José Valverde
[1] Valverde made his Major League Baseball debut in 2003 to help out when Arizona Diamondbacks closer Matt Mantei was injured.In September 2003 Valverde hit a double on the first pitch that he faced in the major leagues, thrown by Leo Estrella.On June 23, 2007, Valverde passed Matt Mantei as the Diamondbacks all-time saves leader, with his 75th, a perfect ninth against the Baltimore Orioles.Until he was traded during the 2007 offseason, Valverde was the Diamondbacks closer, and led all of Major League Baseball in saves (47) during the 2007 regular season.[3] On December 14, 2007, Valverde was traded to the Houston Astros for pitchers Chad Qualls, Juan Gutiérrez and IF/OF Chris Burke.[15] On opening day, his consecutive save streak ended after blowing a 2–0 lead versus the Boston Red Sox, although he earned the win after the Tigers won, 3–2.[17] On October 13, 2012, Valverde blew a 4–0 lead against the New York Yankees in the bottom of the ninth in Game 1 of the 2012 ALCS by allowing a pair of two-run home runs, one by Ichiro Suzuki and the other by Raúl Ibañez.[22] After clearing waivers, Valverde was outrighted from the 40-man roster and accepted the assignment to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens.Despite fans souring on him in late 2012 and into 2013, he left the Tigers having established the best save conversion percentage (119-for-130, 91.5%) of any closer in team history.[24] On February 12, 2014, Valverde signed a minor league deal with an invite to Spring training with the New York Mets.[27] On January 10, 2015, Valverde signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres,[28] and was released on April 2.[32] On April 10, 2017, Valverde signed with the Rieleros de Aguascalientes of the Mexican Baseball League in 52 games 57.2 innings of relief he went 2-4 with a 2.81 ERA with 72 strikeouts and 25 saves.Some have questioned the sportsmanship of his behavior, including former teammate Miguel Montero of the Arizona Diamondbacks who has called him "unprofessional".
PitcherSan Pedro de Macorís, Dominican RepublicWin–loss recordEarned run averageStrikeoutsBaseball ReferenceArizona DiamondbacksHouston AstrosDetroit TigersNew York MetsAll-StarRolaids Relief Man AwardDelivery Man of the YearSaves leaderDominicanbaseballMajor League BaseballSpanishMatt ManteiNational LeagueLeo EstrellaSteve FinleycloserBrian BruneyTriple-ATucson SidewinderslossesBaltimore Orioles2007 MLB All-Star GameDelivery Man of the Year AwardpitchersChad QuallsJuan GutiérrezChris BurkeLadies and GentlemenSalivaTodd JonesJustin VerlanderMiguel CabreraAll-Star GameRon WashingtonAL Central2011 ALDS2011 ALCSCy Young Awardopening dayBoston Red Soxstrikeouts per 9 innings pitchedOakland Athletics2012 ALDSNew York Yankees2012 ALCSIchiro SuzukiRaúl IbañezPhil Cokefree agentLakeland Flying TigersChris Dickersondesignated for assignmentToledo Mud HensPittsburgh PiratesSan Diego PadresWashington NationalsSyracuse ChiefsMLB drug policystanozololRieleros de AguascalientesMexican Baseball League2020 Baseball Hall of Fame ballotfour-seam fastballforkballMiguel MonteroHouston Astros award winners and league leadersList of Houston Astros team recordsList of Major League Baseball career games finished leadersList of Major League Baseball career saves leadersList of Major League Baseball players from the Dominican RepublicBaseball-Reference.comBoston HeraldMLB.commlive.comSportsnetSporting NewsMajor League Baseball Delivery Man of the Year AwardMariano RiveraJonathan PapelbonBrad LidgeHeath BellFernando RodneyCraig KimbrelAmerican League Rolaids Relief Man AwardCampbellGossageQuisenberryFingersRighettiEckersleyRussellThigpenHarveyMontgomeryWettelandGordonRiveraFoulkeRodríguezRodriguezNathanSorianoJohnsonNational League Rolaids Relief Man AwardEastwickSutterHollandReardonWorrellBedrosianFrancoBrantleyHoffmanWagnerAlfonsecaBenítezSmoltzGagnéCordero