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WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC: 1ST ROUND POOL AMarch 9, 2017Zach BorensteinNate FreimanSeoul, Korea Israel - 4, Netherlands - 2 Q. Going 3 0, what kind of statement do you think you guys have made for this team and what it means to Israel baseball overall? ZACH BORENSTEIN: I think that coming into the tournament, a lot of people saw us as huge underdogs, but we never saw it that way. In baseball, anything can happen in a nine inning game. We were together in Brooklyn for the qualifier, most of us were, and we knew the talent that we had and the group of guys that we had. When you want something real bad, anything can happen, and as far as what it means for Israel, it's huge. It gives more recognition to baseball and hopefully more attention on baseball and Israel. NATE FREIMAN: So we knew that we had talent in this locker room, and I've personally played with a lot of these guys over the past three or four years. A lot of the other guys, we met in September, and we knew if we could get here, we'd have a shot to compete with anybody. And in a short tournament, in March, it comes down to execution on the day. This group, we're so close, and this means so much to each guy; that it's something that we've been looking forward to all off season and been working hard. And to be able to, as Americans, to be able to represent Israel, which in turn represents the worldwide group of Jewish people, is something extremely special; and that some day, we hope that this jump starts the program in Israel, and that some day there are Israelis playing on this team. We have Shlomo, but for the most part this team is comprised of Americans; and that this generates interest over there and eventually they are playing. Q. I don't know how much you guys are able to pay attention to back in the States, but there's been a serious uptick in anti Semitism, defacing of cemeteries, bomb threats to JCCs. What does it mean to you representing Jewish people and putting up maybe a positive image, when there seems to be more negativity aimed at Jewish people in the United States? ZACH BORENSTEIN: That's a good question. There's always going to be racism and anti Semitism and prejudice in the world. That's just the way it is. And the uptake in recent months is discouraging. It's hard to see and hopefully we can just inspire the community to rise against that hate and show people that whatever stereotypes and things that people may hear, it's a bunch of B.S. You hate to see it and hopefully we can overcome that. NATE FREIMAN: You tend to hate things that you don't know very well, and this tournament is about showing that across our borders and cultures, we have more in common than we have different. That's what this is all about, to be on the field with the same people from Korea and Taiwan and Israel and all over the Dutch empire; we're all in this to play baseball. We're in this to showcase across our cultures, like I said, what we have in common. And racism, anti Semitism and hate is born out of ignorance and not knowing. We're here to show people that we're we're here to show people what we have in common. Q. You talked about this issue, and you have the mascot, the Mensch on the Bench. What does the mascot mean, can you talk about that? NATE FREIMAN: The Mensch on the Bench is our official mascot. He signifies that where is Decker? (Laughter). ZACH BORENSTEIN: I was just going to say that I don't know much about the Mensch on the Bench sitting on the bench with us, other than Cody Decker brought him with, and we love him. Q. Nate, you probably don't face a lot of pitchers who are taller than you. What was that last at bat like for you, believed to be the tallest batter match up in baseball history? NATE FREIMAN: I get in the box, the first thing I think, I look on the mound and he's standing on it and I think, man, this guy's tall. Like, okay, sure. That's kind of funny. But the guy's tall. Comes downhill, he's got good stuff. I was in a spot where first base open there, so he was trying to get me to chase. He's got good stuff. Q. You had a good score and you are advancing to Tokyo and you are the top of Pool A, and I believe you are not satisfied with advancing to Tokyo. For now, what is your next goal? I believe you want to go Los Angeles for the semifinal, so I would like to know what is the opinion for both of you? ZACH BORENSTEIN: Obviously the goal when we all got together was not just to play a few games, have fun and go back home; but was to compete at a high level and advance, and not just advance to Tokyo, but to Los Angeles, as well, and that's still a goal. We know that we can't look ahead and start thinking about L.A. and the semifinal and the final games, but we have to focus on who we are going to play over there in Tokyo and we know that we come ready to play, we come prepared and we compete at a high level. Like we said before, anything can happen, and our goal is to win it all. I think that's every team's goal when they come here. I don't think anybody is coming here to go two and out or just have fun. You're trying to represent your country and a people, and show everybody, show the world, that you can play at a high level. NATE FREIMAN: Our goal going into Tokyo is the same as our goal coming into Seoul, and that's to advance to the next round. And coming into Seoul, saying we are coming into this pool and we want to advance; that might have struck some people as a little unlikely. But I think now, maybe a little bit less. We see ourselves as serious contenders in this tournament every time we take the field. We are taking the field to win the game and we have the people on this team to do it. So we are going to Tokyo and our goal is to advance to Los Angeles. Q. Before you are participating in this team, of course you recognize that you're Jewish, but I heard that you didn't know about your roots. But as a team, being a part of this game and this team, how did that change your personality? How did being part of the team help you connect with your roots? ZACH BORENSTEIN: Connecting with my roots? I missed out on the trip to Israel in this past off season. So that's unfortunate. I think just being around a group of guys that have a similar background as you, it helps bring us together a little bit quicker. I think when we all came together, it didn't make much time to mesh and really become one unit. We share a heritage and we're representing a people, and we take that very seriously, and we're proud to do so. So just a very exciting time for us. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports   |
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