Sport

Original Article Published On The Chabad.ORG

When Eric Brodkowitz left home in Potomac, Md., to study at Yale University and to pitch for the Yale Bulldogs baseball team, his mother, Jill, did what any concerned Jewish mother might do: She turned to her local Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi, who reached out to Chabad on Campus at Yale.

“Rabbi Shua Rosenstein at Yale was open and very inviting,” says Brodkowitz, today an investment analyst with Goldman Sachs and a pitcher on Israel’s national baseball team, which will compete in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. During his time at Yale, Brodkowitz—who in his senior year at Yale was a unanimous first-team All-Ivy League selection and finished the season with a 2.80 ERA—grew close to Rosenstein and his wife, Sara, co-directors of Chabad at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. “The rabbi invited me and my friends to Shabbat dinner. It was just a very welcoming environment.”

During his junior year, Brodkowitz lived on the same street as the Yale Chabad and began wrapping tefillin twice a week at the Chabad House.

“When Eric was on campus, we would meet often to lay tefillin,” recalls Rosenstein. “We always joked that it would help him as a pitcher.”

It certainly didn’t hurt.

Brodkowitz, who was discovered by Team Israel manager Eric Holtz towards the end of his senior year in 2018, has had a successful run so far with Team Israel. The right-hander started two games in the July 2019 European Baseball Championship B-Pool in Bulgaria—winning one game and striking out 15 in 9.1 innings pitched—as part of Israel’s sweep into the playoffs. Team Israel beat Lithuania in the best-of-three playoff series, qualifying for the 2019 European Baseball Championship, from which Israel emerged as one of six teams heading to the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Even post-graduation, Brodkowitz has continued to stay in touch with the Rosensteins. He recently stayed at their home in New Haven for the weekend of this year’s Harvard-Yale football game, and after being selected to play for Team Israel in the Olympics, he gifted a prized team jersey to one of the rabbi’s children.

“Rabbi Rosenstein was a big influence on me,” says Brodkowitz, who credits his mother for giving him the push he needed. “She said, ‘Go for a free dinner and explore… I had a great dinner, a great time and became very close to the rabbi.”

A Family That Focused on Traditions

Today an investment analyst with Goldman Sachs, Brodkowitz participated in the Sinai Scholars study program at Yale. (Photo: Margo Sugarman)
Today an investment analyst with Goldman Sachs, Brodkowitz participated in the Sinai Scholars study program at Yale. (Photo: Margo Sugarman)

Brodkowitz, who grew up in Potomac in the greater Washington, D.C. area, has always been connected to baseball, to his family and to his Judaism. His father, Ken, pitched and played outfield and first base during his student years at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore before injuring his arm. “He had Tommy John surgery and didn’t pitch after that,” says Brodkowitz. When Ken married and had children, he focused his energies on patiently and carefully coaching his children.

Brodkowitz speaks affectionately of his father, who was always “dedicated, caring and focused” with him and his two younger siblings and their sports pursuits. “He focused on mechanics, always practiced with me and never missed a game,” relates Brodkowitz, who says he continues to feel his parents’ active support.

While baseball was always a passion for the younger Brodkowitz, Jewish life holds no less an important place in his life. His family has always been affiliated, Brodkowitz attended Hebrew school and went to Jewish overnight camp for six years, and the family and continues to be connected to Chabad of Potomac.

He also benefited from a close relationship with his maternal grandfather, who he says “grew up in an Orthodox neighborhood in New York” and “faithfully practiced Judaism.” His grandfather proudly prepared Brodkowitz—and all twelve of his grandchildren for their bar and bat mitzvahs. “He is the type of guy where you learned the whole service and all the blessings; it was intense.”

Despite the high expectations, the ball player says “it was a good bonding experience.”

Despite his packed work and training schedule, Brodkowitz is never too busy to discuss his Jewish pride with reporters or fans. (Photo: Margo Sugarman)

Wrapping Tefillin, Throwing Pitches During College

Brodkowitz continued to grow Jewishly while at Yale, even with the demands of playing varsity baseball all four years, coupled with the equally intense demands of being a double major in economics and molecular, cellular and developmental biology with a concentration in biotechnology. During sophomore year, he participated in a Birthright Israel trip, an experience he describes as “transformative.” Little did he know that only a few years later, he would become an Israeli citizen and play for its national baseball team.

