Shlomo Lipetz ( he, שלמה ליפץ; born February 11, 1979) is an Israeli baseball player who pitches for Team Israel. He is also Vice President of Programming and music director at City Winery in New York City. He was on the Israel national team for

Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tournam ...

. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play

baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics Baseball was featured at the 2020 Summer Olympics, in Tokyo, for the first time since the 2008 Summer Olympics. Six national teams competed in the tournament: Israel, Japan (host), Mexico, South Korea, the United States, and the Dominican Rep ...

. He pitched for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021. Lipetz pitched for Team Israel in the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

Early and personal life

Lipetz was born and raised in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

, Israel.Mark Oshidari and David Wahlstrom (2005)
''2005 UC San Diego Tritons Baseball Media Guide''
/ref>"Hear it from the Players: Kremer and Lipetz,"
האיגוד הישראלי לבייסבול, September 2016. His parents, Aharon and Debra Lipetz, are graduates of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, ...

. Lipetz has a brother, Gaby. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York.Jason Stromberg (September 27, 2012)
"Israel fulfills diamond dreams,"
''Sun Sentinel''.

Baseball

Early years, college, and Israel Baseball League

Lipetz started playing baseball at an early age, having gotten hooked on the game in 1986 on a trip to New York in which he saw the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

play. At age 10 he represented Israel at the

Little League World Series The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the ...

preliminaries at the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany.Haim Handwerker (July 26, 2011)
"Baseball Profile Serving Wine With a Curveball; Israel's European dreams rest on pitcher Shlomo Lipetz, a sabra living in the Big Apple,"
''Haaretz''.Kate Feldman (April 19, 2017)
">"How Shlomo Lipetz and Team Israel Brought Baseball Back to the Promised Land,"
''The Hardball Times''. He attended Ironi High School in Tel Aviv, Israel. There, he competed in baseball, basketball, soccer, and track. While serving in the Israel Defense Forces, Lipetz received the "Outstanding Athlete" status allowing him to continue to train and compete while serving in the military.Alex Simon (July 26, 2016)
"Israeli Pitcher Won’t Let Go Of Baseball"
''Baseball America''. Following his army service, Lipetz played baseball for

San Diego Mesa College San Diego Mesa College (Mesa College or Mesa) is a public community college in Clairemont Mesa in San Diego, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges and the San Diego Community College District. It is the largest communit ...

for two seasons. He walked on to the team and became the second native-born Israeli to play college baseball in the United States, after pitcher Dan Rothem."San Diego Mesa College Baseball Program History"
gosdmesa.com. While in college, he improved his

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have t ...

from 66 mph to 88 mph. Transferring to the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

(UC San Diego) his junior year on an athletic scholarship, he led the Tritons staff with a 2.84 ERA, and was 5–0 with 3 saves in 24 relief appearances; Lipetz

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

ed just 3 in 38

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 ...

s. In 2005, the senior went 2–4 with 7 saves and a 4.42 ERA as UCSD's closer. Following college, Lipetz continued his baseball career in New York in semipro leagues. He also played a short pro season in Mexico, and as a

semi-pro ''Semi-Pro'' is a 2008 American sports comedy film. The film was directed by Kent Alterman in his directorial debut, written by Scot Armstrong, and produced by Jimmy Miller. It stars Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, André Benjamin and Maura Tierne ...

in the independent Pedrin Zorrilla Baseball League in Brooklyn. He played for the Netanya Tigers in the 2007 Israel Baseball League season. Lipetz led the league with a 0.98 ERA, while recording 30 strikeouts, and walking only three.

