New York, United States - 3 September, 2026 - In Where Traditions Meet, Peter Kurz tells the firsthand story of how a 200-to-1 long shot stunned the World Baseball Classic and chased a dream all the way to the Tokyo Olympics.
When Team Israel took the field at the 2017 World Baseball Classic, almost no one gave them a chance. Ranked 41st in the world — dead last in the 16-team field — they were such long shots that ESPN dubbed them "the Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC," and oddsmakers set them at 200-to-1. What happened next became one of the great Cinderella stories in modern baseball.
In quick succession, Israel beat third-ranked South Korea 2-1 in extra innings, hammered fourth-ranked Chinese Taipei 15-7, and topped ninth-ranked Netherlands to sweep their group. Then, in Tokyo, they upset fifth-ranked Cuba to run their record to a perfect 4-0 before their run finally ended. Overnight, a team most fans had never heard of — quirky "Mensch on a Bench" mascot and all — became the darlings of the tournament.
The man who built it
Where Traditions Meet is the inside story of that miracle, told by the person who spent 25 years making it possible: Peter Kurz, the General Manager of Team Israel and President of the Federation. From the establishment of the Israel Association of Baseball and the short-lived pro league of 2007, through the agony of a qualifier lost to Spain in 2012 and the ecstasy of shocking the world in Korea and Japan in 2017, Kurz was in the room for all of it — and he holds nothing back.
The quest for gold
The WBC was only the beginning. The book follows Israel's ultimate quest for Olympic gold — a qualifying odyssey through Bulgaria, Lithuania, Bonn and Bologna that ended with Israel becoming one of only six nations on earth to reach the COVID-delayed Tokyo Olympics, where they finished fifth. Ken Belson of The New York Times calls the book a "one-of-a-kind sports story," and it is: a first-hand account of how a team of nobodies made the whole baseball world stand up and take notice.
Get the Book
Where Traditions Meet: The Personal Inside Story of the Israel Baseball Quest for Olympic Gold is available now in print and eBook, at a limited-time discount of 50%. Order your copy today — and follow a dream from the sandlots to the Olympic stage
Buy on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Where-Traditions-Meet-Personal-Baseball/dp/9655977943
About the Author
Peter Kurz has been a driving force in Israeli baseball for more than 25 years. American-born and an immigrant to Israel, he served as President, General Manager, and CEO of the Israel Association of Baseball. He was General Manager of Team Israel throughout its historic World Baseball Classic and Olympic runs. A recipient of Israel's prestigious Bonei Zion Prize, he lives in Israel with his family. Where Traditions Meet is his first-hand account of that improbable journey.
Learn more: http://wheretraditionsmeet.com/
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