JN Ryan Lavarnway started playing baseball when he was 5 years old, attended Yale University, where he set National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) records for batting and slugging percentages, won the World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2013, was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2019 and spent multiple years playing with the Israel National Baseball Team (Team Israel).

He retired from playing two years ago and now coaches in a “roving capacity.” He gives motivational speeches to Jewish and non-Jewish audiences across the country.

Lavarnway is currently in Arizona coaching the Chicago Cubs during spring training. On Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m., he will read from his children’s book, “Baseball and Belonging,” answer audience questions and play some Wiffle Ball with the kids at an event presented by NowGen and PJ Library, both programs of the Center for Jewish Philanthropy of Greater Phoenix, and other Jewish organizations.

Lavarnway’s mom is Jewish, and his father is not, so growing up he always felt “half or neither” when it came to religion. “As a 28-year-old actually playing for Team Israel and representing Israel internationally, I really found my place in the Jewish community and then my own Jewish identity afterward,” he said.

He played on Team Israel in the 2016 World Baseball Classic qualifier, the 2017 World Baseball Classic tournament, the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the 2023 European Championships, they named him as the first-ever captain of the national team.

“If you ever want to feel proud of your Judaism, put Israel across your chest and stand on the line while ‘Hatikvah,’ the Israeli National Anthem plays,” he said. “Looking out in the stands and seeing these Jewish kids and Jewish fans have a team of Jews to root for, really made me want to be a role model for this community.”

One of his favorite baseball memories was during the 2017 tournament when Team Israel was playing the South Korean home team in a sold-out stadium. One of his best friends on the team, Josh Zeid, had been the losing pitcher when the team tried to qualify four years earlier.

“When we finally got the win, there was so much emotion,” he said. “There had been so much that had gone into that game, and even though it was the first game of this tournament, it was proof that we belonged there. As a team of Jewish baseball players, we could compete with anyone in the world.”

Team Israel has asked him to play in the European Championships again this September, but he has yet to decide if he will return.

This story was originally published in the Jewish News. To read the rest of the article, click HERE.

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