Heading Home follows Team Israel’s surprising success in the World Baseball Classic in March 2017. Every player on the team was either an Israeli or a Jewish American eligible for Israeli citizenship under Israel's Law of Return. Ryan Lavarnway, the Team Israel catcher, referring to the Nazi “mischling” law that defined a Jew by even one grandparent mused: “Two generations ago, the way this team was put together would have meant that we were being rounded up to be killed… For us to be able to stand up here and have the Israel flag and Jewish star hanging in the stadium, it we’re here.” The documentary follows the team winning the qualifier, practicing before hundreds of local baseball players in Israel, seeing Israeli sites such as the Western Wall, Yad Vashem, the Dead Sea, and Masada, and taking part in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new baseball field in Bet Shemesh, Israel. It then chronicles the team's performance at the 2017 World Baseball Classic in South Korea and Japan—as they sweep the first round, and play well into the second round. The odds against Israel were 200-1, and it was ranked 41st in the world - while the other teams were primarily the top 15 ranked teams in the world. ESPN compared Team Israel to the Jamaican bobsled team. Israel beat top-ranked teams from Cuba, South Korea, China, Taiwan, and the Netherlands, all ranked in the top 10 in the world, and came in 6th in the tournament.
Cast
Ike Davis as himself
Cody Decker as himself
Sam Fuld as himself
Ty Kelly as himself
Ryan Lavarnway as himself
Jerry Weinstein as himself
Josh Zeid as himself
Production
The movie was the idea of MLB.com reporter Jonathan Mayo, who initially wanted to create a movie that reflected both his affection for baseball and his Jewish background by creating a documentary about Jewish major leaguers traveling to discover their roots, and ended up with a documentary that was about the team's "Cinderella Story" run inthe World Baseball Classic. Mayo and three friends of his from Jewish summer camp -- Daniel Miller, Jeremy Newberger, and Seth Kramer, of Ironbound Films—were the producers. The producers raised $73,000 through Kickstarter.
Release
Heading Home was first released in the United States on August 5, 2018.
Critical response
The Atlanta Jewish Times in its review opined that the documentary "is just as inspirational and exciting as Team Israel's run in the World Baseball Classic." The Israeli newspaper Haaretz said that Heading Home "is at the same time emotional and highly entertaining." The Florida Sun Sentinel called it a "moving underdog story that should inspire people."
