Team Czech Republic Roster | Pool B Schedule | Can a Czech Firefighter Compete With MLB's Biggest Stars? (NYTimes.com)
 
Tokyo, Japan – (March 9, 2023) – The Fordham baseball team will have multiple former players taking part in the World Baseball Classic which gets underway this week.  Earlier, it was announced the Nick Martinez will be on Team USA, but also in the tournament will be pitcher Jake Rabinowitz, who was a part of the Fordham baseball team from 2006-09.
 
Martinez and Rabinowitz were teammates at Fordham on the 2009 squad.
 
Rabinowitz will be pitching for the Czech Republic, which begins its Pool B Schedule on Thursday in Tokyo, Japan against China.  Australia, Korea, and defending World Baseball Class Champion are also in Pool B.
 
Rabinowitz, who has lived in the Czech Republic for the last 10 years and holds a Czech passport, is one of only three players who did not grow up there, along with Eric Sogard, a veteran major league infielder, who was invited to join the team because his mother is Czech. The same goes for Willie Escala, a Czech Cuban American infielder in independent professional ball, whose mother, Iva, left the Czech Republic during the communist era, and eventually settled in Miami.
 
Rabinowitz spent four seasons at Fordham, primarily as a pitcher.  He made 48 career appearances, posting seven wins and 87 strikeouts over 117.0 inning pitched.  After Fordham, he went on to play professionally in the Czech Republic for Tempo Titans Praha, beginning in 2014.  Aside from his playing time, he has also been a coach for several teams, which includes managing the first Czech women's national at the 2019 European Women's Championship.