Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Dean Kremer has dual citizenship in Israel and the United States. Pretty much all of his extended family lives in Israel, which is now in a state of war with the militant group Hamas after deadly attacks in Israel this past weekend.
To say that what’s happening in the Middle East is on Kremer’s mind as he prepares to pitch Game 3 of the American League Divisional Playoffs against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday would be an understatement.
Talking to the media on Monday, the 27-year-old Kremer said he still wants to pitch in Game 3, but that the events in Israel will be “in the back of my mind.” Kremer said that teammates have checked in to see how he’s doing and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spoke with him at breakfast on Monday.
“Gave him my support and sympathies for him and his family that’s involved, and he seemed OK,” Hyde said of his conversation with Dean Kremer. “Obviously, he’s very disturbed and there’s a lot of things going on. But I didn’t sense that it was going to affect … I think he’s really looking forward to pitching tomorrow so I didn’t think it was going to affect him.”
The latest updates out of the Middle East suggest that at least 900 people have died and more than 2,500 others have been injured after Hamas launched the attacks on Israel this past Saturday. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has declared a “state of alert for war” since the attacks took place with that government responding by launching attacks in Gaza.
A native of Northern California, Kremer lives in Israel two months out of the year and has dual citizenship. His parents are native to the Middle Eastern country and had previously completed their service in the IDF. Kremer is said to be fluent in Hebrow and speaks that language at home. One of his younger brothers, Ron, currently serves in the Israeli Army.
His grandparents live in Tel Aviv and in Rishon LeZion, the latter of which was hit by rockets from Gaza on Saturday. Meanwhile, major airlines have cut off flights to Tel Aviv following the attacks on Saturday.
On the baseball field, Dean Kremer will take to the mound against the Rangers in Texas with his Orioles looking to avoid being swept out of the playoffs on Tuesday. He’ll have a lot on his mind outside of the game of baseball. That’s for sure.