Shlomo Lipetz (; born February 11, 1979) is an Israeli baseball player who pitches for Team Israel. He is also Vice President of Programming and music director at City Winery in New York City. He was on the Israel national team for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He also pitched for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament in Italy in September 2019, which Israel won to qualify to play baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He pitched for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021. Lipetz will pitch for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in Miami, in March 2023. Early and personal life Lipetz was born and raised in Tel Aviv, Israel. His parents, Aharon and Debra Lipetz, are graduates of New York University. Lipetz has a brother, Gaby. He now lives in Brooklyn, New York. Baseball Early years, college, and Israel Baseball League Lipetz started playing baseball at an early age, having gotten hooked on the game in 1986 on a trip to New York in which he saw the New York Mets play. At age 10 he represented Israel at the Little League World Series preliminaries at the Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. He attended Ironi High School in Tel Aviv, Israel. There, he competed in baseball, basketball, soccer, and track. While serving in the Israel Defense Forces, Lipetz received the "Outstanding Athlete" status allowing him to continue to train and compete while serving in the military. Following his army service, Lipetz played baseball for San Diego Mesa College for two seasons. He walked on to the team and became the second native-born Israeli to play college baseball in the United States, after pitcher Dan Rothem. While in college, he improved his fastball from 66 mph to 88 mph. Transferring to the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) his junior year on an athletic scholarship, he led the Tritons staff with a 2.84 ERA, and was 5–0 with 3 saves in 24 relief appearances; Lipetz walked just 3 in 38 innings. In 2005, the senior went 2–4 with 7 saves and a 4.42 ERA as UCSD's closer. Following college, Lipetz continued his baseball career in New York in semipro leagues. He also played a short pro season in Mexico, and as a semi-pro in the independent Pedrin Zorrilla Baseball League