Ty Kelly draws a walk in Team Israel’s 3/6/2017 game against South Korea (Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Ty Kelly, a 29-year-old utility man who was called-up by the New York Mets on July 9, has officially joined the ranks of Jewish major leaguers.

Some might say Jewish Baseball News is a little late to the game in recognizing Kelly. The California native not only played on Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic but visited the Holy Land with his mother and fellow ballplayers beforehand, a trip chronicled in the recent documentary Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel.

When Jewish Baseball News interviewed Kelly last year, the switch-hitter spoke enthusiastically about Israel but hesitated to call himself exclusively Jewish, having attended a Catholic high school and identifying as such earlier in life (see the Jewish Baseball News guidelines for inclusion here).

But in response to a recent e-mail from our friends at Jewish Sports Review, Kelly wrote simply: “My mom is Jewish and I don’t practice any other faiths.”

A true journeyman who has played both infield and outfield for six franchises, Kelly made his major-league debut in 2016 with the Mets, had just over 100 at-bats with the Phillies in 2017, and signed with the Mets again in early 2018.

We wish Ty a hearty Mazel Tov on his recent call-up. Please join us in welcoming him via Twitter.

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