John Valentin

Template:Mlbretired John William Valentin (born February 18 1967 in Mineola, New York) is a former shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played most of his major league career with the Boston Red Sox, with his final season being for the New York Mets. He batted and threw right-handed.

College career

Valentin attended Seton Hall University, where he played with accused anabolic steroid abuser Maurice Vaughn, before starting his professional career in the Red Sox minor league system in 1988. He first played in a major league game in 1992.

Professional career

In 11 seasons with the Red Sox and Mets, Valentin had a .279 batting average, and accumulated a total of 1093 hits. He hit 124 career home runs, and had 558 runs batted in.

His best season was 1995, when he batted .298 with 27 home runs, 37 doubles, 20 stolen bases and 81 walks. Valentin finished ninth in the American League MVP voting, and helped lead the Red Sox to their first division title since 1990.

Valentin had a .971 fielding percentage in his first 3 years as a shortstop for the Red Sox and was beloved by the Boston fans, playing solid defense and getting clutch hits in the late innings.

During the 1996 season, Red Sox prospect Nomar Garciaparra battled for the spot of shortstop with Valentin, who had held the position for his entire career. Garciaparra took over the shortstop position in 1997, forcing Valentin over to second base. Later that season, he shifted to third base after the regular third baseman, Tim Naehring, was injured. Valentin spent three more seasons with the Red Sox (playing only a total of 31 games the last two years) before ending his career with the Mets.

Info

• One of only 13 players in modern major league history to complete an unassisted triple play (July 8, 1994).
• On June 6, 1996, he hit for the cycle. He is the only player in baseball history to both complete an unassisted triple play and hit for the cycle.
• Got his 1000th hit in front of a sold-out crowd at Fenway Park.
• Hit 3 home runs in the 1999 American League Division Series to lead the Red Sox over the Cleveland Indians.
• Led the league in doubles in 1997 (47).
• Silver Slugger Award winner in 1995 at shortstop.
• Works as a part-time television analyst for the New England Sports Network, which airs Boston Red Sox games.
• In February 2004 he auctioned off his estate on Navesink River Road in the Locust Section of Middletown, New Jersey for 13 million dollars. The riverfront home was 20,000 square feet, five stories and had never been lived in.
• He owns Julia's Restaurant in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.

See also

• Hitting for the cycle
• Major League Baseball hitters with three home runs in one game
• List of Major League Baseball doubles champions

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference

References

• Grossman, Leigh (compiler). The Red Sox Fan Handbook. Pomfret, Connecticut: Swordsmith Books. ISBN 1-931013-03-9. Pgs. 180-181.
• Stout, Glenn and Johnson, Richard A. Red Sox Century. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-88417-9. Pg. 432.
• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference