Pedro José Valdés Manzo (born June 29, 1973) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball outfielder. He played parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 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 located ...

and Texas Rangers, four seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball for the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks, and one season in the

Korea Baseball Organization The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO; ko, 한국야구위원회) is the governing body for the professional leagues of baseball in South Korea. The KBO was founded in 1981 and has governed two leagues: the KBO League ( ko, KBO 리그) and KBO ...

for the LG Twins. During his MLB career, he was listed as 6'1" tall weighing 180 pounds.

Career

Chicago Cubs

Prior to playing professional baseball, Valdés attended Carlos Escobar López High School in Loiza, Puerto Rico. He was drafted by the

in the 12th round of the 1990 draft, and he began his professional career that season. In 1992, he played for the Geneva Cubs and Peoria Chiefs, hitting a combined .260 with five home runs and 44 RBI in 99 games. He played for Peoria and the Daytona Cubs in 1993, hitting .302 with 15 home runs and 85 RBI in 125 games. In 1994, he played for the Orlando Cubs, hitting .282 with one home run and 37 RBI in 116 games. With the Orlando Cubs again in 1995, he hit .300 with seven home runs and 68 RBI in 114 games. He was a Southern League All-Star that year. Valdés earned his big league debut in 1996, although he spent most of the season with the

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

, hitting .295 with 15 home runs and 60 RBI in 103 games with them. On May 16, he made his major league debut against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Pinch-hitting 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, Ameri ...

for Doug Jones, he struck out in his first and only at bat of the game. Overall, he would play in nine games that year, hitting .125 in eight at-bats. He played for Iowa again in 1997, hitting .284 with 14 home runs and 60 RBI in 125 games. With Iowa for the third year in a row in 1998, Valdés hit .314 with 17 home runs and 40 RBI in 65 games with them. He made his way back to the big leagues that season, where he hit .217 in 23 at-bats. He was released by the Cubs on December 8, 1998.

Texas Rangers

On January 12, 1999, he was signed by the Boston Red Sox. However, he was released on April 5. A couple weeks later, on April 18, he was signed by the Rangers, and it was in their organization that he had his best season to that point. Playing for the

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

and Oklahoma RedHawks, Valdés hit .329 with 22 home runs and 76 RBI in 121 games. He followed that with another solid season in 2000, hitting .332 with 16 home runs and 78 RBI for the RedHawks. He played in 30 big league games that season, hitting .278 with one home run and five RBI in 54 at-bats. He appeared in his final big league game on October 1. Overall, Valdés hit .247 with one home run and eight RBI in 85 big league at bats. After his career with the RedHawks, one author considered him to be the best hitter in team history.

Fukuoka Daiei Hawks

Purchased by the Fukuoka Daiei Hawks on December 1, 2000, Valdés would play in Japan for the next four seasons. For Fukuoka in 2001, he hit .310 with 21 home runs and 81 RBI in 137 games. The following year, he hit .303 with 21 home runs and 76 RBI for them in 121 games. In 2003, he hit .311 with 26 home runs and 104 RBI, and in 2004 he hit .279 with 18 home runs and 74 RBI.

Recent career

Valdés played in Mexico in 2005 and 2006, and in 2007 he played in Korea. He also played in the

2006 Caribbean Series The forty-eighth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') baseball tournament was played in 2006 in the neighboring cities of Maracay and Valencia in Venezuela, making it the first one to be played in two cities. It was held from Feb ...

. He returned to Mexico in 2008, and in 2010 split the season between the Olmecas de Tabasco and Monclova.

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Pedro 1973 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players Chicago Cubs players Daytona Cubs players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in South Korea Fukuoka Daiei Hawks players Geneva Cubs players Gigantes de Carolina players Guerreros de Oaxaca players Huntington Cubs players Iowa Cubs players KBO League outfielders Leones de Yucatán players LG Twins players Major League Baseball left fielders Major League Baseball players from Puerto Rico Major League Baseball right fielders Mexican League baseball first basemen Mexican League baseball left fielders Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Oklahoma RedHawks players Olmecas de Tabasco players Orlando Cubs players People from Fajardo, Puerto Rico Peoria Chiefs players Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Japan Puerto Rican expatriate baseball players in Mexico Saraperos de Saltillo players Texas Rangers players Tulsa Drillers players 2013 World Baseball Classic players