Ty Kelly bats in an exhibition game with Team Israel in Arizona, May 2021. (Courtesy of Israel Baseball/ via JTA) Team Israel's Ian Kinsler blows a bubble while playing second base during an exhibition game in Arizona. (Courtesy of Israel Baseball/ via JTA) This will be the first Israeli baseball team to play in the Olympics. (Courtesy of Israel Baseball/ via JTA) JTA — In May, as the latest violent Israel-Gaza conflict heated up, Ty Kelly did something he could never do in any other professional baseball dugout: He turned to some teammates to learn more about the situation. Kelly, a 32-year-old currently playing for the Tacoma Rainiers in the Seattle Mariners’ minor league system, was in Arizona for a training camp with the Olympics-bound Team Israel squad.