For Nate Mulberg ’14, baseball and his Jewish heritage have played significant roles in his life—personally and professionally. Now the two will come together on the world’s biggest stage, when Mulberg represents Team Israel as an assistant baseball coach at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

“It was one of my dreams to be a part of Team Israel,” said Mulberg, “and now to qualify for the Olympics—for me it’s really a special experience.”

Currently, Mulberg serves as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the University of Richmond, an NCAA Division I baseball program.

“Being a coach, you get to help people with their lives, become better people, and get through the difficult times. Baseball is a great game to do that,” he said.

He credits the University of Rochester with helping him chart his own course and “chase his passions”—both through the unique undergraduate curriculum and the variety of opportunities available.

An English major, Mulberg was also worked at the campus radio station, wrote for the Campus Times student newspaper, and served as web broadcaster for Yellowjacket athletic events—all in addition to his four-year stint with the baseball program.

“My experience here [at Rochester], taught me what I love, and doing what I love is the most important thing. It’s going to allow me to work harder than I otherwise would, since I enjoy it.”

It was one of my dreams to be a part of Team Israel, and now to qualify for the Olympics—for me it’s really a special experience.

GETTING THE CALL

Even for Mulberg, just to be a part of Team Israel at all, was a circumstance of everything in his life lining up at the right time.

After graduation and landing his first coaching job as an assistant coach at Division III Franklin & Marshall College, he began to work his way up the ranks, securing a position with Division I Bucknell University as an assistant in the summer of 2016.

While there, he was introduced to Eric Holtz, a manager of a baseball program in Westchester County, New York, and father of a former Bucknell baseball player.

Holtz, who is Team Israel’s manager for the upcoming Olympics, shared a common connection with Mulberg. In the past, both were a part of the United States baseball team at the Maccabiah Games, a Jewish-style Olympic type event which takes place every four years in Israel.

Mulberg had played for team USA in the Maccabiah Games in 2009, a few years before Holtz was a coach on the United States squad.

After moving to his position at Richmond, Mulberg coached a pitcher, Jonathan de Marte who was finishing his collegiate baseball career in the spring of 2017.

The following summer, Holtz was named Manager of Team Israel and Mulberg thought de Marte, who is half-Jewish, would make a great addition to the team, which had hopes of qualifying for the Olympics in 2019.

Holtz and de Marte knew of each other due to the fact that they were from similar areas in New York, and the pitcher quickly became one of the most valuable arms on Team Israel’s pitching staff.

Fast forward to the early summer of 2019. Mulberg got a call from Holtz saying that if Team Israel qualified for the European Championships, he would be allowed to add coaches to the staff. And when the team indeed qualified, Holtz extended Mulberg a formal offer to join in an assistant’s role.

“When he asked me to join the team, I was in tears,” explained Mulberg. “Israel, Judaism, and baseball all just mean a lot to me.”

Now after a miraculous run, Mulberg and Team Israel are headed to Tokyo.

Photo captions:
Slide 1: Mulberg (R) with Team Israel pitcher Jonathan de Marte (21).
Slide 2: Team Israel Manager Eric Holtz (L) with Mulberg (R).
Slide 3: Mulberg (L) fist bumping with Major League Baseball player Ty Kelly (11) prior to a game.
Slide 4: Mulberg (center) with former MLB veteran Danny Valencia (19) during game introductions.

A HISTORIC QUALIFICATION

To reach the Olympics, Israel started by finishing fourth in the 12-team European Championships in September 2019, moving the team onto the Europe/Africa Qualifying Tournament later that month.

Israel had a 4-1 record at the qualifying event to finish tied for the top spot with the Netherlands, the #8 ranked team in the world rankings at the time. Then 19th-ranked Israel secured the upset Olympic bid by virtue of its 8-1 head-to-head win over the Dutch during pool play.

Israel will be one of only six countries participating in a stacked field at the 2020 Olympics in baseball.

Mulberg said, “It was a remarkable accomplishment for us to be the first Olympic team from Israel to qualify for the Games in 45 years,” when the Israeli men’s soccer team qualified for the Montreal Olympics in 1976.

And the Israeli team isn’t the only one marking a return to the Olympics. Baseball itself is back this year as a medal event for the first time since 2008 after the sport had been dropped off the programs for London in 2012 and Rio in 2016.

COVID CONCERNS

Yet for Mulberg, Team Israel, and thousands of athletes from around the world, their Summer Olympic dreams were nearly dashed.

Following the global outbreak of the coronavirus in early 2020, Olympic organizers contemplated postponing or canceling the Games altogether.

“It led to a lot of uncertainty, creating a stressful situation of not knowing whether the Games were going to happen or not,” explained Mulberg. “Truthfully, it was not easy coping with the prospects of the Games potentially not happening, given the extraordinary nature in which we qualified.”

Much to the delight of thousands of athletes and coaches from around the world, the Games will go on, albeit a year later and with no spectators.

Logistically, the extra year has allowed the team more time to prepare for the monumental occasion, both on and off the field. Team Israel secured apparel sponsorships to aid in a successful Olympic journey, while also adding a number of high-profile players to the roster, including multiple current and former Major League Baseball players.

As for his expectations, Mulberg expects the team to fight tough in its attempt at a medal.

“The guys on the team are super competitive, so I am confident we will play hard and compete to make Israel proud,” he said.

THE TOUGH CHALLENGE AHEAD

Joining Team Israel in Tokyo is Japan, tournament host and the world’s top ranked team.

Additionally, 3rd-ranked South Korea and 5th-ranked Mexico are in the field after qualifying in late 2019. The final two spots went to 4th-ranked United States and 7th-ranked Dominican Republic.

24th-ranked Israel is matched up in the group round with South Korea and the United States before moving on to the knockout round.

“It will be an extremely challenging group,” said Mulberg. “However, with only six teams in the baseball field, if we are able to finish in the top half of the tournament, we will secure a medal, which would be an amazing accomplishment.”

Looking forward, Mulberg is excited to stay in the Olympic Village and interact with many world-class athletes and coaches. 

“This will be a tremendous opportunity for me to grow and learn new lessons both as a coach, and as a person. It is something that I do not take for granted,” he said.