Valentín was signed on October 12, 1986, by the San Diego Padres as an amateur free agent. However, he was sent to the Milwaukee Brewers on March 26, 1992 with Ricky Bones and Matt Mieske in exchange for Gary Sheffield and Minor League prospect Geoff Kellogg. He made his major league debut with the Brewers on September 17, 1992. On January 12, 2000, and after eight seasons with the Brewers, he was traded with Cal Eldred to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Jaime Navarro and John Snyder. He played five seasons with the White Sox before becoming a free agent on October 29, 2004.\n', '

As Valentín got older, however, his range in the field lessened with his foot speed. Therefore, he shifted from a strict shortstop to a player who can handle duties at third base, second base, shortstop and left field. On December 21, 2004, he was signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. However, during spring training, he went down with torn ligaments in his left knee, and ended up with only a .170 batting average in 56 games that season after he returned, serving as a third baseman, left fielder and lefty pinch-hitter. Due to Valentin\'s struggles, he began to bat strictly left-handed for a time being rather that switch hitting. He would later resume switch hitting later in his career. On October 27 of the same year, the Dodgers granted him free agency.\n', '

On December 12, 2005, Valentín signed with the New York Mets hoping to make the team as a utility player off the bench, but rebounded from the previous season to have one of the best seasons of his career. He emerged as one of the most solid players in the line-up, becoming the Mets regular second baseman after they traded away Kazuo Matsui. His consistent hitting played a big part in helping the Mets to the 2006 National League Eastern Division title. Valentín capped off his great regular season by hitting two home runs against the Florida Marlins on September 18, 2006, in the division-clinching game.\n', '

Return to Jose Valentin Autograph Profile