John Valente (born June 23, 1995) is an Italian-American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

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. ...

for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

organization.

Career

Valente attended New Rochelle High School in

New Rochelle, New York New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

, and

St. John's University St John's University may refer to: *St. John's University (New York City) **St. John's University School of Law **St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus *College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

St. John's Red Storm The St. John's Red Storm is the nickname used for the 17 varsity athletic programs of St. John's University, in the U.S. state of New York. St. John's 17 NCAA Division I teams compete in the Big East Conference, with the exception of the fenci ...

. During the 2018 season, Valente was named the Big East Conference's Player of the Year, the first St. John's player to receive the award. He led the league with a .363 batting average, and recorded a career high five home runs, 40 RBIs and 11 stolen bases, while striking out only nine times in 204 at-bats. He was also named a unanimous first-team All-Big East selection and a finalist for the

Senior CLASS Award The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...

. On May 10, 2018, he recorded his 200th career hit, becoming the 23rd player in program history to reach the milestone. He helped lead the Red Storm to four winning seasons, three 40-win seasons, and a pair of Big East Championships. He finished his career at St. John's with a career batting average of .353, and 218 hits, which ranks 13th most in program history. The

selected Valente in the 21st round, with the 615th overall selection, of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In a ...

. During the 2021 season in 66 games with the

Erie SeaWolves The Erie SeaWolves are an United States, American professional baseball team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They compete in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) as a member of the Eastern League (1938–present), Eastern League's Southwest Division, serving ...

, Valente ranked among the team leaders with a .301 batting average, .363

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 ...

and .808 on-base plus slugging (OPS) with 69 hits and 22 RBI. On April 4, 2022, he was promoted to the Tigers' Triple-A affiliate, the

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

. During the 2022 season in 82 games with the Mud Hens, he posted career highs with 37 runs scored, 26 RBIs and 14 stolen bases, along with a .293/.355/.390 slash line.

International career

Vakente is a member of Italy national baseball team's roster at the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valente, John 1995 births Living people American people of Italian descent Baseball players from New York (state) Erie SeaWolves players Lakeland Flying Tigers players St. John's Red Storm baseball players Toledo Mud Hens players West Michigan Whitecaps players 2023 World Baseball Classic players