Jacob Steinmetz (born July 19, 2003) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

in the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

organization. He was selected in the third round of the 2021 Major League Baseball (MLB) draft by the Diamondbacks. He was the first practicing

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

player to be selected in the

MLB draft The Major League Baseball draft (officially the Rule 4 Draft; also known as the first-year player draft or amateur draft) is the primary mechanism by which Major League Baseball (MLB) assigns amateur baseball players from high schools, colleg ...

. He played for Team Israel in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21. It was originally scheduled to take place in ...

in Miami, Florida.

Early life

Steinmetz was born in

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, to Elliot Steinmetz and Sima Steinmetz, and grew up in

Woodmere, New York Woodmere is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States. The population was 18,669 at the 2020 census. Woodmere is one of the Long Island communities known as the Five Towns, wh ...

. His father played college basketball for

Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a Private university, private Modern Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jewish university with four campuses in New York City.

, is a practicing lawyer, and has been the head men's coach for the Yeshiva University Maccabees basketball team since 2014; his mother is an accountant. He was raised as a Modern Orthodox Jew, and his family is a member of

Young Israel The National Council of Young Israel (NCYI) or Young Israel (in Hebrew: , ), is a synagogue-based Orthodox Judaism organization in the United States with a network of affiliated "Young Israel" synagogues. Young Israel was founded in 1912, in it ...

of Woodmere in

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. He started playing baseball with the Young Israel of Woodmere team in the

shul A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as Jewi ...

league. In second grade he moved on to the Hewlett-Woodmere District League in 2008. At age 7, he tried out for the Long Island Chargers travel team, and made the team. The team won the 2012 National Junior Baseball League 9U level championship, with him as the starting

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the ...

as he batted .415 with an on base percentage of .642, and an

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

of 3.20. He was the only Jewish player on the team, and was 4' 8" and the youngest player on the team.

High school

Steinmetz attended the Orthodox Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns and Rockaway (HAFTR), where Steinmetz played baseball. He then switched to the Elev8 Baseball Academy in

Delray Beach, Florida Delray Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population of Delray Beach as of April 1, 2020, was 66,846 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 United States Census. Located in the Miami metropolitan area, De ...

in March 2021, for two months, after his last season of high school ball with HAFTR was cancelled due to the pandemic. His travel team was the Long Island Titans Body Armor, with whom he was named the Most Valuable Pitcher as it won the 2020 PG Super25 17u Northeast Super Qualifier Championship. Steinmetz was accepted at

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

on scholarship, to play

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

baseball. He decided instead to play professional baseball. Perfect Game listed him as the No. 88 overall prospect (including players from college, junior college, and high school) in the 2021 MLB Amateur Draft.

Pitching career

Arizona Diamondbacks organization

Steinmetz was selected in the third round as the 77th overall pick in the

2021 Major League Baseball draft The 2021 Major League Baseball draft took place on July 11–13, 2021. In conjunction with the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the draft was held in Denver. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was s ...

by the

. He signed for a below-slot $500,000. He was the first practicing

player to be selected by a major league team. Arizona scouting director Deric Ladnier said the team liked his "delivery, body, spin rates, plus-velo.... a

curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...

that ... as far as the spin rates ... it's legitimately power stuff. And obviously he's got the body and the size and the projection for what you're looking for...

e's is a Japanese shōnen manga series written and drawn by Satoru Yuiga. It was originally serialized in '' Monthly GFantasy'' from 1997 through 2005, and later published in 16 ''tankōbon'' volumes by Square Enix from March 18, 2003, to Febr ...

supremely talented... we weren't taking him to make this impactful statement y drafting an Orthodox Jewish player We were taking him because of his physical ability." In 2021 Steinmetz pitched one

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

in the

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

s at 17 years of age for the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks. In January 2022, Steinmetz was rated Arizona's #25 prospect, and he was noted for his strong curveball (which ESPN described as "knee-buckling") and a 97-mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. Its distinctive feature is its high speed. "Power pitchers," such as former major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, relied on the ...

. In 2022, he pitched for the Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks at 18 years of age. He was 0–7 with a 7.88

in 11 games (7 starts). He pitched 24 innings and struck out 27 batters (10.1 strikeouts per 9 innings).

International career

Steinmetz played for the Israeli national baseball team in the

in Miami, Florida, in March 2023, under manager

Ian Kinsler Ian Michael Kinsler (; born June 22, 1982) is an American-Israeli former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 14 seasons for the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles A ...

and alongside All Star outfielder

Joc Pederson Joc Russell Pederson ( ; born April 21, 1992) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, San ...

and pitcher

Dean Kremer Dean Junior Kremer (; born January 7, 1996) is an Israeli–American professional baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB). In 2015, he became the first Israeli drafted by an MLB team. He made his MLB debut in Se ...

. In Israel's third game in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Steinmetz pitched innings against the Dominican Republican and struck out

Manny Machado Manuel Arturo Machado (; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he attende ...

Jeremy Peña Jeremy Joan Peña (born September 22, 1997) is a Dominican Americans, Dominican-American professional baseball shortstop for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He attended the University of Maine and played college baseball for t ...

, and

Gary Sanchez Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...

Personal life

Steinmetz hails from Woodmere, New York and is Orthodox Jewish, keeping the

Jewish Sabbath Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the cre ...

(which runs from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday—during which time he will play, but walk to and from the stadium, and not ride in a car, bus, or plane), and eats only

kosher (also or , ) is a set of dietary laws dealing with the foods that Jewish people are permitted to eat and how those foods must be prepared according to Jewish law. Food that may be consumed is deemed kosher ( in English, ), from the Ashke ...

food. The Diamondbacks and Steinmetz put in a lot of effort in order to accommodate his religion and baseball such as the ordering of kosher food.

References

External links

Twitter pageInstagram page"2021 Draft: Jacob Steinmetz, RHP; Jacob Steinmetz shows raw potential as a starter, and could be the first Orthodox Jew to make it to the Major Leagues"
MLB.com, May 15, 2021 (video) {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinmetz, Jacob 2003 births Living people American Modern Orthodox Jews Arizona Complex League Diamondbacks players Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Nassau County, New York Baseball players from Queens, New York Hillsboro Hops players Jewish American baseball players People from Woodmere, New York Sportspeople from Hempstead, New York Visalia Rawhide players 2023 World Baseball Classic players 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American sportsmen