Valerio Lorenzo de los Santos (born October 6, 1972) is a Dominican former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Milwaukee Brewers

De los Santos was originally signed by 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 ...

as an amateur free agent in 1993. He started his professional career in the minor leagues in 1995, and spent the next four seasons in the Brewers' farm system, playing for the

AZL Brewers The Arizona Complex League Brewers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Arizona Complex League (ACL) and a Rookie-level affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The are located in Phoenix, Arizona, and play their home games at American Family Field ...

Beloit Snappers The Beloit Sky Carp are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Beloit, Wisconsin, and play their home games at ABC Supply Stadium. They previously played at Harry C ...

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, whi ...

, and Louisville Red Birds. He was promoted to the major leagues in , and made his debut for the Brewers on July 31. He would play in 74 games for the Brewers from 1999 to 2001, and played in 51 games for the team in 2002. He began the 2003 season with the Brewers, and pitched 45 games for the club that year.

Philadelphia Phillies

On September 2, 2003, the Brewers traded De los Santos to the

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 ...

in exchange for cash considerations. De los Santos pitched to a 9.00 ERA over 6 games for the Phillies in 2003 and elected free agency on December 21, 2003.

Toronto Blue Jays

On December 27, 2003, De los Santos signed with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. In 2004, he pitched to a 6.17 ERA over 17 games for the Blue Jays. He elected free agency on October 28, 2004.

Florida Marlins

On April 13, 2005, De los Santos signed with 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 franc ...

. On July 9, 2005, pitching in the 9th inning against 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 ...

, de los Santos

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 in ...

Adam Greenberg directly in the back of his head with a 92 mph

fastball The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thro ...

on the very first pitch of the plate appearance. "The first thing going through your mind is, 'This guy's dead,'" de los Santos said. Greenberg suffered a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration, ...

as a result of the beaning, and still suffers from

positional vertigo Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is a disorder arising from a problem in the inner ear. Symptoms are repeated, brief periods of vertigo with movement, characterized by a spinning sensation upon changes in the position of the head. * T ...

. In , he pitched to a 6.14 ERA over 27 games for the Marlins. He was released by the Marlins on August 13, 2005.

Washington Nationals

On January 27, 2006. De los Santos signed a minor league deal with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. He was released by the Nationals organization before the season started on March 23, 2006.

Chicago White Sox

On June 13, 2006, De los Santos signed a minor league deal with the

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 p ...

. He played for the Triple-A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

for the remainder of the season, carrying a 3.02 ERA over 19 games. He elected free agency on October 15, 2006.

Sultanes de Monterrey

In , De los Santos signed with the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey ( en, Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Monterrey, Mexico. They compete in the Northern Division. The team also joined the Mexican Pacific League for the 2019–20 season f ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He pitched in 16 games and had a 4.40 ERA when he was released by the Sultanes.

Dorados de Chihuahua

Shortly after his release, De los Santos signed with the

Dorados de Chihuahua Dorados de Chihuahua (English: Chihuahua Goldens) are a refounded baseball team from the city of Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Recently, the Tuneros de San Luis moved to Chihuahua and took the Dorados namesake, which also brought the LMB (AAA ...

of the Mexican League. He pitched in 3 games for the Dorados and finished the season with the club. He elected free agency at seasons end.

Colorado Rockies

On February 17, , De los Santos signed a minor league deal with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. In 2008, he began the year with the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

. he was promoted to the majors on July 28, . He pitched in 2 major league games before being designated for assignment by the Rockies on August 4. He elected free agency on October 8, 2008.

New York Mets

On January 29, , he signed a minor league contract 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 ...

. He was released on March 25 after being cut from spring training.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions

Shortly after his release from the Mets, De los Santos signed with the

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions The Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions, stylized as Uni-President 7-ᴇʟᴇᴠᴇn Lions, also known as Uni-Lions (), are a professional baseball team playing in the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). The Lions are based in Tainan City, Ta ...

of the

Chinese Professional Baseball League The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL; ) is the top-tier professional baseball league in Taiwan. The league was established in 1989 and played the first season in 1990. CPBL eventually absorbed the competing Taiwan Major League in 20 ...

. He played in 4 games for the Lions, carrying a 5.87 ERA over 15.1 innings pitched. He won the

Taiwan Series Taiwan Series () is the championship series of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). It is usually played in late October or early November, after the regular season. It was formerly known as the ''CPBL Seasonal Championship Series'' () ...

with the Lions in 2009 and became a free agent after the season.

Long Island Ducks

On March 10, 2011, De los Santos signed a contract with the Long Island Ducks. After carrying a 5.23 ERA over 21 games, De los Santos was released on May 10.

Vaqueros Laguna

On May 26, 2011, De los Santos signed with the

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

of the Mexican League. He pitched in 28 games, with a 5.81 ERA over 26.1 innings. He became a free agent after the season.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:De Los Santos, Valerio 1972 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players Arizona League Brewers players Beloit Snappers players Charlotte Knights players] Colorado Rockies players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Canada Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Taiwan Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States El Paso Diablos players Florida Marlins players Indianapolis Indians players Jupiter Hammerheads players Long Island Ducks players Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Milwaukee Brewers players Philadelphia Phillies players Toronto Blue Jays players Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions players