WINNIPEG — The unrelenting search for that relatively rare bird, the Jewish pro athlete, has turned up another candidate.
On June 3, the Minnesota Twins called up third baseman Danny Valencia, adding to the list of Jewish major leaguers.
Since the call-up, Valencia has become a fan favourite. In 116 at-bats, the newcomer from Boca Raton, Fla., hit .362 along with eight doubles. He has also whacked a grand slam homer off American League Cy Young winner Zach Greinke of the Kansas City Royals to record his first big league round tripper and added 13 RBI and has the highest on-base-percentage on the team at .417.
The son of Michael and Mindy last year had 218 at-bats in AA New Britain and 269 in AAA Rochester, totalling 38 doubles 14 homers and 70 RBIs. According to Twins’ manager Ron Gardenhire, who was impressed with the infielder at 2009 spring training, when, as a non-roster invitee, he batted .429 prior to being returned to AA, Valencia can hit both the fastball and the breaking ball.
In late July, the 6-2, 210-pound 25-year-old also had back-to-back games with four hits apiece, a first for any Twins’ rookie.
Being a standout at the great American pastime isn’t foreign to Valencia. He was an all-star in the Appalachian, Midwest, and Florida State Leagues, and as a youngster, he dreamt about being a major leaguer.
In 1996, he pitched for the Boca Raton Babe Ruth League 12-and-under all-star baseball team that captured the Florida state championship. Just a year after that, he both pitched and hit for the Boca Lightning travel-baseball team that won 27 games and lost only two and won the South Florida All-Star Travel League title.
Valencia continued to develop. He played shortstop for four years in high school and was voted all-county as a junior in 2002 and offensive player of the year after boasting a .430 average. As a senior in 2003, he batted an almost unheard of .575.
Interestingly, during his sophomore year, Valencia played first base for the University of Miami Hurricanes alongside then-third-baseman Ryan Braun, a fellow Jew. Braun now patrols left field for the Milwaukee Brewers. Valencia hit .300 that year, drove in 63 runs and was named to the all-regional team.
In 2005, after Braun was drafted high in the first round and turned pro, Valencia replaced him at third base in his junior college year and hit .324.
It was somewhat surprising that despite his stellar performances at all levels, major league scouting reports weren’t particularly laudable, so much so that at the 2006 baseball draft, the sweet-swinging Valencia wasn’t plucked until Round 19 of the draft, 576th overall.
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As Blue Jays fans were anxiously awaiting a major trade as the July 31 trade deadline approached, Canada’s only major league team acquired veteran minor league first baseman Mike Jacobs, who was quickly assigned to the Jays’ AAA club in Las Vegas. Some ball fans imagined that Jacobs, who was in the Mets’ farm system, might well be a member of the tribe.
An incident in the spring of 2006 should dispel that rumour. At the time, Jacobs was having a decent season with the Florida Marlins. In a bid to boost attendance, the team decided to have a promotion called “Jewish Heritage Day.” Believing that Jacobs was a Jew, they gave out T-shirts with his name to young fans who attended the game. They forgot, however, to ask Jacobs if he was in fact of Jewish heritage, but he isn’t. Apparently Jacobs was very good-natured about the faux pas.