With his mind on Israel, Orioles’ Dean Kremer gave up 6 runs in inning and a half

‘It’s going to be in the back of my head’

Dean Kremer of the Baltimore Orioles, prior to a game at Camden Yards. Photo by Brandon Sloter/Getty Images

By Louis Keene October 10, 2023

Dean Kremer took the mound Tuesday with his Baltimore Orioles in a hole — and with a hole in his heart.

Kremer, the first Israeli drafted by an MLB team, was born in Stockton, California, to Israeli parents. He has family in Israel and spends part of the offseason there, and pitched for Team Israel in the World Baseball Classic in March.

After Hamas terrorists massacred hundreds of Israelis in an attack this weekend, Kremer posted in Hebrew on Instagram, saying, “No words. My heart is broken.”

Baltimore Orioles' Dean Kremer (via @hesilf) pic.twitter.com/Z5b5QJP0R9

— Louis Keene (@thislouis) October 9, 2023

He told assembled media on Monday that his family in Israel was safe, but that the situation continued to weigh on him.

“I still want to pitch, but, I mean, it’s going to be in the back of my head,” Kremer said.

The first start of the 27-year-old’s playoff career came with the Orioles — the American League’s top-seeded team — having lost the first two games of their best-of-five series against the Texas Rangers. Kremer was yanked in the second inning after giving up six runs, and the Rangers advanced to the American League Championship after a 7-1 romp.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde had told Kremer on Sunday, the day after the attacks, that he would be starting Game 3.

Support from the Orioles

Kremer told reporters that Hyde and “almost every single person in the clubhouse” had checked in on him since the attacks. Several of those teammates also posted MLB’s statement expressing solidarity with Israel.

Support from Dean Kremer's Orioles teammates (h/t @hesilf) https://t.co/F6jQOHaOHZ

— Louis Keene (@thislouis) October 9, 2023

In his news conference announcing Kremer as the starter, Hyde said the pitcher “seemed OK” and “ready to pitch.”

“Obviously he’s very disturbed, but I think he’s really looking forward to pitching tomorrow,” Hyde said. “I didn’t sense that it was gonna affect him.”

Kremer won 13 games this year for the Orioles, logging a 4.12 ERA, with 157 strikeouts in 172 innings. He turned in two of his best performances in the team’s playoff and division clinchers.

The team won 101 games on its way to the franchise’s first playoff appearance since 2016.

“Hopefully Dean can give us some innings, and get a nice start for us,” Hyde said. Alas, it was not to be.

Louis Keene is a reporter for the Forward. Keene has also been published in The New York Times, New York Magazine and VICE. He won the Simon Rockower Award from the American Jewish Press Association for feature writing in 2022, in addition to awards from the LA Press Club and the San Diego Press Club. He is based in Los Angeles and can be followed on Twitter @thislouis.

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