As his baseball career developed, so did his Jewish engagement. Along with Shabbat meals at Chabad and regular tefillin pit stops, Brodkowitz enrolled in the Sinai Scholars program run by Chabad on Campus that integrates the study of classic Jewish texts, social programming and networking for top Jewish college students around the world.

Team Israel manager Eric Holtz first saw Brodkowitz pitch when Holtz’s son, who plays baseball for Columbia University, was playing against Yale.

“My son was a freshman at Columbia when Eric was a senior. I watched a championship game in which Eric pitched eight innings, giving up one run, and was just phenomenal. He refused to let his team down,” reports Holtz. “I didn’t know he was Jewish at all. After the game, I was looking at the stats and saw the last name was Brodkowitz. I immediately called the coach at Yale; he put me in touch with Eric, and the rest is history. Beyond being a great right-handed pitcher, he is one of the most wonderful young men you will ever come across.”

When Brodkowitz got a text from his Yale coach about Team Israel’s interest in June 2018, he was both surprised and flattered. By now a college graduate, he had just recently been hired as an analyst at Goldman Sachs, so he was also unsure of what to tell his new employers. Considering that he might need to miss some work to play in various baseball tournaments in Europe and Asia—not to mention the Olympics—it was an unusual request to say the least. Instead of rejection, to Brodkowitz’s delight his chance to play for Team Israel was met with an outpouring of support. “You have our blessing. How can we help?” came Goldman’s reply almost instantly, for which the pitcher/analyst says he is forever grateful.

In the months leading up to the Olympics, Brodkowitz stays in shape by working out in the gym and throwing baseballs daily at a field close to his work. And despite his packed work and training schedule, he is never too busy to discuss his Jewish pride with reporters or fans. “It has been a blessing and privilege to be able to wear ‘Israel’ across my chest,” he affirms.

Aside from his ongoing connection with Chabad at Yale—he remains active as an alumnus—Chabad continues to play an important place in Brodkowitz’s life in his work with Team Israel. (Photo: Margo Sugarman)

An Active Alum with Yale and Chabad

Aside from his ongoing connection with Chabad at Yale—he remains active as an alumnus—Chabad continues to play an important place in Brodkowitz’s life in his work with Team Israel. Take, for instance, the team’s Friday-night experience while in Lithuania for a game against the country’s national team in the small city of Utena—about an hour and 20 minutes northeast of the capital, Vilnius. Rabbi Sholom Ber Krinsky, co-director of Chabad of Lithuania since 1994, made the trip before Shabbat to drop off all the supplies Team Israel needed to have an authentic Shabbat experience—something Brodkowitz and his teammates say they will never forget.

“There was nothing better than being in a country like Lithuania and having Shabbat dinner driven 100 miles from Chabad so that the team could celebrate Shabbat together,” adds Holtz, the manager.

Indeed, Peter Kurz, president of Israel Association of Baseball and general manager of Team Israel, has found Chabad to be an invaluable support to the team wherever they go. “Chabad has always played an important role in helping our national teams keep the Jewish spirit while we play in overseas tournaments—be it in Italy, the Czech Republic or even Bulgaria,” he says. Chabad has enabled “our team to maintain our Jewish traditions while still playing the game of baseball.”

More than a nice sentiment, Kurz says it’s this idea that stands at the heart of Israel baseball. The importance of Jewish tradition is in “our slogan,” he says: “‘Israel Baseball: Where Traditions Meet.’”

And it’s a key to what drives Brodkowitz.

“Eric takes great pride in his Jewish identity and his ability to help Israel compete in the summer Olympics,” attests Rosenstein. “I am confident that he will continue to inspire others in his journey, both as a committed Jew and a great baseball player.”

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Original Article Published on The chabad.ORG

The 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics are still more than six months away (July 24-Aug. 9), but the team at Chabad-Lubavitch of Tokyo is already hard at work. Rabbi Mendi Sudakevich, who arrived in Tokyo 20 years ago from his native Kfar Chabad, Israel, is gregarious and creative—and has plenty of ideas for serving Jews who will be playing in, watching or otherwise involved with the Olympics.

The Games come in addition to a booming surge of interest in Japan. While 8 million people visited the island nation in 2010, nearly 40 million came in 2019—exceeding Japan’s own goal by 15 million. This partially accounts for why it had been so hard for the rabbi to find available event space this summer so he can meet the needs of Jewish athletes and guests.

