‘Who the F is that guy?’ From Yale to USC to Miami to Olympics, Ben Wanger makes impact
Yale undergrad and future Miami Hurricane Ben Wanger was in Bonn, Germany, playing first base for Team Israel en route to later qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics, when a routine final out turned into a moment of reflection.
It was autumn of 2019.
“He stuffed the ball in his back pocket,’’ said Wanger’s mother, Dr. Gwen Kane-Wanger, “to give to Grandma Sara” — a Holocaust survivor and winter Key Biscayne resident — on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement and holiest day of the Jewish year. “A powerful, tragic childhood event that had been hard to talk about for a survivor,” said Ben’s mom, became another way for her son “to connect to his Jewish heritage and grandmother” at the same time.
“Very impressive, special kid with a very impressive family,’’ UM baseball coach Gino DiMare said.
Wanger, a 6-3, 220-pound 23-year-old, impresses most who meet him. DiMare watched the rare pitcher/hitter win his first game as a Hurricane in the 13th inning during a two-inning effort last Saturday at No. 1 Florida — snapping a six-game losing streak to UF and leading to Miami’s first series win at UF in 12 years. Wanger (1-0, 3.00 ERA) also scored the eventual winning run after being hit by a pitch in the 13th.
“It was awesome,’’ Wanger said. “Taking down the No. 1 team is always a big deal. I’m just happy I could do my part.’’
Wanger could be doing it again when Miami (2-1), ranked as high as No. 1 by Collegiate Baseball, meets Virginia Tech (3-0) in the home opener at 7 p.m. Friday at Mark Light Field.
Ivy League family
Wanger’s mom, a rheumatologist, played field hockey and lacrosse at Brown. His dad, David, a real estate lawyer, played baseball at Harvard. His sister, Emily, acting counsel to the New Jersey attorney general, played basketball at Yale. His brother, Danny, a commercial real estate analyst, played football at Bowdoin.
Wanger, who played baseball, football and basketball at Belmont Hill High, is from Newton, Massachusetts, known for the infamous Heartbreak Hill toward the end of the Boston Marathon. He was at Yale for four years, an All-Ivy League first-team relief pitcher, second-team first baseman and first-team designated hitter during his career before he tore his left hamstring four games into 2019 and had season-ending surgery.
After earning his Yale degree in economics and environmental engineering, Wanger, a right-handed pitcher who bats lefty, transferred to Southern Cal during what turned out be be last year’s pandemic-shortened season. Yet, in the 13 games (10 starts) in which he appeared for the Trojans as their closer and designated hitter, Wanger hit a team-leading .410 (fifth in the Pac-12), driving in eight runs with four doubles and a triple. He recorded three saves in 6.1 innings pitched, striking out eight with a perfect 0.00 ERA.
When Wanger earned his USC master’s degree in entrepreneurship and innovation and chose to return to the East Coast and enter the transfer portal as a graduate, DiMare and pitching coach J.D. Arteaga jumped at the prospect of having the two-way standout and sixth-year player on the roster as a DH and late reliever before closer Carson Palmquist takes over.
‘Incredibly high’ expectations
“I want to play baseball as long as I can,’’ Wanger said. “I’d love to get drafted and get a professional opportunity. The expectation here is incredibly high and that pushes people.”
Eventually, whether or not he gets drafted, Wanger intends to get involved in the energy sector, “specifically renewable energy in some capacity,’’ he said. “I just think it’s a gateway to society and will be a big issue moving forward, especially with climate change.’’
Wanger is working toward his second master’s degree in international business this school year. “Unbelievably mature,’’ DiMare said. “I almost feel like we’ve got two closers. Ben’s got the right mentality. He’s a guy that’s seen just about everything and can handle any situation.’’
Former UM player Danny Valencia, who starred at UM in 2005-06 before a nine-year MLB career, now plays on Team Israel with Wanger. “When Danny heard we got Ben,’’ DiMare said, “he said, ‘Man, you’re going to love this kid. He’s tough.’’’
Team Israel
Valencia and Wanger and the rest of the Team Israel players from the U.S. — 20 of 24 — had to get dual citizenship, which in Israel is possible for those who make the trip to Israel through Israel’s Law of Return, proving at least one grandparent is Jewish.
“It’s really cool,’’ Wanger said of his Team Israel affiliation. “It has given me a new window into the Jewish culture and religion and kind of a new identity. I’m not a religious person and have always thought of Judaism as a religion rather than a race and now that identity has kind of flip-flopped for me. I feel much closer to the Judaism culture and race. It will be an honor to get out to Tokyo and wear Israel’s colors in the Olympics.’’
Opening ceremonies are July 23 and baseball will begin play July 27, after the Olympics were postponed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is Israels’ first Olympic team sport to qualify for the Olympics since 1976. Team Israel coach Eric Holtz, who owns and operates a baseball training facility in Elmsford, N.Y., said he discovered Wanger while watching his freshman son at Columbia play against Wanger’s Yale in the 2018 Ivy League Championship.
‘Who’s that guy?’
“Benny played eight innings at first base, then, with the score at 1-1, pitched the next five scoreless innings before going back to play first base in Yale’s 2-1 loss,’’ Holtz said of the 15-inning game. “I was like, ‘Who the F is that guy? I need to know who that animal is!’
“Beyond being a legitimate two-way guy who can play the field, hit and pitch at this level, Ben is one of the nicest human beings you’ll ever meet.”
In his USC bio, Wanger listed his favorite food as “everything bagel with cream cheese and lox.’’ He’s just waiting to try an opening-weekend famous Mark Light shake.
“I’ve only heard good things,’’ he said. “At some point I’ll see if I can skate out for a second and try one.’’
