Dave Valle

David Valle (/ˈvæli/; born October 30, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player.[1] He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Texas Rangers from 1984 to 1996.[1] He attended Holy Cross High School in Flushing, New York. In 1995, Valle founded Esperanza International, a microfinance organization that serves families in poverty in the Dominican Republic.[2] He's been an on air analyst for MLB Network since 2009, including appearing on MLB Now and MLB Tonight.[3]

Dave Valle
Catcher
Born: (1960-10-30) October 30, 1960
Bayside, New York, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 7, 1984, for the Seattle Mariners
Last MLB appearance
September 29, 1996, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
Batting average.237
Home runs77
Runs batted in350
Teams

Career

At age seventeen, Valle was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 1978 MLB draft.[4] He played in the minor leagues for seven seasons before making his MLB debut at age 23 with the Mariners in 1984 on September 7.[5][1][6] For the next two seasons, he split his playing time with the Mariners and the Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League, producing a .312 batting average with 21 home runs and 71 runs batted in with Calgary during the 1986 season.[6]

Valle led American League catchers in 1990 with a .997 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 102 games.[7] He had his best offensive season in 1993, hitting for a .258 batting average with thirteen home runs and 63 runs batted in.[1] He also led American League catchers in 1993 with 881 putouts, 57 baserunners caught stealing, a 7.05 range factor, finished second to Mike Stanley with a .995 fielding percentage, and finished third in assists behind Pat Borders and Iván Rodríguez.[8] Early in the season on April 22, Valle caught Chris Bosio's 97-pitch no-hitter.[9][10]

Valle became a free agent after the 1993 season,[5] and signed a one-year contract in late December with the Boston Red Sox,[11][12] who traded him in June 1994 to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Tom Brunansky.[13][14] He signed a two-year contract in December with the Texas Rangers,[15] serving as a reserve catcher for the next two seasons to hall of famer Iván Rodríguez. The Rangers won the AL West in 1996. Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel has credited Valle for calling a players only meeting during that season that helped turn around their season when they were struggling. That season would be the only one in Valle's career in which his club qualified for the playoffs. However, he did not appear in the ALDS that the Rangers lost to the New York Yankees. Valle retired in 1997 while with the Atlanta Braves organization.

Career statistics

In a 13-year career, Valle played in 970 games, accumulating 658 hits in 2,775 at bats for a .237 career batting average along with 77 home runs and 350 runs batted in.[1] A solid defensive catcher, he ended his career with a .992 fielding percentage.[1]

Broadcasting career

Valle was a color analyst for Seattle Mariners television and radio broadcasts from 1997 through 2013. Beginning in 2007, he co-hosted the post-game show on the Mariners' radio network. In 2009, he became one of the analysts on the MLB Network's MLB Tonight show. In 2011, he began co-hosting the Mariner pre-game and post-game shows on Root Sports. After a one-year hiatus to manage in the minors, he returned to the M's post-game show in 2015. Valle joined the Texas Rangers' announcing crew as an analyst for select Bally Sports Southwest telecasts in 2022.[16]

Managerial career

Valle interviewed for the vacant Mariners managerial opening in November 2013,[17] ultimately filled by Lloyd McClendon.[18]

For the 2014 season, Valle was the manager of the Class A Everett AquaSox, the Mariners' nearby affiliate in the short-season Northwest League.[19]

Esperanza

Esperanza International is a charitable organization founded in 1995 by Valle and his wife Victoria.[20] It is a Christian development organization focused on serving the most impoverished families in the Dominican Republic and Haiti through microfinance initiatives, healthcare, education, and water.[21] As of 2015, Esperanza has served over 200,000 people on the island of Hispaniola.[22]

References
  1. "Dave Valle at Baseball Reference". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  2. "Dave Valle". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  3. "MLB Network Personalities | MLB.com". MLB.com.
  4. "1978 Major League Baseball Draft". thebaseballcube.com. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  5. LaRue, Larry (March 1, 1993). "Valle has caught a lot of M's memories". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Tacoma News Tribune). p. C3.
  6. "Dave Valle minor league statistics". Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
  7. "1990 American League Fielding Leaders". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  8. 1993 American League Fielding Leaders at Baseball Reference
  9. "A no-no for Bosio". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. April 23, 1993. p. 1B.
  10. "Boston Red Sox at Seattle Mariners Box Score, April 22, 1993". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  11. Livingstone, Seth (December 31, 1993). "Sox take peek, sign Valle". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Patriot Ledger Sports Service. p. 23.
  12. "Transactions: Baseball". Moscow-Pullman Daily News. (Idaho-Washington). December 31, 1993. p. 2B.
  13. "Valle goes as Brunansky returns". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. June 17, 1994. p. 36.
  14. Dave Valle Trades and Transactions at Baseball Almanac
  15. "Rangers sign Valle". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). December 6, 1994. p. 2B.
  16. "Former Major League catcher Dave Valle added to 2022 Bally Sports Southwest Texas Rangers broadcast team". MLB.com. March 23, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  17. Verducci, Tom. "Mariners interview Valle for managerial opening". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  18. "Mariners hire McClendon as next manager". ESPN.com. 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  19. "Valle to manage Mariners' affiliate in Everett | Mariners Insider - the News Tribune". Archived from the original on 2014-02-14. Retrieved 2014-02-12.
  20. www.hopetech-hosting.com Archived 2007-05-21 at the Wayback Machine
  21. Garrity, John. "A RAY OF HOPE CATCHER DAVE VALLE ISN'T A STAR, UNLESS YOU CONSIDER HIS GOOD WORKS OUTSIDE BASEBALL". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  22. "Esperanza: Founder's Story". Archived from the original on 2013-11-06. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
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