Sudakevich and his wife, Chana, will be creating a temporary Jewish center in the Olympic Village that will have a full schedule of Shabbat and weekday services, kosher-food offerings and meals, and more. “We will have parallel activities going on at the Chabad House at the same time,” explains the rabbi, who notes that the center has a mikvah as well. Similar to the Chabad presence at previous Olympic Games—from Athens to Rio de Janeiro and Sochi to South Korea—Sudakevich will be flying out a full crew of rabbinical students to staff the various Jewish pop-up stations around the massive capital.

The rabbi says that he has been in touch with various Olympic delegations from Israel and around the world. For the first time ever, in September, Team Israel’s baseball team qualified for one of the six berths to compete in the Olympic finals. However, this won’t be Team Israel’s first trip to Japan. Sudakevich fondly recalls the baseball team’s last visit in March, when one of their games coincided with the holiday of Purim. “We read Megillah for the whole team,” Sudakevich tells Chabad.org.

One member of Team Israel’s baseball team is Danny Valencia, who has racked up impressive credentials while playing on eight Major League baseball teams. “I had a normal Jewish upbringing. I went to Hebrew school and celebrated my bar mitzvah,” says the infielder, whose mother is Jewish. “We went to synagogue on the High Holidays; my mother fasted on Yom Kippur. I was around Judaism.”

That makes Chabad an important stop for him on his baseball journey, especially when he’s with an entire team of Jewish ballplayers. Valencia particularly enjoys the Jewish rituals he has shared with fellow Team Israel players. “On Friday nights, we had Shabbat dinner with prayers, toasts and breaking bread with the boys.”

Japan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama and family with Chabad of Japan emissaries at a Chanukah event last month at the Israeli embassy in Tokyo. L to R, Rachel Vaisfiche, Batya Vishedsky, Chana Sudakevich, Rabbi Shmuel Vishedsky, the Nakayamas, Rabbi Mendi Sudakevich, Rabbi Shalom Vaisfiche.
Japan’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs Yasuhide Nakayama and family with Chabad of Japan emissaries at a Chanukah event last month at the Israeli embassy in Tokyo. L to R, Rachel Vaisfiche, Batya Vishedsky, Chana Sudakevich, Rabbi Shmuel Vishedsky, the Nakayamas, Rabbi Mendi Sudakevich, Rabbi Shalom Vaisfiche.

An Opportunity for Japan to Learn About Judaism

Sudakevich says Jewish tourism in Japan will continue to rise once El Al begins direct service from Tel Aviv to Tokyo in March. Despite the rising numbers, however, most Japanese people, he notes, know little about Judaism or the Jewish people, and he hopes that the influx of Jewish tourists this year will help change that.

The Sudakeviches are one of four Chabad-Lubavitch emissary couples serving Japan. “There is one Chabad center in Kobe (a 264-mile drive or three-plus hours on the bullet train from Tokyo) and two new ones: in Kyoto, which is Japan’s No. 1 tourist destination (a six-hour drive from Tokyo), and in Takayama, Japan’s Alps (two-and-a-half hours west of Tokyo). Many tourists go there to see the real Japan.”

But Sudakevich reports that “we all work together” with a common goal of meeting the Jewish needs of their various communities. “Japan’s Jewish community is unique in that it is mostly a community of people who come to work here for a few years—bankers, lawyers, those in high-tech.” He notes that most are in their 20s and 30s, and are transient, eventually returning home to their countries of origin. “There is no second generation,” he notes.

As far as the Olympics go, locals and tourists will be able to enjoy kosher meals at Chabad of Tokyo. While Sudakevich says the community imports some kosher products from the United States, he is proud that shechitah is performed in the city of Kobe by Rabbi Dovid Posner, the Chabad rabbi of Kyoto.

Rabbi Dovid Posner will be performing shechita to help provide kosher meat for visitors. He and his wife, Chaya Mushka, arrived in Japan last year just as the island erupted with pink cherry blossoms.
Rabbi Dovid Posner will be performing shechita to help provide kosher meat for visitors. He and his wife, Chaya Mushka, arrived in Japan last year just as the island erupted with pink cherry blossoms.

