Rockland County, NY (July 9, 2021) – When Team Israel arrives to play the New York Boulders in a pre-Tokyo Games tune-up at Palisades Credit Union Park on July 12, the team will have a Major League Baseball feel to it with a quartet of recognizable names on its roster, headlined by four-time MLB All-Star Ian Kinsler. 

Game time on July 12 is set for 7 p.m. and will be followed by a fireworks extravaganza. 

In addition to Kinsler, the Israeli Olympic Team roster also includes Danny Valencia, Ty Kelly and Ryan Lavarnway. 

Kinsler, though, boasts the most impressive resume. Over a 14-year MLB career that spanned 2006 to 2019, including eight years with the Texas Rangers, four with the Detroit Tigers, one with the San Diego Padres and half a season split between the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox, Kinsler, an infielder, hit 257 home runs, knocked in 909 runs and hit .269. 

Kinsler was selected to play in the 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014 All-Star Games and was a member of the Boston Red Sox World Championship team in 2018. 

Kinsler, 39, appeared in the post-season in three successive seasons – 2010 to 2012, with the Texas Rangers, reaching the World Series in 2010 and 2011. On both occasions, the Rangers lost – in 2010 to the San Francisco Giants and then to the St. Louis Cardinals the next fall. 

He would return to the World Series with the Red Sox in 2018 and helped them post a five-game win over the Los Angeles Dodgers 

Kinsler also appeared in the post-season in 2014 with the Rangers, where they lost in the American League Divisional Series to the Baltimore Orioles. 

Valencia, also an infielder, logged nine seasons, 2010 to 2018, in the big leagues with seven organizations. His best season came in 2015 when he hit a combined 18 home runs while splitting the year between the Toronto Blue Jays and Oakland Athletics. The next year, he bashed 17 round-trippers for the Athletics. 

Over his career, Valencia, 38, hit 96 home runs and finished with a .268 BA. 

Meanwhile, Kelly, 32, an infielder, spent time with the New York Mets in 2016, 2017 and 2018; while Lavarnway, 33, a catcher, began his MLB career with the Boston Red Sox in 2011 and appeared in four games this season with the Cleveland Indians, hitting .273. 

Team Israel won the round-robin tournament featuring the top five teams from the 2019 European Championship in Italy, Sept. 18-22, 2019. As the winner of that tournament, it qualified to be one of the six national teams that will compete in Tokyo. 

Host Japan, Mexico, South Korea, the USA and the Dominican Republic round out the six-team field. 

Japan, Mexico and the Dominican Republic will play in Group A in the Tokyo Games, while the USA joins Israel and South Korea in Group B. 

The Games are scheduled for July 23 through Aug. 8. 

Tickets for the exhibition game are on sale now. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Israel Baseball Association to help offset their expenses and help grow the sport of baseball in Israel. 

Team Israel will possess a local flavor with Westchester County resident Eric Holtz as the team’s manager. Additionally, Yorktown Heights native Jonathan DeMarte, 27 and a pitcher in the Chicago Cubs’ organization, is expected to represent Israel. 

“As a Westchester resident for 30 years and the head coach of the Israel National team, playing the Boulders in Rockland could not possibly get any better for me,” Holtz said. “Like a homecoming where both of my worlds collide. (I) couldn't be more excited to get out there and also get the Rockland community behind our boys in blue and white.” 

To be eligible to represent a country at the Olympic Games, a person must hold citizenship in that land.