José Antonio Valentin graduated in 1987 from Fernando Callejo High School in Manati, Puerto Rico, where he played volleyball, baseball and basketball...His brother, Javier, played for the Reds the past two seasons and has spent seven seasons in the Major Leagues with Minnesota, Tampa
Bay and Cincinnati...Was the White Sox' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award from 2001-2004...Prior to the 2004 season, started the José Valentin Foundation, which raises funds for low-income children with special health needs...Is one of the owners of the Manati team of the Puerto Rican Winter League.
2007
Underwent right knee ACL surgery on September 25th....Mets Team Physician Dr. Straun Coleman performed the surgery at the
Hospital for Special Surgery...Missed most of the season with two different injuries..Hit .275 (14-51) vs. lefthanded pitching... Belted a three-run home run on April 23rd off Colorado's Taylor Buchholz in the second inning to give the Mets a 3-0 lead...Finished
with four RBI in that contest...Cracked a three-run home run on June 24th vs. Oakland in New York's 10-2 win...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List on July 21st...Suffered a fractured right tibia after fouling a pitch off his leg on July 20th at Los
Angeles...Transferred to the 60-Day Disabled List on September 4th...Left the game on April 28th at Washington with right knee discomfort...Placed on the 15-Day Disabled List with a partial tear of the
ACL ligament of the right knee on April 30th, retroactive to April 29th...Reinstated on June 7th.
2006
In a game that clinched the National League East Title, he collected his second two-home run game of the season (off Brian Moehler-2) and the 19th multi-home run game of his career with a two-run home run and a solo blast on Sept. 18 vs. Florida...His two-run shot in the third inning was also his 1,300th career hit...Delivered a pinch-hit RBI double in the eighth inning on Sept. 1 at Houston to snap a 6-6 tie in a contest New York eventually won, 8-7...Registered his 18th multi-home run game and the 16th two-home run game of his career on August 30th at Colorado with two solo blasts (off Josh Fogg & Ramon Ramirez)..Hit his ninth career grand slam, July 21 vs. Houston (off Taylor Buchholz)...Tied his career-high with two stolen bases on July 14 at Chicago...It was his eight career two stolen base game, and first since, Sept. 23, 2000, with the White Sox at Minnesota...Had a career-high seven RBI on July 8th vs. Florida (Game Two)...Collected his eighth career grand slam on July 8 vs. the Marlins (Game Two) off Ricky Nolasco...Became the first Met and only the third Major League player in the last 40 years to hit a grand slam and a bases-loaded triple in the same game...Delivered a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth on July 26 vs. Chicago to give the Mets a 1-0 win...Batted lead-off for the first time since June 14, 2003 (with the Chicago White Sox vs. San Diego) on July 8th vs. Florida (Game One)...Also batted lead-off, July 9 vs.Florida and July 14 and 15 at Chicago...Had 15 RBI over a 14-game stretch with an at-bat from May 12-May 30...Became the 132nd third baseman in club history when he started at third on May 26 at Florida...It was his 158th career start at third and first since Aug. 26, 2005 with Los Angeles vs. Houston...Drove in four runs on May 13 at Milwaukee...Cracked a two-run home run (off Chris De Maria), his first long ball with the Mets, in the eighth inning...Picked up his first hit as a Met, a single at San Diego on April 20...Had his errorless streak end at 60 games on Sept. 11 at Florida...It was the longest by a National League second baseman of the season and the longest by a Met at that position since Edgardo Alfonzo had a 75-game errorless streak in 1999...Made his first start for the Mets in left field, April 18 vs. the Braves...Also started in left on April 19 vs. Atlanta and May 13 at
Milwaukee...Hit .229 (30-131) with four doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI in 42 games for Manati of the Puerto Rican Winter League.
POSTSEASON: Drove in five runs in his last four postseason games...Laced a three-run double in the sixth inning of Game Four of the NLCS at St.Louis...Started all 10 games at second base during the post-season.
