José Valverde
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| Arizona Diamondbacks — No. 47 | |
| Relief Pitcher | |
| Bats: Right | Throws: Right |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
|---|---|
| June 1, 2003 for the Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through 2006) |
|
| Win-loss | 8-10 |
| Saves | 51 |
| Earned run average | 3.50 |
| Strikeouts | 253 |
| Former teams | |
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José Rafael Valverde (nicknamed Papa Grande) is a baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was born on July 24, 1979 in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. He is 6'4 and weighs 255 lbs.
Although he had been the Diamondbacks' closer since replacing Brian Bruney in 2005, trouble on the mound in the month of June forced management to give the role to former New York Mets pitcher Jorge Julio. Valverde was expected to regain the role upon improving his performance, which he did after spending some time with the Diamondbacks' AAA affiliate, the Tucson Sidewinders. He returned to the closer role in early September (as Julio became too inconsistent) and was notably impressive in his return. Valverde finished the 2006 season with a record of 2 wins, 3 losses, an ERA of 5.84 and 18 saves.
Valverde will likely start the 2007 season in the closer's role.
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