Sudakevich and Chabad have experience serving larger crowds. “We hosted the Rugby World Cup over the recent High Holidays. It was a big thing. We had many visitors—Jews from South Africa, Australia and England. It was a little taste of the Olympics.”

Sudakevich expects even more visitors to the Olympics, and he says he will be ready for them. “The biggest challenge was finding an appropriate place to host the activities,” he acknowledges.

Nevertheless, he remained undaunted and finally found the perfect place. “Tourism to Japan is increasing a lot; we need a bigger Chabad House,” he says.

Reflecting on the upcoming games, the rabbi recognizes the amount of work ahead.

“It is going to be a crazy month,” he says good-naturedly. “Good, but crazy.”

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The Original Article Published On The Jewish News Syndicate

While not nearly as popular as basketball, soccer, tennis or most other sports in Israel, mixed martial arts continues to grow in popularity.

What do U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli fighter Haim Gozali have in common?

Both have experienced MMA (mixed martial arts) at New York City’s legendary Madison Square Garden. While Trump enjoyed the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) event on a recent Saturday night (Nov. 2) from the spectator side of the octagon (ring), Gozali has twice fought in it. The 47-year-old and his son, Aviv, 18, are mixed martial-arts fighters and will be fighting on the same MMA card on Nov. 14 as part of Bellator 234 at Tel Aviv’s Menora Mivtachim Arena.

While not nearly as popular as basketball, soccer, tennis or most other sports in Israel, mixed martial arts continues to grow in popularity. In a phone interview with JNS from his home in Bat Yam, Israel, Haim Gozali observes, “In 2016, no one in Israel knew about MMA. Now, young fighters have a future.”

Gozali notes the steady rise in attendance at MMA fights in Israel. “The first year, 6,000 people came, then 7,000 the next year, then 9,000.” He proudly reports, “Now, when I walk on the streets, people know me and want to take a selfie!”

After three sellouts in Israel, Bellator MMA, which hosts events around the world in such locations as England, Japan, Ireland, Italy, and Hawaii, California and Connecticut in the United States, returns to Tel Aviv for matches that will feature the heavyweight main event between hard-hitting Sergei Kharitonov and former No. 1 contender Linton Vassell. The evening will also feature lightweights Roger Huerta vs. Sidney Outlaw, and Austin “The Gentleman” Vanderford vs. Grachik Bozinyan. Haim, a former Border Police officer, and Aviv will also fight that night.

‘I grew up in this world of MMA’

Haim Gozali has been fighting professionally since 1998. He got his start at an early age.

“When I was a kid, I watched ninja movies and wanted to BE a ninja,” he relates. He started taking karate lessons and saw his first UFC fight in his 20s. “I have to do that!” he recalled and began training with Renzo Gracie in the United States in 1995. Gozali, a welterweight with an 11-6 record (10 submissions, 1 knockout), became a fourth-degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Gracie. Gozali stands 5-feet-and-11-inches tall, weighs 170 pounds and is nicknamed “Batman” because of his collection of Batman comics, paraphernalia and tattoos.

He and Aviv train at the Body Shop in Los Angeles and also in Israel. Haim reports that his son started learning at the age of 3. Aviv began to show interest in the sport when he saw people come to train in the home gym with his father. “I put him in judo at age 3, and he started fighting at age 5.”

Aviv acknowledges the memory, adding, “I basically grew up in this world of MMA.”

Israeli mixed martial-arts fighter Aviv Gozali with his training staff following a fight against Eduard Muravitskiy. Credit: Courtesy.
Israeli mixed martial-arts fighter Aviv Gozali with his training staff following a fight against Eduard Muravitskiy. Credit: Courtesy.

Aviv (nicknamed “The King”), a lightweight at 6 feet and 155 pounds, made his MMA debut in November 2018 and has a 3-0 record. Each of his first three victories has come by way of first-round submission. He most recently defeated Eduard (“The Hunter”) Muravitskiy in August just 11 seconds into the fight; the submission is the fastest in Bellator MMA history.

Haim enjoys fighting and playfully notes, “I will do it until they tell me they have to bury me!” He says he is proud to represent Israel, saying, “I go with the Israeli flag everywhere.”

He has been warmly welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and was the first Israeli to fight in Madison Square Garden. “All the legends—[Muhammad] Ali, [Mike] Tyson, [Rocky] Marciano and me, Haim from Bat Yam, got to fight there.”

