Baseball
BaseballNati Shohat/Flash 90

Ten Jewish Major League Baseball players will visit Israel in preparation for the World Baseball Classic, JTA reported on Monday.

The players, who will be part of Team Israel, will practice on baseball fields in Israel and meet with local Israel Association of Baseball (IAB) players.

The 10 current and former Major League Baseball players will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and its holy sites, an Israeli Air Force base, Masada, and the Dead Sea, according to JTA.

The players are eligible to play on Team Israel thanks to World Baseball Classic rules that state that players who are eligible for citizenship of a country may play on that country’s team.

The World Baseball Classic is scheduled for March 2017 in Seoul, South Korea.

In September, Team Israel qualified for the World Baseball Classic for the first time, after defeating Great Britain in a game played at MCU Park in Brooklyn.

In 2012, Team Israel was eliminated from the qualifier by Spain. The qualifying game went into the 10th inning, when poor pitching put two players for the Spanish team on base, eventually touching home plate.

“The team is clearly the most impressive Jewish baseball team ever assembled, and we are very proud that they will be representing our country at the WBC. The trip will be an excellent opportunity for them to learn about Israel and meet the teams and players in Israel who will be supporting them at the WBC,” said Peter Kurz, president of IAB, in a statement quoted by JTA.

The visiting players are former New York Met Ike Davis, Ty Kelly of the New York Mets, Ryan Lavarnway of the Oakland Athletics, Sam Fuld of the Oakland Athletics organization, Josh Zeid of the New York Mets organization, Cody Decker of the Boston Red Sox organization, Jon Moscot of the Cincinnati Reds, Corey Baker of the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Jeremy Bleich of the Philadelphia Phillies organization, and Gabe Kapler, Los Angeles Dodgers Director of Player Development.