2005
Made 24 starts at third base and 19 in leftfield...The Dodgers were 15-9 in his starts at third...Batted .316 (6-19) against lefthanded pitchers...Went 3-4 with a home run and four RBI on April 6th at San Francisco...It was his first home run as a righthanded hitter since July
30, 2003, with the White Sox at Kansas City...Tied his career-high with four walks on April 7th at San Francisco...Hit a game-winning, two-run pinch-hit home run in the top of the ninth inning on April 8th at Arizona (off Brandon Lyon)...Was hit on the right hand by a pitch by Brian Fuentes on April 23rd at Colorado, causing him to leave the game...Was taken to the
hospital for X-rays, which were negative...Snapped an 0-27 slump on May 3rd vs. Washington with a single...Also walked and scored in the fifth inning, but had to leave the
game after spraining his right knee in a collision at home plate with Brian Schneider...Placed on the 60-Day Disabled List following the injury on May 4th...Activated on July 31st...Batted .400 (14-35) with two doubles, two home runs, and five RBI in 12 rehabilitation games at Las Vegas (AAA) of the Pacific Coast League...Hit .289 (33-114) with 25 runs, five doubles, one triple, six home runs, 20 RBI and eight stolen bases in 36 games for Manati of the Puerto Rican Winter League.
2004
Established a career high with 30 home runs...hit 25-plus home runs for the
fifth straight season, joining Frank Thomas (1993-98) and Magglio Ordoñez (1999-
2003) as the only players in White Sox history to accomplish that feat...a career
switch-hitter, batted only from the left side in 2004...his 30 home runs ranked 13th
in the American League and second among Major League shortstops behind
Baltmiore's Miguel Tejada (34)...finished third on the White Sox in home runs,
fourth in RBI (70) and fifth in runs scored (73)...23 of his 30 home runs came off
right-handers, tied for 10th-most in the league...hit seven home runs off left-handers
after entering the season with 12 career homers off southpaws...53 of his 97
hits (54.6 percent) went for extra bases...ranked among the AL leaders in home
runs per at-bat (6th, 15.0) and pitches per at-bat (10th, 4.02)...made 117 starts at
shortstop, compiling a .965 (20 E/579 TC) fielding percentage...committed 20 errors
for the second consecutive season...was third among AL shortstops with 3.27
assists per 9.0 innings and 10th with 85 double plays...hit nine home runs in
August, tied for the third-most in the AL...batted .254 (64-252) with 18 home runs
and 48 RBI in the first half...hit 13 home runs with two strikes, tied for third in the
AL...made his fifth straight Opening Day start for the White Sox...recorded his
2,000th career total base on April 18 at Tampa Bay...was placed on the 15-day disabled
list on April 20 with a strained left hamstring...batted .065 (2-31) with 15
strikeouts in eight games at Charlotte on a rehabilitation assignment...was reinstated
from the disabled list on May 7...hit his 200th career home run on May 11 vs. Baltimore, a two-run
shot off Sidney Ponson...batted fourth for the first time in his career on May 21 at Minnesota, going 2-for-5
with a double (career No. 250) and two-run homer...hit safely in 10 consecutive games from May 30-June
13...did not commit an error in 29 straight contests from May 19-June 22, his longest streak since his careerbest
32-game errorless stretch in 1998...went 4-for-5 with five RBI on June 22 vs. Cleveland, including a
game-ending, two-run homer...the four hits matched a career high and the five RBI were one shy of his
career high...recorded his 17th career multi-homer game on Aug. 9 vs. Cleveland...homered in three consecutive
games from Sept. 20-26...moved into 10th place on the franchise's all-time home run list with a
blast on Oct. 2 at Kansas City...hit five homers and drove in 14 runs in 33 games for Manati, the team he
owns in the Puerto Rican Winter League.
