Steven Mufareh pitches scoreless inning during Baseball United Debut
Steven Mufareh pitched a scoreless inning in relief during his Baseball United debut against the Arabia Wolves. He retired the Wolves in order and struck out one batter during the bottom of the 7th inning of Game two of the UAE Series..
Mufareh, a starting pitcher for Palestine’s national team, was selected to compete in Baseball United’s UAE series as a member of the MidEast Falcons. Palestine in America caught up with Mufarah to discuss the experience, his performance and what he expects from Palestine’s national team in the near future.
Palestine in America (PiA): Yunis Halim, who's one of those teammates out there with you, this is his second Baseball United experience. Was he able to give you any tips before heading out there? And if he did, can you share some of that with us?
Steven Mufareh (SM): Before I went out there, I was stressing out a little bit, but at the end of the dayn[Yunis Halim said] ‘Dude, look where you're at. You're surrounded by pros. You're in Dubai. Go out there and have fun.’ You know, he's been there before. He really helped me a lot get through that inning.
PiA: How did it feel pitching against that type of competition?
SM: This was by far the best competition I've played against. Pitching in the Asian baseball Championships, the whole team's not professional baseball players. They're pretty good, obviously, but [the Baseball United] experience is on another level, and getting out there on the mound is just like, my brain just shut off, you know. I'm so locked in, and I'm just throwing the ball over the plate at that point.
PiA: Were you star struck at all? Playing against guys like Didi Gregorius and Robinson Cano.
SM: Oh, at first it was star struck feeling.When I had two outs, I saw Didi on deck, and I'm thinking, like, oh God, if I don't get this guy out, I gotta face Didi, and then if I don't get Didi out, I gotta face Robinson Cano. And I'm just like, oh my gosh, if I don't get this dude out, I might be screwed. But at the end of the day, it all worked out, and we got through it.
PiA: I saw that cm [Syam Lafi] was catching for you. That's your teammate, obviously, with the Palestine National Team. Did that make it a little bit more comforting being on the mound, knowing that he was behind the plate?
SM: Of course. I was looking at him in the eyes, and he's just like, ‘breathe.’ We got through it together. And, I mean, I was a little nervous for him, it was his first time catching in a while, but we got through it together.
PiA: What did he tell you about that? Because, you know, I was pretty shocked to see him behind the plate catching. For Palestine National Team, he's typically a second baseman, plays some outfield. He could do it all, really, but we're used to seeing him in the infield taking ground balls. So did he say anything to you before he went out there?
SM: No, we actually found out at the same time that we were both going in. I'm warming up in, the bullpen coach comes up, and he's like, you're going in, Syam. And I looked at [Syam], and I was like, you're going in? He was like, ‘yeah.’ I was like, All right, let's do this.
PiA: How did you find out that you got chosen to play for the Mid East falcons, and what was that experience like?
SM: I knew the opportunity could come along the way, after the Arab Classic. I performed decently well, and I was in talks with some of the guys from Baseball United. And then about a month and a half ago, they reached out.
PiA: Did you know how you were going to be used?
SM: I had no idea me and Yunis [Halim] were actually talking like we might not even pitch, but the experience is still great. And then funy thing is, as we're talking in the dugout, we're like, we might not pitch, then coach comes up to us and says, “Hey, booth, you get ready. You guys are going in.”
PiA: It was nice to see all four players from Palestine’s national team get playing time during the second game of this three game series. How do you think that people back home in Palestine are reacting to how you guys performed and represented?
SM: I really hope they're proud to see our people out there representing in a professional matter. I hope it means the world to them and hopefully we're representing them well.
PiA: Moving forward, what do you expect from Palestine’s national team?
SM: Hopefully we get first place in the West Asian Cup, and then we get to my second Asian Baseball Championships that I'll be a part of, and hopefully we just compete pretty well in the future.