He considers this an important part of his legacy. In addition to fighting, Haim also works for Bellator, where he scouts out and signs new fighters, as well as produces matches in Israel. He also heads the Renzo Gracie Israel Academy in Bat Yam.

Haim says he feels fortunate to be able to spend so much time with his son. “We mostly live together. And it is nice when a father and son do and love the same thing.”

Aviv agrees, saying, “To train with my father, it’s the best feeling in the world. To learn from him and to laugh with him during training gives me a lot of confidence and a lot of small things to improve that no one can see.”

He adds that he’s excited to fight on the same card as his father—and confident, too. “I fought with my father in the same card last year, but this time, both of us are going to win! He’s 47, and this is his last fight now, so I’m continuing the legacy.”

Tickets for the Tel Aviv fight are available at: www.eventim.co.il/ and www.bellator.com/. It will also air on Paramount Network across the United States on Nov. 15 at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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Original Article Published On The Jewish News Syndicate

His career has included nearly 3,000 at bats, 795 hits, 95 home runs, 397 runs batted in and a lifetime batting average of .268. He now adds member of Team Israel, Israeli citizen and Olympian to his list of accomplishments.

For most parents, having a son play on a Major League Baseball team would be a dream come true. For Danny Valencia’s parents, it isn’t quite enough.

Though proud of his baseball career, which has included playing on eight Major League teams and Team Israel, they also want him to finish his college degree—and to join them for Rosh Hashanah dinner one year. The Valencias are almost batting three for three.

Danny Valencia is well known to baseball fans in the United States and in Israel. The 35-year-old—drafted in the 19th round by the Minnesota Twins in 2006—made his Major League debut with the Twins in 2010 and then played for them, the Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles (twice!), Kansas City Royals, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners.

His impressive career has included nearly 3,000 at bats, 795 hits, 95 home runs, 397 runs batted in and a lifetime batting average of .268.

Valencia can now add member of Team Israel, Israeli citizen and Tokyo 2020 Olympian to his list of accomplishments.

But he cannot (at least, not yet) add college graduate to his credentials.

Valencia began his studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he was Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and second-team all-conference. He transferred to the University of Miami, which was closer to his home and family in Boca Raton, Fla. He took a leave from college when he was drafted by the Twins in 2006.

“I promised my parents I would finish my degree—that was 14 years ago,” says the 35-year-old.

Danny Valencia, Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas Royals, May 9, 2018. Credit: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.
Danny Valencia, Baltimore Orioles vs. Kansas Royals, May 9, 2018. Credit: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.

Valencia has been making good on his promise. He is taking four online courses this semester and has seven more courses to complete before earning a degree from the University of Miami.

While he has had a lot on his mind these past five weeks, including making aliyah and traveling with Team Israel to Germany and Italy, he managed to devote time to his online courses. “My family can’t believe it. I have his work ethic!” he jokes, adding that, as he has gotten older, he has gotten better at managing his time and schedule.

‘Playing for more than ourselves’

The move towards permanent Israeli residency has also taught Valencia to be better at managing bureaucracy.

“It was a long process and a lot of hoops to jump through, but it makes sense,” reports Valencia, who along teammates Ty Kelly, Nick Rickles and Ben Wanger became Israeli citizens under Israel’s Law of Return. “There was paperwork, interviews, FBI checks, marriage certificates, postiles, rabbi letters and more. It was a tedious process, but without that, there would be no passport, and we wouldn’t be Israeli citizens. I am happy I did it.”

In between trips to the Interior Ministry, Valencia and his fellow teammates toured their new homeland. They traveled to Jerusalem and to the Dead Sea; they went to Yad Vashem. Valencia makes it a point to say that he was struck by Israel in general, which was followed days later by a trip to Germany.

“It was my first trip to both,” he says. “Yad Vashem was really emotional for all of us. In Germany, we realized it [the Holocaust] all originated here.” Valencia felt the experience taught that “we are playing for more than ourselves.”

With the Boston Red Sox vs. the Baltimore Orioles, Sept. 28, 2012. Credit: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.
With the Boston Red Sox vs. the Baltimore Orioles, Sept. 28, 2012. Credit: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.

He and his teammates feel that an important part of their mission is to “inspire Israeli kids and to inspire a generation of Jewish athletes. “There are not so many Jewish athletes,” he acknowledges. In Israel, they have led baseball clinics for young ballplayers and found time to work out, even getting “a guy to pitch batting practice.”

