VINTAGE BASEBALL MEMORABILIA

Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

José Valverde

Position: Pitcher
Bats: Right  •  Throws: Right
6-4, 265lb (193cm, 120kg)
Born: March 24, 1978  in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic
High School: Escuela San Lorenzo (Dominican Republic)
Debut: June 1, 2003 (18,288th in major league history)
vs. SDP 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 SO, 2 BB, 1 ER
Last Game: May 26, 2014
vs. PIT 0.2 IP, 4 H, 0 SO, 1 BB, 4 ER, L
Full Name: Jose Rafael Valverde
Nicknames: Papa Grande
Pronunciation: \val-VAIR-day\
Twitter: @PapaGrande46
View Player Info from the B-R Bullpen
Relatives: Nephew of Jose Mercedes

Notable Events and Chronology for Jose Valverde Career

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August 24, 2005

2005 – After fouling off three Jose Valverde full-count fastballs, Mike Jacobs goes deep at Bank One Ballpark to become the only player to hit four home runs during the first four games of a major league career. The Metsrookie, who hits two round-trippers in the 18 – 4 rout of the Diamondbacks, has homered four times, including his first big league at-bat, in his first 13 plate appearances.

December 14, 2007

Arizona also sends Jose Valverde to the Houston Astros for Chad Qualls, Chris Burke and Juan Gutierrez.

May 23, 2008

2008 – Jose Valverde takes a line drive off the face  yet stays in the game to notch his league-leading 15th save in a 4-3 triumph against the Phillies. Hunter Pence had drilled two solo homers and Brandon Backe allowed just one run over 7-1/3rd innings but Valverde steals the spotlight with his amazing toughness. 

June 13, 2009

2009 – Minutes after Miguel Tejada strokes his 2,000th career hit to drive in a run, Lance Berkman launches his 300th career homer  to pace a 6-4 win at Arizona. After seven strong innings by Roy Oswalt, Jose Valverde and LaTroy Hawkins work their way out of jams to preserve the win. The Astros are last in the division with a 28-32 record but are just five games out of first. 

July 22, 2009

2009 – Houston stuns closer Ryan Franklin with two runs in the bottom of the ninth to clip the Cardinals, 4-3, and sweep the three-game series from the division leaders. The Astros move within a game of first. Miguel Tejada strokes the game- after Chris Coste failed twice to lay down a bunt then spanked an RBI double to center. Jose Valverde wins in relief. 

January 14, 2010

The Tigers agree to terms with free agent reliever Jose Valverde, who played for the Houston Astros last season. As a result of the signing, the Tigers will give up their first pick in the 2010 amateur draft, the first time the team has surrendered its top pick since signing Rob Deer as a free agent in 1991.

August 11, 2011

Justin Verlander is the first 17-game winner in the majors after defeating Cleveland, 4 – 3. The Tigers avoid a three-game sweep and leave the shores of Lake Erie with a three-game lead over the Indians. It is the 100th winof Verlander’s career; he is the only active major leaguer under 30 to have reached the total. Jose Valverde converts his 33rd consecutive save opportunity for a team record.

August 12, 2011

It’s V-Day for Detroit when the Tigers’ 4-3 victory in Cleveland snaps a 13-game losing streak at Progressive Field. The team avoids being swept by the Tribe thanks to starter Justin Verlander’s 100th career win and Jose Valverde’s 33rd consecutive save, breaking a team record established in 1984 by Guillermo Hernandez.

August 21, 2011

The Tigers score 7 runs off Cleveland’s Ubaldo Jimenez in the 3rd, including homers from Delmon Young and Victor Martinez, but the Indians slowly claw back. In the 4th, both benches are warned when Tigers starter Rick Porcello throws a pitch behind Asdrubal Cabrera shortly before being chased from the game. In the 6th, Tigers manager Jim Leyland is ejected by third base umpire Alan Porter for arguing a tag play at the base on Wilson Betemit. Detroit closer José Valverde then pitches the 9th with a one-run lead, but puts the first two men he faces on base courtesy of a walk and a hit-by-pitch. After Jack Hannahan’s successful sacrifice bunt, he gets pinch-hitter Matt LaPorta to fly to short center field; CF Austin Jackson unloads a superb throw to the plate that nails Kosuke Fukudome trying to score from third base, for a spectacular game-ending double play. Detroit completes a three-game sweep with the 8 – 7 win and Valverde has now been perfect in all 37 of his save opportunities this year.