European Baseball Championship

In the 2010 European Baseball Championship qualifiers, in 2008, Lipetz led Team Israel in wins going 2–0 with a 2.63 ERA. Lipetz did not play during the first game, against Bulgaria. During the second game, Lipetz allowed three runs in a relief inning against Croatia. In the third game, against Serbia, Lipetz threw 2.2 innings in relief, giving up 1

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an err ...

on 6 hits. During the fourth and final game, against Lithuania, Lipetz tossed a 10-inning, 4-hit

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pit ...

to beat Lithuania 2–1. He led that qualifier in victories and tied for second in strikeouts. During the 2012 European Baseball Championship qualifiers, in 2011, Lipetz pitched in 3 of the 5 games. Lipetz beat Georgia in the opener pitching 7 innings and striking out 9. Lipetz did not appear in the second game, against Great Britain, or in the third game against Lithuania. During the first game of the home/away finals against Great Britain, Lipetz pitched a complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, giving up 6 hits and 3 walks while striking out fives. Later that same day, Lipetz started again, pitching an additional 4.1 innings, giving up one earned run on 6 hits, while recording 4 strikeouts. He threw a total of 214 pitches in the doubleheader. Lipetz started once during the 2016 European Baseball Championship C-Level qualifier in 2014, shutting out Slovenia while striking out 10. He again pitched for Israel in 2015 as part of the B-Level qualifier, for the 2016 European Baseball Championship. Lipetz did not appear in the opening game of the qualifier against Belarus. During the second game, against Poland, Lipetz pitched one inning of relief, allowing two runners on via

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, and allowed an unearned run on a

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball R ...

, however was still credited with the win. Lipetz threw a complete game against Austria giving up 1 run on 5 hits and striking out 8. Lipetz did not appear in the fourth game, against Lituania. Lipetz relieved

Dean Kremer Dean Junior Kremer ( he, דין קרמר; 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 ...

in the final game, against Sweden, with a 5–3 lead, two on and one out in the 8th and was able to retire the side while giving up 1 run, and gave up an additional 5 runs to make the score 9–5, ending the qualifier with a 2–1 record. He pitched for Team Israel at the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contribut ...

World Baseball Classic

Lipetz was one of three Israelis to play for the

Israel national baseball team The Israel national baseball team ( he, נבחרת ישראל בבייסבול) represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, ...

during the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike ...

qualifiers, with Dan Rothem and Alon Leichman, however Lipetz was the only one to see playing time. He appeared in one game, relieving David Kopp with a 7–0 lead in the 9th versus

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, Lipetz recorded only 1 out giving up 2 runs on 3 walks, giving Lipetz a 54.00 ERA. Lipetz was again on Israel's roster for the

2017 World Baseball Classic The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts ...

qualifiers, as the only native Israeli on the team, with Dean Kremer as the only other player holding Israeli citizenship.Jonathan Mark (September 14, 2016)
"The Greatest Jewish Team — Ever; Israel returns to World Baseball Classic,"
''The New York Jewish Week''. He did not pitch in the qualifier, as Israel qualified for a spot in the main tournament. Lipetz was on Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic main tournament in March 2017. Lipetz pitched for Team Israel in the

. He played for Team Israel manager Ian Kinsler, and alongside two-time All Star outfielder

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

, starting pitcher

, and others.

Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament

Lipetz also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play

in Tokyo. In the tournament he was 0–0 with a 0.00 ERA over 0.1 innings, securing the last out of the tournament for Team Israel. Commenting on the team's reaction to the realization that they will be competing at the 2020 Olympics, he said: “We all have goosebumps.”

2020 Olympics

He pitched for Team Israel in two games in relief at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021.

Music director

Lipetz works at City Winery in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

in New York City, where he serves as the Vice President of Programming and books music for their seven locations. Lipetz began working at City Winery in 2008 with its founding."City Winery; Our Team; Shlomo Lipetz, Vice President, Programming,"
citywinery.com.

References

External links

"Exclusive Interview: Shlomo Lipetz of City Winery,"
musicbiz101wp.com, April 21, 2020. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lipetz, Shlomo 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Tel Aviv Baseball players from Brooklyn San Diego Mesa College alumni UC San Diego Tritons baseball players Israel Baseball League players Israeli baseball players Israeli Jews Jewish baseball players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players Baseball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic baseball players for Israel