After graduating from the University of Cincinnati with his dreams of playing in the big leagues squandered, he began training youth baseball players in New York City.

Over two decades later, he has played professional softball and baseball. He has traveled the world in a baseball uniform, been part of Israeli National team coaching staffs, competed in the World Baseball Classic and Olympics, coached elite college baseball players in the Cape Cod League, and helped manage the increasingly popular Savannah Bananas.

His phone has continued to ring along the way for the next opportunity.

Today, he is the CEO of Israel Baseball Americas, a 501c3 whose mission is to give Team Israel players and fans a common outlet for their interest in Israel Baseball and provide human and financial resources to the Israel National Team program.

What You’ll Learn About:

• Knowing when to shut up and learn

• The really good coaches don’t have as much to say

• The best advice is support

• Ability to focus and compete

• Different outlets for expression

• His work with Israel Baseball Americas

• Thoughts on following your dreams vs. doing something useful first