Assaf Lowengart, born in Israel in 1998, made history as he became the first Israeli-born position player to play a professional baseball game in the United States. He recently became the first Israeli-born position player to sign a professional contract with an American team. He signed with the New York Boulders of the Frontier League on February 8th.
Lowengart made his debut for the Boulders on Tuesday. The shortstop went one for two with a double, walk, and hit-by-pitch in four plate appearances, he also scored a run.
He has played on the global stage before. In 2020, he competed with Israel in the Olympics, and he was also a member of Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
A key player on Team Israel in 2019, he helped Israel win three tournament games and clinch a spot in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lowengart is not a stranger to playing baseball in America. He played two seasons at Mansfield University of Pennsylvania, a Division-II school. At Mansfield, Lowengart batted .320 with 22 home runs during his two years. He then transferred to Division-I William & Mary. During the team’s first game, he broke his ankle. However, he stayed in the game and hit a home run two innings later. Lowengart spent the rest of the 2023 season recovering from his injury.
His first home game with the Boulders is expected to be Thursday. It was a momentous moment for Lowengart and a country that hopes to grow the game of baseball and put more players in professional leagues.
Photo Via Instagram
