Israeli American pitcher prepared to make playoff start with family in Israel at top of mind

Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer will have a lot more on his mind than just extending his team’s season when he takes the mound Oct. 10 in Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Texas Rangers.

Kremer, who will be the team’s starting pitcher, is an Israeli American with family members in Israel, which is at war after Hamas attacked it over the weekend.

“Is there a hesitation? No. I still want to pitch. But I mean, it’s going to be in the back of my head,” he said, according to MLB.com.

Kremer has extended family living in Israel. While he was born and raised in Stockton, California, his parents are from the country and he has dual citizenship. In 2015, he became the first Israeli ever taken in Major League Baseball’s amateur draft when the San Diego Padres selected him.

Kremer, 27, made his big league debut in 2020, becoming the first Israeli citizen to pitch in a major league game. He is fluent in Hebrew and visits Israel every year. He also competed for Israel in this year’s World Baseball Classic.

“Obviously, it’s a very sad situation. A lot of things are being brought to light. But everybody’s OK right now,” Kremer said, according to MLB.com. “(Orioles manager Brandon Hyde) and almost every single person in the clubhouse has come in and checked on me at some point over the last 48 hours. And I’m very grateful for that.”

Hyde said he thinks Kremer is ready to play.

“Gave him my support and sympathies for him and his family that’s involved, and he seemed OK,” he said. “Obviously, he’s very disturbed and there’s a lot of things going on. But I didn’t sense that it was going to affect ... I think he’s really looking forward to pitching (Tuesday) so I didn’t think it was going to affect him.”

It will be Kremer’s first career playoff start and comes at a vital time for the Orioles, who trail the Rangers 2-0 in the best-of-five series. If the Orioles lose another game to the Rangers, their season will end, while Texas will advance to the American League Championship Series.

Kremer has been a clutch pitcher this season, starting the games when the team clinched a playoff berth and again when the Orioles won the American League East. He finished with a 13-5 record and a 4.12 ERA.

If the Orioles can overcome the 2-0 deficit to the Rangers, they will play either the Houston Astros or Minnesota Twins in the ALCS for the chance to advance to the World Series, which the Orioles have not won or appeared in since 1983.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com