2003
Matched his career high with 28 home runs, the fourth straight season he has hit at least 25 ... is just one of four shortstops in major-league history to hit 25-plus home runs in at least four straight seasons, joining Cal Ripken (1982-87), Alex Rodriguez (1998-2003) and Miguel Tejada (2000-2003) ... became the 11th player in franchise history (12th time) to hit at least three home runs in one game on 7/30 at Kansas City ... joined Eddie Murray (three times) as the only switch hitters in major-league history with more than one career three-homer game ... is also one of 10 players in history and the only shortstop with a three-homer game in both leagues ... appeared in 143 games at shortstop, the first time since 1999 (with Milwaukee) that he has played an entire season at the position ... compiled a .969 (20 E/641 TC) fielding percentage, the second-best figure in his career (.971 in 1995) and an improvement of .013 from his career average entering the season ... the 20 errors were the fewest since also committing 20 at shortstop with Milwaukee in 1997 ... turned 96 double plays, tied for third-most in the AL ... hit .237 (119-503) with 28 home runs and 74 RBI ... finished fourth on team in home runs, runs scored (79), extra-base hits (56) and total bases (233) ... batted .257 (67-261) with 14 home runs with 33 RBI on the road and .215 (52-242) with 14 home runs and 41 RBI at home ... home average was lowest in the AL (min. 251 PA) ... was a .265 (105-396) hitter from the left side and .131 (14-107) right-handed ... batted .242 (72-298) prior to the All-Star Break and .229 (47-205) after ... batted in every spot in the lineup except No. 4 ... hit .286 during the day, .216 at night, .229 with runners in scoring position and .270 in clutch situations ... was 3-7 (.429) as a pinch hitter ... had 13 go-ahead RBI and eight game-winning RBI ... hit 14 of his 28 home runs with runners on base and 11 with two strikes ... his 26 home runs vs. right-handed pitching tied for 10th in the AL ... matched career high in home runs (28 in 2001) on 9/26 at Kansas City with seventh career grand slam ... posted three multihomer efforts, upping his career total to 16 ... has homered from both sides of the plate four times in his career (three with Sox, last, 7/30 at K.C.), the only player in club history to accomplish the feat more than once ... had eight home runs and 17 RBI vs. Kansas City and six home runs and 14 RBI vs. Minnesota ... since 2001, 31 of his 81 home runs have come against the Royals (16) and Twins (15) ... hit his 100th home run in a White Sox uniform on 8/23 vs. Texas (off Ismael Valdes) ... recorded 54 walks, including his 500th career on 9/7 vs. Cleveland, up from 43 last season ... homered in back-to-back games three times ... hit second career game-ending home run as a member of the Sox and the 20th game-ending shot in U.S. Cellular Field history on 6/27 vs. Cubs (off Antonio Alfonseca) ... collected 1,000th career hit on 5/26 at Toronto as a pinch hitter ... compiled a nine-game hitting streak from 6/19-24, going 12-35 (.343) ... had 26 multihit games and 20 multiRBI efforts.
Major League Highlights
Has averaged 26.5 home runs in his four seasons with the White Sox ... needs four home runs for 200 in his career ... has reached double-digit home runs in each of the last 10 seasons (averaging 19.5) ... has 16 career multihomer games (last on 8/22/03 vs. Texas) ... has homered from both sides of the plate on three occasions with the Sox (last on 7/30/03 at Kansas City) and once as a member of the Brewers (7/1/99 at the Cubs) ... is the only player in Sox history to accomplish the feat more than once ... is one of two switch-hitters in major-league history (Eddie Murray) with more than one career three-homer game ... 184 of 196 career home runs have come left-handed ... homered twice from the right side of the plate for the only time in his career on 5/11/01 vs. Texas ... also hit three home runs on 4/3/98 at Florida, becoming just the seventh major-league shortstop in the 20th century and first Brewers player (fourth overall) since Dale Sveum on 7/17/87 to accomplish that feat.
