Danny Valencia thrilled to write final chapter of career with Team Israel at Tokyo Olympics

The top of the Olympic medal stand is, quite literally, thousands of miles from Central Islip. But for former major-leaguers Ian Kinsler and Danny Valencia, the ballpark tucked inside Court House Drive is a good place to start the journey.

The two began their Olympic tuneup Friday night, playing for the Ducks for a week before joining their Team Israel teammates for a slew of exhibition games before the baseball begins in Japan on July 28. It’s a journey that they hope will end with the most famous piece of neckwear in sports dangling from their necks, and Valencia can already envision the celebration.

"I’ll be turned up, that’s for sure," he said Friday of a potential gold medal celebration. "We’ll be going wild if that’s the case. Trust me, there’s going to be no lack of emotion being shown on that stage. We’re going to probably pop some champagne bottles and have a good old time."

The trip to the games is long-awaited. Israel qualified for the Olympics in 2019, when everyone in the world had 2020 in Japan marked on their calendar. But, like almost everything else, they were pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our team’s very good," Valencia, 36, said. "We’re all looking forward to it. This is just the beginning of that process, getting ready to go over there and compete at a high level."

Valencia played nine seasons in the major leagues, suiting up with the Twins, Orioles, A’s, Blue Jays, Royals, Mariners and Red Sox. His last big-league game came in 2018 with the Orioles. He finished third in the American League Rookie of the Year balloting in 2010, when he slashed .311/.351/.448, hit seven home runs, and had 40 RBIs in 85 games. He finished behind Detroit’s Austin Jackson and winner Neftali Feliz of Texas.

Valencia finished his nine-year major-league career with a .268/.317/.426 slash line and 96 home runs. Team Israel has breathed new life into his baseball story, allowing him to potentially write a final chapter in gold ink.

"We’re going to get a good gauge on where we’re at," Valencia said. "Obviously, there’s a process to it, but it’s also kind of like the icing on the cake of the long career. So I’m going to appreciate all the moments, because it is coming to an end and this is a hell of a way to go out."

Valencia was born to a Jewish mother and a Cuban father, who converted to Judaism.

"We grew up in very much a Jewish household," Valencia said. "My mom ran the show within the house ... I went to Hebrew school. My dad converted for my mother when they got married. My heritage is Jewish, my baseball background is probably more Cuban. It’s a perfect combination."

Valencia, who was born in Miami and went to high school in Boca Raton, attended the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta with his family and got to watch the gold medal-winning Cuban baseball team, an experience he still cherishes.

"It was super emotional," Valencia said. "That was a really cool experience, watching Cuban baseball players, knowing the stories, how they grew up so rough."

Now, Valencia has a chance to write his own Olympic story and inspire fellow Jewish baseball players, both in Israel and the United States.

"Just to be able to represent all the Jewish kids around the world is an honor," Valencia said. "The Jewish community here has always been fantastic. They’ve always supported me. Whatever city I played \[in\] in the big leagues, they would always reach out to me about coming over for Shabbat dinners and bar mitzvahs. If you needed a temple to go to and you weren’t swinging the bat well and you needed to say a prayer or two, they had one of those, too."

What better way to acknowledge that support than with a gold medal?

"The goal at the end of the day is to win a medal," Valencia said. "We want to win a gold medal. Circle back with me when that happens and I’ll let you know exactly what goes on. It’ll be bananas, though."