20 Apr GETTING TO KNOW BALTIMORE ORIOLES FIRST ISRAELI DRAFTED PITCHER DEAN KREMER
FAST FACTS
Name: Dean Junior Kremer
Hebrew Name: דין קרמר
Born: January 7, 1996 (age 25) in Stockton, California
Height: 6-3 Weight: 185lb.
Position: Pitcher
MLB debut: September 6, 2020, for the Baltimore Orioles
Dean Kremer is an Israeli–American professional baseball player in the Baltimore Orioles organization. In 2015 he became the first Israeli drafted by a Major League Baseball team. In international competition, Kremer pitched for the Team USA baseball team in the 2013 Maccabiah Games in Israel, winning a gold medal. The following two years he pitched for Israel in the qualifying for the European Baseball Championship, and won the Most Valuable Pitcher award in both 2014 and 2015. He also pitched in September 2016 in the qualifier for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was drafted by the San Diego Padres in the 38th round of the 2015 Major League Baseball Draft, becoming the first Israeli to ever be selected in the MLB draft, but chose not to sign. He was drafted again, this time by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed. The Orioles acquired Kremer in 2018 from the Los Angeles Dodgers and three other players in a trade that sent All-Star third baseman Manny Machado to L.A. Kremer lives in Israel for two months of every year, and has dual Israeli- American citizenship. His parents Adi and Sigal Kremer are Israeli, and after they completed their service in the Israel Defense Forces they came together to the United States. His father played college tennis at the University of the Pacific, which he attended on a tennis scholarship. Kremer is fluent in Hebrew, and the family speaks Hebrew at home. He has two younger brothers, Ron (who is in the Israeli Army) and Niv. Kremer’s grandparents live in Israel, in Tel Aviv and in Rishon LeZion, and all of his extended family other than his parents and youngest brother live in Israel.His great-uncle is American-Israeli businessman and philanthropist Haim Saban, who created the Power Rangers franchise and also played a role in the deal normalizing Israel’s relations with the United Arab Emirates.
Mazel Tov on your debut. How did it feel to pitch in the majors?
It was a dream come true! Everyone is making a very big deal about you being the first Israeli pitcher to be drafted in the MLB.
Are you really Israeli?
I was born here in the United States, but I go back and practically live in Israel for two months out of the year, so it’s definitely home.
How Jewish was your home growing up?
The values and morals of a Jewish person were instilled in me, and that’s the way I live my life. Growing up, we would have Shabbat dinner as often as possible. I never attended Hebrew school formally, but since my parents are Israeli, I have been speaking Hebrew my entire life.
How big is baseball right now in Israel?
It’s definitely growing a lot more. I just hope that the higher I go up in the system, the more baseball will become popular in Israel. I just want to set the example that it can be done. By me playing here, I think it’s going to open some doors for Israeli kids to come over here and play and eventually make their way into the major leagues.
What do you think about your performance on the field so far?
It’s definitely a learning process.I have to stay aggressive and not try to tinker around the zone, but just attack hitters.