Welcome to the first story in a series of personal interviews told in story form using the real words and real emotions of professional athletes, professionals in sports, and those who have inspiring stories not accessible to mainstream media.
When deciding whose stories I wanted to tell, there were three names that immediately came to mind. These stories were going to be powerful, emotional, and most of all influential.
To start off the journalist journey I’ve officially embarked on I’m going to be reflecting on the story of an athlete major league baseball fans would easily be able to reference back to, a key piece to the Manny Machado trade that sent Dean Kremer, former pitcher in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization to the Baltimore Orioles.
Dean could be considered a household name thanks to his stellar 2018 breakout season along side his role in the Machado trade, but we’re going to get into all of that later. What people don’t always know is that Dean stands out in sports for another significant reason.
Every 4 years baseball and sports fans alike come together to cheer for not the cities that represent us, but the places we come from. This is known as the World Baseball Classic. The World Baseball Classic is loosely considered the Olympics for baseball. It is a tournament that allows players from American teams the opportunity to represent their home countries, nationalities and cultures. To be selected to play for your country is an honor.
That being said, this year’s classic was going to be different. For the first time in the history of the tournament the country of Israel would muck together a variety of past and present ball players with (some sort of) relationship to Judaism. Dean in particular had more than others. While some were eligible to play for the team due to a great grandmother of theirs being Jewish, and others married into eligibility, Dean was (and still is) the only professional baseball player with Israeli citizenship, which rightfully landed him a spot on the Israeli team’s roster.
We talked about getting his feet wet with the team during their qualifier in Brooklyn, New York back in fall of 2016, “The qualifier in Brooklyn was my first taste of what I think is the biggest stage for the sport, aside from the World Series. Getting to represent Israel to try and advance to the WBC was the most fun I have ever had on a baseball field. It was the perfect storm. The team, the guys, the atmosphere, the stage. Then getting the chance to throw the last three outs to clinch a spot in the tournament was like the cherry on top.” Ironically and unknowingly our paths crossed that week in New York. A friend of mine and fellow teammate of his enlisted the help of my roommates and I to show some guys on the team around NYC. We wouldn’t officially meet until spring of 2018.
Playing a large part in the teams success but not a headlining name among teammates often referred to as “a band of misfits and has beens,” he continued to tell me what occurred once they had clinched a spot in the official tournament and were off to South Korea, “ The first round in Korea really opened my eyes to how big and meaningful every game was going to be. It was a different game. We played against South Korea to kick off the start of the whole tournament and beat them 2-1 in a 10-inning nail biter. Going into the tournament we knew were considered the “underdog” but that wasn’t the vibe in the clubhouse. We expected to go out there and win regardless of the opponent. We went out there to send a message to the other teams that although we were new to this atmosphere, we wouldn’t be pushed around.” That message was well received to other teams and well, the world. Team Israel became a Cinderella story the entire world could sympathize with. Their iconic mascot “Mensch on a Bench” was in newspapers of different languages and their comedic approach in a competitive setting set tone for all who were watching. They were the modern version of the Jamaican bobsled team. These guys were doing their best to make baseball fun (again).
Travelling and baseball traditionally come hand in hand but not many get to do so on such an international level while representing the country they are from. Dean goes on to tell me how playing in the WBC has allowed for him to travel the world and understand diversity and different cultures, “Aside from Japan and South Korea I have been fortunate enough to play for Team Israel and travel to Austria, Slovenia, Greece, and the Czech Republic. Every country is so much different than the next and getting to take in each culture is something I’ll never forget. And the views, don’t even get me started on the views in these beautiful countries.”
The experience is something that Dean remembers almost instinctively and describes it in a way that is somewhat out of a movie. He went on to tell me about the moment he got called on to pitch, which was also his favorite moment of playing for Team Israel, “My favorite moment in the tournament was the inning I got to pitch against Chinese Taipei. I have to start off by saying that the Asian countries are a little different when it comes to baseball. When we were hitting the stadium was fairly quiet besides the normal chatter between fans, but when their team is hitting, the crowd erupts into a chant, drummers are drumming and cheerleaders are on top of the dugout. And every hitter has their own chant just like how we have walk-up songs here, but then continue to chant throughout the whole at-bat. We played in a dome so the echo was crazy!! The bullpen in the stadium was underground so when I got the call to go in I had to come up the stairs through the dugout then onto the field. Every seat in the dome filled, every fan chanting the song of the hitter I was about to face. Before I started my warm ups I had to take it all in. My face on a giant video board, it was like a scene from any baseball movie where a rookie gets called up to the big leagues for his debut.”
To be a member of a team competing in the World Baseball Classic is a dream for almost every professional baseball player and one that rarely comes true for guys who have even made it to the Major Leagues.
An honor to be asked, an inspiration for the entire country of Israel, and a freaking blast for every Jewish American baseball fan (like myself).
The excitement in Deans career wasn’t over yet. In the midst of an incredible season so far, Dean was getting ready to start his second professional baseball game at the AA level when he got word he would no longer be a member of the LA Dodgers and was set to join the Orioles.
Reflecting on his standout season that landed him a part of the Manny Machado trade, Dean sounds incredibly humbled and grateful for the opportunities he’s had in his career so far, “This season was a very special one for me. After the season I had last year I knew that it was going to be an important year in determining the fate of my career beyond this point. I struggled through the first half of spring training trying to find myself. And finally, towards the end I found a comfortable place and a good starting point for the season. I have to give credit to the Dodgers staff for what they did for me. As the year started and went on I just tried to improve every outing and before I knew it, I was starting to put together a decent year. Then at that point I was just trying to be consistent regardless of where I was.”
At just 22 years old Dean has experienced life in a way people go their whole lives without knowing. Playing professional baseball doesn’t always have the most positive effect on people; sometimes it is solely about timing and a heck of a lot of luck. And other times it’s about hard work, a competitive yet positive mindset, honoring where you come from, and staying dedicated to proving yourself everyday no matter where in life you might be.
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