Palestine climbs baseball rankings after Asia Baseball Championship appearance
The Palestine national baseball team is now ranked No. 46 in the world after its performance at the Asia Baseball Championship (ABC).
Palestine concluded its first appearance at the ABC with a 4-0 victory against No. 42nd-ranked Thailand, earning a 2-3 record and a three-way tie with Pakistan and Hong Kong.
The fairly new team, established in 2017, faced some challenges during the tournament, especially when they played against two of the top five teams in the world—South Korea (No. 4) and tournament host Taiwan (No. 5). But Palestine started off the tournament by putting the baseball world on notice by defeating No. 32--ranked Hong Kong 3-1 in Taichung.
Mufareh, who had the best earned run average (0.00) and most wins (2-0) of the tournament, pitched seven innings and allowed only one unearned run against Hong Kong. He followed up that outing by pitching six scoreless innings against Thailand. His outstanding performance in the team’s finale was backed up by Adnan Jaber, who hit a bases-clearing 3-run double with two outs in the sixth inning of a scoreless game.
Steve Mufareh’s performance earned him the best Earned Run Average and Best Win/Loss awards of the Asia Baseball Championship. He pitched 13 scoreless innings and won both starts.
Tariq Suboh, who drove in two runs against Hong Kong, led the tournament with a .667 on-base percentage and hit .375. Yunis Haleem was dubbed the Palestinian Shohei Ohtani by media members after their loss toTaiwan (Chinese Taipei). Haleem, who started that game on the mound, made a spectacular play on a fly ball in foul territory that made Taiwanese announcers describe the play as “God like.”
Palestine qualified for the ABC by placing second at the West Asia Cup (WAC) in Islamabad, Pakistan last January—the team’s first international tournament.
After losing to Pakistan in the finals of the WAC, Palestine recruited and added players like Charles “Tripp” Haddad, Dylan Ahmad, Brent Powers, and Mufareh. The team also added Ozzie Guillen Jr. as manager and Oney Guillen as assistant manager—both sons of baseball legend Ozzie Guillen.
In preparation for the ABC, Palestine and Pakistan agreed to a friendly exhibition rematch last summer in the United States, where Palestine won 5-3. Pakistan avenged that loss by defeating Palestine during their rubber match in Taipei.
Following an inspiring performance in Taiwan and Islamabad, the Palestinian baseball team is hoping to be invited to more international tournaments, a World Baseball Classic qualifier, and earn the right to compete in the ABC again. Palestine finished this calendar year with a 7-4 record during international play.
“In Palestine, the national team just got put together a couple of years ago and the fact that we are here competing already is a great honor,” Guiller Jr. told Taiwanese reporters during the tournament.
The team was founded by Mahmoud Tafesh. Tafesh, who currently lives in Turkey, attended the tournament in place of the Palestinian Baseball and Softball Federation’s current president and his brother, Ahmed Tafesh. Ahmed and his son Mustafa, who is a member of the team, were not able to travel with the team because of the ongoing siege and bombardment of Gaza. Israel murdered several of the Tafesh family members during the last two months.
“Once we got those three runs [against Thailand]] tears came down my eyes,” Tafesh told the team at the conclusion of their run. “I prayed and prayed we would accomplish this victory for the martyrs and my family in Gaza. I’m proud of each and every one of you. You made Palestine proud.”
