José Javier Valentín Rosario (born September 19, 1975) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. From -, he played for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

after playing with the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home venu ...

() and four brief stints for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

from -. He is the younger brother of former

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 (AL), ...

second baseman

José Valentín José Antonio Valentín (born October 12, 1969) is a Puerto Rican former American Major League Baseball infielder. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers (–), Chicago White Sox (–), Los Angeles Dodgers (), and New York Mets (–). His ...

and the uncle of

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

infielder

Jesmuel Valentín Jesmuel José Valentín (born May 12, 1994), is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball second baseman and shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies. Career Minor leagues The Los Angeles Dodgers sel ...

.The Official Site of Major League Baseball: Stats: Historical Player Stats
/ref> In , he

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

.281 with a career-high 14

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 as a backup catcher for the Reds. He is a

switch-hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

. Valentín played briefly at

first base A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

and even more infrequently 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 ...

in his time with Cincinnati.

Career

Playing career

Valentín was drafted on June 3, , by the

in the third round of the

1993 Major League Baseball draft The 1993 Major League Baseball draft began with first round selections on June 3, 1993. Alex Rodriguez was selected first overall by the Seattle Mariners. Other notable draftees included Chris Carpenter, Torii Hunter, Jason Varitek, Scott Rolen, ...

. He made his major league debut on September 13, 1997, and ended up playing three seasons for the Twins. On November 15, 2002, the Twins traded him with

Matt Kinney Matthew John Kinney (born December 16, 1976) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He spent with the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball (MLB). Kinney is a graduate of Bangor High School. Kinney and his Little ...

to 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 ...

for

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 Nor ...

prospects Gerry Oakes and Matt Yeatman. A few months later, the Brewers sent him to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for

Jason Conti Stanley Jason Conti (; born January 27, 1975) is a former outfielder in Major League baseball. He spent five years in the major leagues with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, and Texas Rangers. Career Conti was ...

. After becoming a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

, Valentín signed with the Cincinnati Reds on January 8, 2004. He remained with the Reds for the five seasons mainly as a back-up catcher and a specialized

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

. He signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals on February 3, , to battle with

Wil Nieves Wilbert "Wil" Nieves (born September 25, 1977) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher and current minor league coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Mil ...

to be Washington's backup catcher. However, on March 28, he was reassigned to minor league camp, declined his assignment, and opted to become a free agent. On May 14, Valentin signed a minor league deal with the

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 league ...

and was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo. He was released on June 22, 2009.

Coaching career

Valentin was named as the Hitting Coach for the

Rochester Red Wings The Rochester Red Wings are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. They are located in Rochester, New York, and play their home games at Innovative Field ...

of the 2019 season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valentin, Javier 1975 births Living people Atenienses de Manatí (baseball) players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Cincinnati Reds players Edmonton Trappers players Elizabethton Twins players Fort Myers Miracle players Fort Wayne Wizards players Gulf Coast Twins players Hardware City Rock Cats players Indios de Mayagüez players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente catchers Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Minor league baseball coaches Minnesota Twins players New Britain Rock Cats players People from Manatí, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Canada Salt Lake Buzz players Tampa Bay Devil Rays players 2006 World Baseball Classic players

Career

Playing career

Coaching career

See also

References

External links