World Baseball Classic
Familiar Faces Prepare to Represent their Nation on the World Stage
by Andy Smith Long Islanders will certainly recognize many of the players in the World Baseball Classic next month. These are the MLB superstars or international sensations. However, a few names may be locally familiar. Jacob Steinmetz, currently in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, is a member of the Israel pitching staff. The Woodmere native started seven games in the Arizona Complex League in 2022 after being drafted in the third round (pick 77) of the 2021 MLB Draft. He will play alongside outfielder Joc Pederson (San Francisco Giants) and pitcher Dean Kremer (Baltimore Orioles) under manager Ian Kinsler. Amazing moment as Long Island native Jacob Steinmetz becomes the first Orthodox Jewish athlete to get selected in the MLB Draft pic.twitter.com/giZgs8GELh — Axcess Baseba...
Alex Katz Reflects On His Playing Career
(Photo by Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images) What could be a bigger thrill for a six-years-old than getting to stand on the field of a Major League Baseball stadium and getting to meet your favorite players? What could be a bigger thrill for a baseball player than getting to participate in the World Baseball Classic in front a sold-out crowd in Japan? New Hyde Park-native and Herricks HS grad Alex Katz was fortunate to experience both things. The former was the virtue of luck by winning a contest at a shoe store that he was entered in. The latter was the virtue of many years of hard work, success and persistence. The hard-throwing southpaw grew up a die-hard Met fan in New Hyde Park and he remembers going to games at Shea Stadium hoping to grab the attention of his idols, Billy Wagner and ...
Nick Fanti on His Experience in the World Baseball Classic
by Nick Fanti My experience in the world baseball classic is something that I can’t stop talking about. A moment I want to talk about is the first game vs Mexico. I will never say the Italian team was an underdog in this bracket because we were not. We belonged there because we knew what kind of team we had and we showed that we belonged in that game We were down four going into the bottom of the ninth and we were actually the home team against the host Mexico with one of the best closers in baseball on the mound in Roberto Osuna. We came back to score five runs without Mexico recording a single out. We dog piled, and I got some tv time. You will never see a stadium flip from loud to silent like that stadium did that night. But the significance of this game to me was crazy and differ...