2002
Appeared in 83 games at third base (76 starts) and 50 at shortstop (47 starts) in his third season with the White Sox...hit 25-plus
home runs for the third straight season...was one of a club-record five Sox players to hit 25-plus home runs...batted .282 (40-142) with
11 home runs and 25 RBI in August/September, compared to .235 (78-332) with 14 homers and 50 RBI through July...Sox were 31-16
(.660) when he started at shortstop, including 12 straight wins from 9/9-26...started 37 of Sox last 56 games at shortstop...37 of his final
38 starts came at short...was a .258 (47-182) hitter at shortstop and .244 (69-283) at third...ranked fourth in the American League with a
.357 average with two outs and runners in scoring position and 10th with a .351 (433-94) average with runners in scoring position...was
fourth on the Sox with 55 extra-base hits...batted .259 (111-428) with 24 home runs, 71 RBI and a .502 slugging percentage left-handed
and .152 (7-46) with one homer, four RBI and a .261 slugging percentage right-handed...homered from both sides of the plate for the third
time in his career and matched his career high with six RBI on 8/13 at Texas...batting right-handed, hit sixth career grand slam in the
fourth inning and added a solo shot from the left side in the ninth...is one of four players in Sox history to accomplish the feat and the only
one to do it twice (also on 9/30/00 vs. Kansas City)...homered in back-to-back games five times, including three straight games for the
second time in his career on 4/20-22...had three multihomer games, upping career total to 13...hit .297 at home and .204 on the road,
.270 at night and .209 during the day...batted .333 vs. Anaheim (6-18), New York (5-15) and Seattle (10-30)...had five home runs and 11
RBI vs. Minnesota and four homers and 15 RBI vs. Detroit...compiled a season-high 11-game hitting streak from 9/2-14, going 17-45
(.378) with four home runs and eight RBI...hit pair of homers, including the game-winner, on 9/3 at Toronto...homered twice with five RBI
on 8/21 vs. Minnesota...hit second career pinch-hit homer on 9/11 at Kansas City off Roberto Hernandez...hit his 200th career double on
5/29 vs. New York...hit 150th career home run on 5/18 vs. Anaheim...went 2-4 with a triple and five RBI on 5/4 vs. Oakland...had four
straight multihit games from 5/1-4...compiled a .962 fielding percentage at shortstop and .952 at third...played for Mayaguez in the
Puerto Rican Winter League, leading the league in home runs (nine), extra-base hits (20) and runs scored (33) in the regular season...hit
.300 (6-20) with three homers and five RBI in the playoffs for the league champions.
2001
Hit a career-high 28 home runs in his second season with the White Sox, eclipsing his previous high of 25 set in 2000...averaged
one home run every 15.6 at-bats, ninth-best in the American League...his .509 slugging percentage was second among Sox regulars
behind Magglio Ordonez (.533)...made 57 starts at third base, 36 at shortstop and 18 in center field...compiled a .926 fielding
percentage at third base (13 E/175 TC) and a .953 percentage (9 E/191 TC) at shortstop...hit .312 (44-141) with 10 home runs at
shortstop, .225 (49-218) with 15 home runs at third base and .271 (19-70) with three home runs in center field...started in center field on
Opening Day...was on the 15-day disabled list from 6/9-24 with a strained right hamstring...suffered the injury running the bases in the
first inning on 6/8 vs. the Cubs and was bothered by the injury most of the remainder of the season...hit .290 (58-200) prior to the injury
and .231 (55-238) after...batted .267 (100-374) with 25 home runs vs. lefties and .203 (13-64) with three homers vs. right-handers...hit
14 home runs at home and 14 on the road...struck out a team-high 114 times...his eight home runs in August ranked fifth in the AL and
were a career monthly best...ranked ninth in the league with seven homers in May...also led the Sox with 19 runs scored in the month...
finished second in the AL behind Cleveland's Jim Thome with an average of 4.14 pitches seen per plate appearance...hit two home runs
on 5/11 vs. Texas, 8/22 at Kansas City and 8/31 vs. Cleveland, increasing his career multihomer games total to 10...homered twice from
the right side of the plate for the first time in his career on 5/11 vs. Texas, including a game-ending solo shot in the 10th inning...received
his first career ejection (by umpire Ted Barrett) on 7/23 at Cleveland for arguing balls and strikes...hit .278 (27-97) from the leadoff
position...led off 17 straight games from 5/20-6/24, going 22-69 (.319) with three home runs and 11 RBI...hit his second career leadoff
home run on 7/2 vs. Minnesota...had game-ending hits on 5/9 vs. Anaheim and 5/11 vs. Texas...scored winning run on 5/30 vs. Toronto,
sliding under the tag at the plate on a Magglio Ordonez grounder to third base...hit four home runs in four games from 5/11-15...
appeared in 1,000th career game on 8/24 at Tampa Bay, collected 500th RBI on 9/25 vs. Minnesota and scored 500th career run on 5/6 vs.
