Milwaukee’s Best, Part 2: The 50 Best To Play For Braves, Brewers: 40-31
By Phil Watson
Jose Valentin, shown on a 1994 Upper Deck baseball card.
33. Jose Valentin, SS
Brewers 1992-99
The Brewers acquired Jose Valentin from the San Diego Padres in the March 1992 trade that sent third baseman Gary Sheffield and right-hander Geoff Kellogg to the Padres, with Milwaukee also getting right-hander Ricky Bones and outfielder Matt Mieske in the deal.
Valentin made his big-league debut for the Brewers in September 1992 and because the Brewers’ full-time shortstop in 1994.
He broke out in 1996 with a 24-homer, 95-RBI campaign.
Valentin was seventh in the American League in triples in 1996 and was also fifth in strikeouts that season.
After logging back-to-back .224 and .227 seasons in 1998 and 1999, the Brewers dealt Valentin to the Chicago White Sox in January 2000 along with right-hander Cal Eldred in exchange for right-handers Jaime Navarro and John Snyder.
Valentin later would play with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets, retiring after he was released in spring training by the Mets in 2009.
Valentin was originally signed as an international free agent from Manati, Puerto Rico, by the Padres in October 1986 and managed San Diego’s Class-A club in Fort Wayne in 2012-13.
Here are Valentin’s statistics from his eight seasons with the Brewers:
| Year | Age | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 | -100 |
| 1993 | 23 | 19 | 63 | 53 | 10 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 16 | .245 | .344 | .396 | .740 | 100 |
| 1994 | 24 | 97 | 331 | 285 | 47 | 68 | 19 | 0 | 11 | 46 | 12 | 3 | 38 | 75 | .239 | .330 | .421 | .751 | 90 |
| 1995 | 25 | 112 | 386 | 338 | 62 | 74 | 23 | 3 | 11 | 49 | 16 | 8 | 37 | 83 | .219 | .293 | .402 | .695 | 76 |
| 1996 | 26 | 154 | 628 | 552 | 90 | 143 | 33 | 7 | 24 | 95 | 17 | 4 | 66 | 145 | .259 | .336 | .475 | .811 | 100 |
| 1997 | 27 | 136 | 546 | 494 | 58 | 125 | 23 | 1 | 17 | 58 | 19 | 8 | 39 | 109 | .253 | .310 | .407 | .717 | 85 |
| 1998 | 28 | 151 | 497 | 428 | 65 | 96 | 24 | 0 | 16 | 49 | 10 | 7 | 63 | 105 | .224 | .323 | .393 | .716 | 88 |
| 1999 | 29 | 89 | 313 | 256 | 45 | 58 | 9 | 5 | 10 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 48 | 52 | .227 | .347 | .418 | .765 | 95 |
| TOTALS | 762 | 2768 | 2409 | 378 | 577 | 132 | 18 | 90 | 343 | 78 | 32 | 298 | 585 | .240 | .323 | .421 | .744 | 90 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/18/2015.
Next: 32, The Guy Traded For Hank Aaron