Jeremy’s Journey | Olympic Adventure
Jeremy Bleich is a Major League Staff Assistant for the Pirates and works in the clubhouse as a video coach for the Major League pitching staff. The former first-round draft pick (’08, Yankees, 44th pick, out of Stanford University) is a part of Team Israel in the 2020 Olympic Games. Jeremy is a left-handed pitcher from New Orleans, LA, and made his Major League debut in 2018, appearing in two games with the Oakland Athletics. His career included several stops in minor league systems throughout the league, including with Pittsburgh in 2015 as he saw time with Bradenton, Altoona and Indy.
Jeremy was a member of Team Israel in the 2017 WBC, the subject of the documentary Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel. Jeremy’s grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and he has a deep family connection to his Jewish heritage. Throughout his time in Tokyo, Jeremy will be a special contributor to The Pirates Press in a series we call Jeremy’s Journey.
Part 2:
After Opening Ceremonies it was time to really lock in and make the most of the 5–6 days we had before our first official game. Each day we would get transported from the village to a local college stadium, for a 2 hour, team workout.
When I say 2 hours, I mean exactly 2 hours. Volunteers for the Olympics would stand guard of the field, batting cages, bullpens, until it was our time and shut the practice down exactly when the clock got to 2 hours….it is a product of precise organization, and a culture that is prompt and pays close attention to detail.
Practices went well, but we were ready for games, that’s for sure.
The first night was vs the Republic of Korea. Our starting pitcher gave up a single to the first batter of the game, and then blew out his elbow against the second batter! Taken out of the game, it was a scramble but we ended up battling them in a back and forth game with several lead changes…we ended up unfortunately losing in the 10th inning on a hit batsman (sad to say, that was my fault!).
The following day, we had our second game, this time against Team USA and we unfortunately lost that one as well. The game started out strong, but I think our pitching depth caught up with us on this one. We were down a little early and we had the injury to one of our long options and also playing extra innings the day before did not help, we just didn’t have the arms to compete that night and the USA swung the bats really well.
An 0–2 start for the Israeli Olympic Baseball Team is not the way we had imagined or hoped for, but we knew it was time to try and enjoy the off-day the next day.
Many of us had a slow off-day with most of us attending to simple things we needed to get done. We turned in laundry; some went to doctors appointments at the clinic in the village; some played ping pong; we got massages; and even dipped into the cold tubs that was available for the athletes.
We knew if we lost the third game, it would be a quick three and out from the tournament. So with that in mind, there was this like straddling the line between trying to be positive and staying focused, but also recovering from the emotional rut of losing two in a row and being eliminated so quickly.
We ordered sushi as a team and had a team dinner outside of our village condo building, which was awesome! Uber eats even works in the Olympic village!! Well, $800 worth of sushi later and we were right where we needed to be mentally.
We went out the next day and played a tough Mexico team, who we beat with conviction, knocked them out of the tournament, and bought ourselves two more games and potentially playing for a medal round.
The next day we lost again to Korea, this time they beat us pretty handedly. Another sign that our pitching depth just maybe wasn’t up to the level of some of the other teams.
The Dominican Republic was up next for us. If we won that game then we would automatically be in a medal game, given the structure of the tourney and that there were only six teams to start with.
After a wild game, multiple lead changing home runs and some questionable umpiring at times, we lost on a walkoff by Jose Bautista.
Boy, were we bummed.
So many close games that could have gone either way and just didn’t work out for us. As bummed as we were, we were also proud to be able to put Israel on the map for baseball and for the fans and following.
One of my favorite activities at night was to walk out to where the Olympic Rings were and hang out with teammates, catch the fresh air that finally cooled down after really hot afternoons and also get to meet other athletes from other countries and sports.
Those moments are wild to think about. Just knowing how hard each individual works, with the specific guidance from some of the best instructors in the amongst a wide array of cultures and languages. And all of us hanging out and just enjoying each others company was such a special memory.
It was an absolutely amazing experience. Having the privilege to take part in the Olympic games is something I will never forget. I am honored and truly humbled to have been apart of Team Israel 2021.