Texas...homered in back-to-back games on 5/11-12 (three total)...matched his career best with four hits (sixth time) on 5/9 vs. Anaheim
...stole 100th career base on 4/28 vs. Seattle...made first career start at third base on 4/6 vs. Detroit.
2000
Established career highs in average (.273), at-bats (568), runs scored (107), hits (155), total bases (279), doubles (37), home runs
(25, since broken) and extra-base hits (68) and tied his career best with 19 stolen bases in his first season with the White Sox...his 25
home runs set a franchise record for shortstops, breaking Ron Hansen's record of 20 set in 1964...his 68 extra-base hits were 49 more
than the combined output of Sox shortstops in 1999...ranked second on the club in doubles and triples (six), third in home runs, extra-
base hits and slugging percentage (.491), tied for third in runs scored and tied for fourth in RBI...was one of six Sox players to record 20
home runs and 90 RBI and one of a club-record five to score 100 runs, joining Ray Durham (121), Frank Thomas (115), Carlos Lee (107)
and Magglio Ordonez (102)...scored a run every .49 times he reached base, the third-best ratio in the American League behind
teammates Carlos Lee (.50) and Chris Singleton (.50)...became the fifth player in Sox history to hit for the cycle on 4/27 vs. Baltimore,
going 4-5 with five RBI to join Chris Singleton (1999), Carlton Fisk (1984), Jack Brohamer (1977) and Ray Schalk (1922)...fell a single shy
of hitting for the cycle again on 5/27 vs. Cleveland, going 3-4 with a career-high six RBI...would have become the second player in major-
league history to hit for two cycles in one season, joining Brooklyn's Babe Herman (1931)...hit .300 (3-10) with two doubles, two runs
scored, an RBI and three stolen bases in the ALDS vs. Seattle...batted .282 (138-489) from the left side of the plate and .215 (17-79) from
the right...24 of his 25 home runs came left-handed...committed 36 errors for a .950 fielding percentage, lowest among AL shortstops...
Sox were 17-11 when he committed an error and only 16 of 36 miscues led to runs...helped turn 117 double plays, third among major-
league shortstops behind Alex Rodriguez (122) and Neifi Perez (120)...hit .302 with 16 homers, 56 RBI and a .576 slugging percentage at
home...was a .248 (76-306) hitter on the road...batted .306 (59-193) during the day compared to .256 (96-375) at night...hit .284 (69-
243) in the second half, including a career monthly best .337 (31-92) average with 20 RBI in August...homered from both sides of the
plate for the second time in his career on 9/30 vs. Kansas City, joining Ken Henderson, Tim Raines and Brian Simmons as one of four
players in Sox history to accomplish the feat...it was seventh career multihomer game and second of the season...also homered twice
on 6/11 vs. the Cubs...first home run was the 100th of career...was 19 for 21 (90.5 percent) in stolen base attempts...scored four runs
on three occasions...compiled a career-high 13-game hitting streak from 8/11-25 (.370, 20-54)...scored a run in 10 straight games from
8/12-21...recorded eight straight multihit games from 7/27-8/5...recorded game-winning, pinch-hit two-run single on 9/1 vs. Anaheim...
hit first career pinch homer on 7/26 vs. Kansas City...hit first career leadoff home run on 7/21 at Boston...followed Ray Durham's leadoff
homer on 7/4 at Kansas City with a solo shot, marking the first time the Sox have accomplished that feat since 9/2/37-1 when Boze Berger
and Mike Kreevich went deep...made first major-league start in the outfield (right) on 7/1 vs. Boston, driving in four runs...reached base
safely in six straight plate appearances from 6/23-24...hit fifth career grand slam and first with the Sox on 6/18 at New York off Orlando
Hernandez... hit first Sox home run on 4/24 vs. Baltimore...committed four errors on 4/8 at Oakland...was 2-4 with a run scored in Sox
debut on 4/3 at Texas...reached base safely in 11 straight games to begin the season...played center field in the Puerto Rican Winter
League.
