José Antonio Valentín (born October 12, 1969) is a Puerto Rican former American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

. He played for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(–),

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

(–),

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League West, West division. Established in 1883 i ...

(), and

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

(–). His son Jesmuel was a 1st round pick by the Dodgers in the

2012 MLB draft The 2012 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 4 through June 6, 2012, from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. The Houston Astros, with the first overall pick, selected Carlos Correa from the Puerto ...

Baseball career

Early years

Valentín was signed on October 12, , by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

as an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, self-taught, user-generated, DIY, and hobbyist. History ...

free agent. However, he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers on March 26, 1992 with

Ricky Bones Ricardo Bones (; born April 7, 1969) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher and bullpen coach for the Washington Nationals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played from 1991 to 2001 for three National League teams – the San Di ...

and

Matt Mieske Matthew Todd Mieske (born February 13, 1968) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played from to for the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Houston Astros and Arizona Diamondbacks. In 663 games over eight se ...

in exchange for

Gary Sheffield Gary Antonian Sheffield (born November 18, 1968) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for eight teams from 1988 to 2009. He is a sports agent. For most of his career, Sheffield played rig ...

and

Minor League Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

prospect

Geoff Kellogg Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (name), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095–c. 1155), clergyman and one of the ...

. He made his major league debut with the Brewers on September 17, 1992. On January 12, 2000, and after eight seasons with the Brewers, he was traded with

Cal Eldred Calvin John Eldred (born November 24, 1967) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to . He previously worked for the St. Louis Cardinals as a special assistant to general ...

to the

in exchange for

Jaime Navarro Jaime Navarro Cintrón (born March 27, 1967) is a former Puerto Rican baseball player and current pitching coach for the Uni-President Lions for the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. Navarro was a 6-foot, 4-inch tall right-handed p ...

and John Snyder. He played five seasons with the White Sox before becoming a free agent on October 29, 2004.

Decline and injuries

As Valentín got older, however, his range in the field lessened with his foot speed. Therefore, he shifted from a strict

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

to a player who can handle duties at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, second base, shortstop and

left field In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system ...

. He hit a career-high 30 home runs in 2004, but had a league-worst .216 batting average. On December 21, 2004, he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, during

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

, he went down with torn ligaments in his left knee, and ended up with only a .170

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 56 games that season after he returned, serving as a third baseman, left fielder and lefty

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, America ...

. Due to Valentin's struggles, he began to bat strictly left-handed for a time being rather than switch hitting. He would resume switch hitting later in his career. On October 27 of the same year, the Dodgers granted him free agency.

Resurgence with the Mets

On December 12, 2005, Valentín signed with the New York Mets hoping to make the team as a utility player off the bench, but rebounded from the previous season to have one of the best seasons of his career. He emerged as one of the most solid players in the line-up, becoming the Mets regular second baseman after they traded away

Kazuo Matsui is a Japanese retired professional baseball player who played as a shortstop and is the current manager of the Saitama Seibu Lions. He is a switch-hitter. Matsui signed with the New York Mets on December 17, 2003, becoming the first Japanese i ...

. His consistent hitting played a big part in helping the Mets to the 2006 National League Eastern Division title. Valentín capped off his great regular season by hitting two

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s against the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

on September 18, 2006, in the division-clinching game. On November 14, 2006, Valentin re-signed with the Mets for one year, with an option for . Valentín agreed to switch his uniform number from 18 to 22 for the newly signed Moisés Alou a few days later. On July 20, 2007, Valentín fouled a ball off his right leg, breaking his

tibia The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it conn ...

and ending his season after 51 games and a .241 batting average. He re-signed with the Mets to a minor league contract on January 18, 2008, with an invitation to spring training. With the Triple-A

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

, Valentin told the Mets his season was over on June 21, due to physical and mental wear and tear. The Mets released him shortly thereafter. In February , he re-signed with the Mets to a minor league contract; he was released after not making the team out of Spring training.

Major league statistics

Valentín had success as one of the few shortstops with good home run power, averaging 25 homers and 80 RBI over a 162-game season for his career. Although he only has a .243 lifetime batting average (the lowest average among all qualified active players), he has established a .332 lifetime

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, evidencing his propensity to

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

Post-retirement career

Owner/Player of Santurce Crabbers

In 2004 it was announced that Valentín bought the Santurce Crabbers, one of the most historic professional baseball franchises of the

Puerto Rico Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

(formerly known as ''LBPPR''). He relocated the team to his native town, and renamed them the Manatí Atenienses. But after a decline in attendance and the restructuring of the league, Valentín moved the team back to Santurce in 2008, therefore launching the return of the ''Cangrejeros''. He joined his home team as their second baseman becoming the only owner-player in the league.

Double A coach

In 2011, Valentín became the manager of the Mulos de Manatí team of the Puerto Rico Double A Baseball League.

Manager Fort Wayne Tin Caps

In 2012 Jose became the manager for th
Fort Wayne Tin Caps
baseball team which is the Class A minor league farm team of the San Diego Padres. He has been recently referred to as "sleepy" because his uniform number 22 looks like two "z's".

Bench coach of Leones de Ponce

In 2012, Valentín served as

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisi ...

for the Leones de Ponce team of the

Puerto Rican team assistant coach

During the

2013 World Baseball Classic The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009. Unlike t ...

, Valentín served as one of the assistant coaches under Edwin Rodríguez. He was mostly seen as a first-base coach.

First base coach of San Diego Padres

After the end of the 2013 season, Jose was promoted to the 1st base coach for the

after bench coach

Rick Renteria Richard Avina Renteria (born December 25, 1961) is a Mexican-American former professional baseball infielder and former manager of the Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB). Renteria played in parts of five seasons bet ...

was hired as manager of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

and former 1st base coach Dave Roberts became bench coach.

Personal life

Valentín is married and has three children. His son, Jesmuel, was a Major League prospect with the Baltimore Orioles organization. Valentín is the older brother of major league

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

Javier Valentín José Javier Valentín Rosario (born September 19, 1975) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. From -, he played for the Cincinnati Reds after playing with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays () and four brief stints for the Minnesota Tw ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentin, Jose 1969 births Living people People from Manatí, Puerto Rico Milwaukee Brewers players Chicago White Sox players Los Angeles Dodgers players New York Mets players San Diego Padres coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball first base coaches Minor league baseball managers Spokane Indians players Charleston Rainbows players Wichita Wranglers players Riverside Red Wave players Denver Zephyrs players New Orleans Zephyrs players Beloit Snappers players Louisville RiverBats players Charlotte Knights players Las Vegas 51s players St. Lucie Mets players 2006 World Baseball Classic players Caribbean Series managers Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players