Brad Ausmus presents a baseball jersey to Israeli President Shimon Peres while U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro looks on. Photo: Wikipedia.

The Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team is set to hire Brad Ausmus as its new manager, according to multiple reports.

Ausmus managed Israel’s national baseball team in the Qualification Round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic from May to September 2012.

Ausmus, whose mother is Jewish, said in a 2009 interview that he wasn’t religious but that his fan base has made him more aware of his heritage.

“I wasn’t raised with the Jewish religion, so in that sense I don’t really have much feeling toward it…But, however, in the last 10 or so years, I have had quite a few young Jewish boys who will tell me that I am their favorite player or they love watching me play or they feel like baseball is a good fit for them because it worked for me or it worked for Shawn Green or other Jewish players at the Major League level. It has been a sense of pride. If you can have a positive impact on a kid, I’m all for it,” he said at the time.

Ausmus played on four teams in his 17-year career, which began in 1993, most recently with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2010.