Mplay valencia6/19/2023 I wished I had been out playing baseball, but looking back at it now, I’m happy I did it." Going to Hebrew school and being a bar mitzvah … made my mom really happy. I get teased in the clubhouse about being Jewish, but we all get teased about something. Acknowledging his uncommon combination of heritage, he has said: "People are shocked at first that I’m Jewish. Valencia and his sister Laura were raised in Boca Raton, Florida. His parents are Mindy Valencia, who is Jewish, and Michael Valencia, a Cuban immigrant who converted to Judaism. He played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He played first base for Team Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo in the summer of 2021, and tied for the lead at the Olympics with three home runs. He also played 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 played for Team Israel at the 2019 European Baseball Championship. In September 2019, Valencia obtained Israeli citizenship and joined Team Israel. Through the 2018 season, his 96 home runs placed him 10th on the career all-time list of Jewish major leaguers (directly behind Mike Epstein, and ahead of Joc Pederson), as did his 397 RBIs (tied with Harry Danning, and behind Brad Ausmus). Over the course of his career through 2018, he batted. In January 2017 Valencia was confirmed to be on the roster for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic however, when the final roster was released, he was not included. left-handed pitching, leading the American League, and ranked third in slugging percentage at. In 2011, he led the Twins in RBIs, and led all major league third basemen in assists. He was named the third baseman on Baseball America's 2010 All-Rookie Team, and on the 2010 Topps Major League Rookie All-Star Team. Valencia made his major league debut with the Twins in June 2010. He entered the 2010 season ranked as the sixth-best prospect of the Twins by Baseball America. In the minors, Valencia was an All-Star in the Appalachian League (2006), the Midwest League (2007), and the Florida State League (2008). He was drafted while he was a junior at the University of Miami by the Twins in the 19th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft, the 576th player overall. At the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, he was Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, second-team all-conference, and on his all-regional team. In high school, Valencia was all-county three times and all-state twice. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, and Seattle Mariners. August 8, 2018, for the Baltimore Oriolesĭaniel Paul Valencia (דני ולנסיה born September 19, 1984) is an American-Israeli professional baseball player who currently plays for the Israel national baseball team.
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