Their hard work paid off.

Team Israel stunned the world with their performance, finishing in the top five in the 2019 European Baseball Championship and earning the right to participate in the 2020 Olympics qualifiers. As the winner of that tournament, Israel qualified for the first of the six spots in teams to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Valencia batted .375 in the Olympic qualifying tournament, leading the tournament in runs (7), home runs (3), RBIs (9), walks (5) and slugging percentage (1.000). He also hit a three-run homer in his final at-bat at the tournament in Parma, Italy. That wound up giving Israel a 10-run lead over South Africa.

In assessing his family’s reaction to his decision to become an Israeli citizen and play for Team Israel, Valencia reports: “My family was shocked, but they were supportive. They thought it was cool. They were blown away by my effort.”

‘Electricity in the air’

He had been following Team Israel for years, but his Major League responsibilities always precluded his participation on the team. When he realized that he would not be with a Major League team in the summer of 2019, playing for Team Israel became a possibility.

“I had been staying in good shape, and I reached out [to team president Peter Kurz] and said I would be interested in taking part,” he relates. “I joke that it was the best front-office decision he had ever made.”

Seriously, Valencia reports, “I loved it. It was a great group of guys, and I am grateful for the experience.”

And he enjoys the Jewish and Israel touches. “On Friday nights, we had Shabbat dinner with prayers, toasts and breaking bread with the boys.” He is also moved by the pre-game playing of “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem. “We kept our hats on for our national anthem—to show that God is above. We took our hats off for the national anthems of the other countries.”

With the Oakland Athletics vs. the Baltimore Orioles, Aug. 17, 2015. Credit: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.
With the Oakland Athletics vs. the Baltimore Orioles, Aug. 17, 2015. Credit: Keith Allison via Wikimedia Commons.

Valencia is no stranger to Jewish holidays and traditions.

“I had a normal Jewish upbringing,” he says. “We went to synagogue on the High Holidays; my mother fasted on Yom Kippur. I was around Judaism.” Valencia was born to a Jewish mother and a Cuban father who converted to Judaism. He attended Hebrew school and celebrated his bar mitzvah, recalling being sick during the occasion, saying “I was sniffling the whole time.”

Nevertheless, he notes that it was “a proud moment for both sides of the family.”

Valencia says the hardest part of being on the road for nearly six weeks with Team Israel was being away from 16-month old son, Oliver, and his wife. “We did FaceTime. I am not sure what he understands, but he saw a video of me hitting and got excited!”

Due to the late September ending date of the Olympic qualifiers and the late falling Jewish holidays, Valencia was able to be home for Rosh Hashanah.

“It is the first time ever—home with family,” reports Valencia, happy to celebrate the holiday with parents, aunts and uncles, his wife and son. He admits that “baseball was a major topic of conversation at dinner. They were all ecstatic, and they are trying to find accommodations in Tokyo for the Olympics. It could be the last time I play baseball on that level.”

Kurz, president of the Israel Association of Baseball and the team’s general manager, notes Valencia’s performance on and off the field. “He is a proven Major Leaguer, with nine years of experience. When he joined the team, there was electricity in the air, as he was our anchor and leading hitter. He hit home runs in five straight games, and led by example on the field and off. He is now the leading advocate and spokesperson for the team, and is working hard to get us sponsorships, donations and commercial deals so that the IAB can use those funds to develop the game of baseball in Israel, and we can also provide the team with better conditions to train and practice under.”

He details the many needs still facing the team as they prepare for the Olympics, including bringing some additional players to Israel, bringing all of the players to Israel in the winter, having a two-week pre-Olympic mini-camp in the United States, holding exhibition games against Japanese teams in Japan, purchasing equipment, bringing coaches to Israel and sending scouts look for Olympic opponents. Kurz reports anticipated costs are more than $500,000, and that they are trying to raise needed funds by donations and sponsorships.

In the meantime, Danny Valencia is home with his family in South Florida. He is staying in shape, thinking a lot about the Olympics, spreading the word about fundraising for the team and working to fulfill that “three-parter” his parents wanted … getting closer every day.

Team Israel, now headed to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at the quarter finals. Photo by Margo Sugarman.
Team Israel, now headed to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, at the quarter finals. Photo by Margo Sugarman.
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