The Mensch will not be advancing to the third round.
Team Israel’s improbable run in the World Baseball Classic came to a disappointing end on Wednesday in Tokyo after it lost to Team Japan 8-3.
The biggest bright spot of the game for Team Israel was pitcher Josh Zeid’s four scoreless innings to start the game. Zeid, normally a reliever, came up big in his first start of the tournament.
The score remained a scoreless tie until a sixth inning home run by Japanese slugger Yoshitomo Tsutsugo. Japan tacked on four more runs that inning, and then scored three more in the eighth to increase its lead to 8-0.
Israel managed to score three runs in the ninth, with a big blow via a bases-loaded double by Ryan Lavarnway.
After having upset South Korea, China Taipei (Taiwan) and the Netherlands to sweep the first round in Seoul, Team Israel beat Cuba 4-1 on Saturday, meaning that it only needed one more win to advance. But it was crushed 12-2 in a rematch with the Netherlands on Monday, leading to Wednesday’s do-or-die game against the home team.
After the Cuba game, Jordy Alter, the vice president of the Israel Association of Baseball, read from the Book of Esther to commemorate the holiday of Purim, which began Saturday night. The book describes how the Jews prevailed over Haman, an enemy seeking to destroy them.
The early success of Team Israel captured the imagination of the baseball world. Not only did a team without any current major leaguers beat teams ranked significantly higher, but they were accompanied by a mascot called Mensch on a Bench.
Team Israel was composed mainly of American Jews (only two of the players have Israeli passports), which was allowed under World Baseball Classic rules, which state that players merely have to be eligible for citizenship of the country they represent.
Team Israel first base coach Nate Fish told Lee Smith of The Weekly Standard on Friday that he used to have a hard time explaining baseball in Israel, but with after their successful early performance in the World Baseball Classic, “this team’s success is getting through. Prime Minister Netanyahu tweeted a nice message, so did the IDF. People are jumping on this story even in the Hebrew-language press, so we’re penetrating Israeli culture.”
[Photo: Screenshot MLB ]