August 27, 2011

Justin Verlander wins 20th in August for the first time since 1990

September 7, 2011

Justin Verlander allows a pair of homers to the Indians’ Shelley Duncan, but his teammates pick him up as they rally for an 8 – 6 win, his 22nd of the season. A grand slam by Victor Martinez highlights a five-run 7th inning push by the Tigers. Jose Valverde records his 42nd save of the year.

October 2, 2011

The Tigers get a dominant outing by Max Scherzer to beat the Yankees, 5 – 3, and even their ALDS at one game each. Scherzer does not allow a hit until the 6th inning, while Miguel Cabrera puts the Tigers ahead with a two-run homer off Freddy Garcia in the 1st inning. Closer Jose Valverde struggles a bit in the 9th, giving up a home run to Nick Swisher and a triple to Jorge Posada, but ends the game with the tying run on base.

October 6, 2011

The Tigers eliminate the Yankees in the ALDS for the second time in five years, taking advantage of back-to-back 1st-inning homers by Don Kelly and Delmon Young off Ivan Nova, to win, 3 – 2, in the decisive Game 5. Nova is lifted in the 2nd inning, while Doug Fister and three relievers manage to quiet the Yankees’ bats to make the lead hold. Closer Jose Valverde remains perfect for the season, picking up the save with a flawless 9th inning at New Yankee Stadium.

October 12, 2011

The Rangers win another extra-inning game to take a 3-1 lead over the Tigers in the ALCS. They score 4 runs in the 11th inning with a single by Mike Napoli followed by Nelson Cruz’s three-run homer off Jose Valverde, his second extra-inning homer of the Series. Cruz also throws out Miguel Cabrera at the plate in the 8th in one of the game’s key plays; surprisingly, the Rangers had walked the Tigers’ slugger intentionally with one out and the bases empty, putting the potential winning run on base.

May 15, 2012

The White Sox are ahead, 6 – 0, in the top of the 6th inning when the Tigers’ bats get to work. Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson all homer in an eight-run frame, as Detroit wins, 10 – 8. The Tigers get a scare in the bottom of the 9th, however, when closer Jose Valverde retires the first two Sox hitters, then begins to feel tightness in his back; he gives up a pair of hits and has to leave the game. Veteran Octavio Dotel steps in, and while he gives up a two-run double to Alexei Ramirez, he retires Dayan Viciedo to end the game and pick up his first save as a Tiger. He has now recorded a save for 9 of the record 13 teams for which he has pitched.

June 15, 2012

An 8-run explosion by the Rockies in the 10th inning takes them to a 12 – 4 win over the Tigers. For the Rockies, it’s the most runs they have ever scored in an extra inning; the win stops an 8-game losing streak and is their first in 10 interleague games this year. A fielding error by P Jose Valverde on Eric Young’s sacrifice bunt sets up the big inning, and Carlos Gonzalez and Michael Cuddyer hit back-to-back homers off Luis Marte before the Rox are done.

July 14, 2012

Taylor Teagarden is the hero in his first game for the Orioles this season, after spending the first half on the disabled list. Entering the game as a substitute in the 10th, he hits a walk-offtwo-run homer off Joaquin Benoit in the 13th inning for an 8 – 6 win over the Tigers; J.J. Hardy had earlier tied the score with a solo shot off Benoit, negating Quintin Berry’s two-out RBI single in the top of the inning. The Orioles had already come back from a 5 – 4 deficit in the 11th, rallying against closer Jose Valverde. Nick Markakis hits three doubles for the O’s.

October 10, 2012

The Athletics orchestrate a three-run rally in the bottom of the 9th off Tigers closer Jose Valverde to win, 4 – 3, and even the ALDS at 2 wins apiece. Detroit leads, 3 – 1, entering the final frame when Seth Smith hits a two-run double to tie the score, and Coco Crisp ends the game with a single.

October 13, 2012

2012 – In Game 1 of the ALCS, Raul Ibanez hits a homer to cap a game-tying four-run outburst against Tigers closer Jose Valverde in the 9th inning, but Detroit manages to overcome the psychological blow to win, 6 – 4, in 12 innings. The Yankees’ Derek Jeter collects the 200th postseason hit of his career in the game – second place on the all-time list is held by his long-time teammate Bernie Williams with 128 – but he then suffers a broken ankle while fielding a ground ball in the 12th, putting him out for the rest of the postseason. Delmon Young drives in 3 runs for Detroit, including a homer in the 8th and the game-winner with a double off David Phelps, the eighth Yankee pitcher of the game.

April 4, 2013

The Tigers bring back maligned closer Jose Valverde with a minor league contract, as neither of their back-up plans going into the season – rookie Bruce Rondon and a closer-by-committee led by Phil Coke – seems to be working.

Biography

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