1999
Missed more than two months after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in left thumb on 4/10 at Houston...was placed on the 15-
day disabled list on 4/13 and underwent surgery to repair injury on 4/15...returned to the lineup on 6/16 and hit safely in 14 of first 17
games (.377, 23-61)...hit fourth career grand slam on 8/25 vs. Los Angeles (off Kevin Brown)...homered from both sides of the plate on
7/1 at Wrigley Field for his fourth career multihomer game...second home run was just his fifth career from the right side of the plate...set
a Brewers National League record and equaled a franchise mark with two triples on 9/29-1 vs. Pittsburgh...posted a .937 fielding
percentage (22 E/349 TC)...homered in three straight games from 6/19-21...twice drove in four runs...played for Puerto Rico in the
Caribbean World Series, hitting a game-winning home run in the 11th inning of the series-clinching victory over the Dominican Republic.
1998
Hit three home runs on 4/3 at Florida, becoming just the seventh major-league shortstop in the 20th century and first Brewers
player (fourth overall) since Dale Sveum on 7/17/87 to accomplish that feat...went 3-3 with three home runs, three runs scored and a
career-high five RBI in the game...recorded his third career multihomer game on 6/12 at Pittsburgh...matched career high with four hits
on 6/8 vs. Kansas City...hit .387 (12-31) during a nine-game hitting streak from 6/27-7/9...notched his 500th career hit on 8/27 at Arizona
(Andy Benes)...had one hit from 7/29-8/21...made 110 starts at shortstop (21 errors)...played for Mayaguez in the Puerto Rico Winter
League.
1997
Stole a career-high 19 bases (matched in 2000)...hit .293 (48-231) on the road compared to an AL-worst .208 (48-231) at home
...15 of 17 homers came against right-handers ...grounded into double plays just 5.1 percent of the time, ninth-best in the American
League...compiled a 10-game hitting streak (.371, 13-35) from 5/23-6/1...also hit in nine straight games from 7/2-14...started the
season in a 2-20 (.100) slump before fracturing the middle finger on right hand while attempting to bunt on 4/13 vs. Toronto...was disabled
from 4/14-5/5.
1996
Set career highs in virtually every offensive category, including home runs (24) and RBI (95)...grounded into four double plays in
135 situations (3.0 percent), the best ratio in the AL...drove in four runs three times...hit third career grand slam on 7/18 vs. Kansas City
...batted .248 against left-handers, up from .133 in 1995...hit his first two career homers against lefties...after committing 15 errors in
1995, led all major-league shortstops with 37...hit .277 with 12 home runs, 57 RBI and 50 runs scored in the first half...compiled a then
career-high, 12-game hitting streak from 6/17-30 (.426, 20-47)...went 4-6 with a home run and career-high four runs scored on 4/2 at
Anaheim...twice collected four hits.
1995
His ratio of grounding into double plays was the best in the AL...was limited to pinch-running duty in September after breaking a
finger on his throwing hand while diving into a base on 8/21 at Kansas City...hit game-winning grand slam in the ninth on 6/21 at Toronto
...recorded first career multihomer game on 6/10 vs. Cleveland off Orel Hershiser...collected four hits on 5/20 at Texas.
1994
Named Brewers Rookie of the Year...his 11 home runs were the most by a Brewers middle infielder since Dale Sveum hit 25 in
1987...all 11 homers were hit left-handed...hit first career grand slam on 7/20 vs. Kansas City (Tom Gordon)...twice drove in four runs
...led AL shortstops with 20 errors.
1993
Was recalled from Class AAA New Orleans on 9/3...made his first major-league start (at shortstop) on 9/5 at Seattle...collected
his first hit on 9/8 at Kansas City, a single off Hipolito Pichardo...hit his first career home run on 9/15 vs. New York, a three-run shot off
Rich Monteleone.
1992
Was recalled by the Brewers on 9/11...made major-league debut on 9/17 at Boston, scoring as a pinch-runner in the eighth
inning...played his first game in the field on 9/18 vs. Baltimore...was 0-3 with an error in his first major-league start (third base) on 10/4 at
Oakland.
