Nate Fish

Nate Fish (; born January 2, 1980) is an American-Israeli writer, artist, professional baseball utility player, and coach. He is the CEO of Israel Baseball America, and manager of the Israel national baseball team. He previously managed the Savannah Bananas, an independent exhibition baseball team.

Fish played shortstop, third base, outfield, and catcher.

Early life

Fish was born in Hanover, New Hampshire, and is Jewish.

Baseball

United States

Fish attended Shaker Heights High School from 1994 to 1998. He was a high school teammate of Matt Guerrier, who went on to play for the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Chicago Cubs. As a senior, Fish was the captain of the Bearcats, hit .287 with seven home runs, and set the Conference USA record with six hits in a game.

At the 2005 Maccabiah Games Fish played for Team USA, and won a gold medal.

In 2010, Fish co-founded and managed the Yorkville Baseball Academy in New York City.

In 2017, he was Assistant Coach of the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod Baseball League.

In 2021, Fish was announced as manager of the Savannah Bananas Premier Pro Team

Israel The Israel Association of Baseball appointed Nate Fish as the manager for the senior national team in August 2021. Prior to that he served a number of positions including player and coach.

European Baseball Championship

Fish was the starting shortstop for Israel in the 2014 and 2015 qualifying rounds for the 2016 European Baseball Championship. The team won the C Pool in 2014, and finished third in the B Pool in 2015, behind Sweden and Austria.

In the C-Level qualifier in 2014, Fish was the starting shortstop in all five games, and batted third. During the opening game against Finland, Fish went 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, 2 RBIs, and a run scored. During the second game, against Slovenia, Fish went 0-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. During the third game, against Latvia, Fish went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. In the semifinals game against Romania, Fish went 2-for-5 with a home run and a strikeout. In the finals, against Slovenia, Fish went 1-for-5 with a run scored, as Israel went on to win 14-0 and moved on to the B-Level qualifier.

In the B-Level qualifier in 2015, Fish was once the starting shortstop in all five games, and batted fifth. During the opening game against Belarus, Fish went 2-for-4 with a double, two walks, and a run scored. During the second game, against Poland, Fish went 1-for-3 with a walk. During the third game, against Austria, Fish went 2-for-4 with a RBI, a run, and was hit by a pitch twice. During the fourth game, against Lithuania, Fish got a walk and a double in four at-bats, and struck out once. During the final game against Sweden, Fish went 2-for-5 with a double and a strikeout.

Fish was manager of the Israel team that came second at the 2021 European Championships.

World Baseball Classic

Fish was the bullpen catcher and coach for Team Israel at the 2013 World Baseball Classic in Jupiter, Florida. Team Israel beat Spain and South Africa, but lost in the finals to Spain and did not qualify for the 2013 WBC.

In 2016, Fish was on the coaching staff for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier in Brooklyn, New York. Team Israel beat Great Britain and Brazil to qualify for the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He was Team Israel's first base coach in the 2017 World Baseball Classic in South Korea and Japan.

2020 Olympic Games Fish was 3rd base coach of the Israel team that finished 5th at the 2020 Olympic Games.

Other Israel activities In 2007, Fish played third base for the Tel Aviv Lightning in the only year of the Israel Baseball League. He hit .347 and won the gold glove award for the best defensive infielder in the league. He made aliyah in 2013 to accept the position, and spent his time visiting Israeli schools to introduce kids to baseball.

While serving as director for Israel Baseball, Fish co-founded the program Baseball Le’Kulam (Baseball for All) to bring Arab and Jewish kids in Israel together. Baseball Le'Kulam was featured during the 2016 AIPAC conference in Washington DC.

Other In 2008, Fish played for the Haar Disciples in Germany’s Bundesliga. He hit .320 while fielding .947 while playing third base and catching.

Fish has also played baseball professionally in Argentina, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic.

Other ventures

Writing Fish has a degree from the New School University in New York with a focus on creative writing. He has published features in Heeb Magazine and Leveled Magazine. In 2012, he created the blog King of Jewish Baseball. In 2016, he established the Brick of Gold Publishing Company. Fish's first book was Israelis Drive Anything, a photo series of Israelis driving homemade vehicles. He has since released two collections of poetry, 98.6 Poems, and Poems for My Wife: Love Poems for Non-Romantics. The Brick of Gold Publishing Company has also released two books of writing from California State Prisons edited by Fish, Man, I Wish We Would Have Known: Letters from Calipatria State Prison, and Disconnected/Reconnected: Writing from Lancaster State Prison. He is the Author and publisher of You're A Racist: Thoughts on Race in America and 128-G.

Art In 2002 Fish moved to Brooklyn in order to focus on visual arts.