Ellis Valentine
Ellis Valentine | ||
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Runs batted in | 474 | |
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Ellis Clarence Valentine (born July 30, 1954) is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder. He is remembered for having one of the all-time great throwing arms. "There's a plateau where you can't throw the ball any harder and you can't be any more accurate", said former Montreal manager Felipe Alou. "That was Ellis Valentine."[1]
Montreal Expos
Early years
Valentine played
Cromartie & Dawson
On April 15, 1977, Valentine hit the first ever home run at Olympic Stadium.[7] He also hit two inside-the-park home runs for the home crowd during the Expos' inaugural season in their new stadium.[8]
Joining him in Montreal's outfield for the 1977 season would be 22-year-old center fielder Andre Dawson and 23-year-old left fielder Warren Cromartie. Their youth, speed and power soon made them the talk of the baseball world.[9] Valentine was the first to emerge as a star; he was the Expos' sole representative at the 1977 Major League Baseball All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium. Already recognized for his exceptional arm by this point in his career, he engaged in a throwing contest before the game with the Pittsburgh Pirates' Dave Parker, Los Angeles Dodgers' Reggie Smith and San Diego Padres' Dave Winfield, who were also recognized as having the finest throwing arms in the National League.[9] For the season, he batted a team leading .293, and finished second to Gary Carter with 25 home runs and 76 RBIs.
He, Cromartie and Dawson turned it up a notch in
Suspension
The Expos were in a pennant race for the entire
The controversy seemed to do him some good, as he started hitting right after the incident occurred. Valentine hit a
Shattered cheekbone
On May 30, 1980 Valentine was hit in the face with a pitch by Roy Thomas of the St. Louis Cardinals. His cheekbone cracked in six places, and he was forced to miss over a month of action. At the time of the incident, Valentine was leading his team with 27 RBIs, and was batting just under .300.[16] With slugging third baseman Larry Parrish also out of the line-up with a wrist injury, the Expos did surprisingly well in Valentine's absence; they went 21–16 to take a half-game lead in the National League East over the Phillies.
When Valentine finally returned on July 10, he began wearing part of a football face mask on his helmet. Though it looked strange, it briefly caught on with other players who were worried about similar injuries.[17]
He batted .331 with nine home runs and 39 RBIs over the rest of the season, as the Expos found themselves in a three-way race with the Pirates and Phillies in the NL East. Valentine played hurt through much of his team's stretch drive toward the pennant, but he was sidelined for much of it with a pinched nerve,[18] a hip injury[19] and a hand injury. On September 21, Valentine injured his wrist, ending his season.[20] The Expos surrendered first place in the division to the Phillies on the second to last day of the season.
New York Mets
Valentine got off to a slow start in
Valentine's first season at Shea did not go as well as planned. It did, however, have an interesting side effect on the Mets' line-up. Dave Kingman, who batted fourth in the Mets' line-up, began seeing better pitches with Valentine behind him. Over the first sixteen games in which Kingman and Valentine batted fourth and fifth in the line-up, Kingman clubbed seven home runs with sixteen RBIs.[23] Valentine, meanwhile, batted just .176 over that stretch with one home run and seven RBIs. Almost as if National League pitchers realized they had nothing to fear from Valentine's bat, Kingman began seeing tougher pitching again, and hit just three more home runs over the rest of the season.
With new manager
As one might imagine, this charge did not sit well with Mets management. Bamberger[28] and Mets GM Frank Cashen met with Valentine on August 15, and offered to try to trade the disgruntled outfielder.[29] They were unable to find a taker despite the impressive .327 batting average Valentine put up over the rest of the season.
California Angels
Valentine was selected by just one team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the MLB re-entry draft when he became a
After straining his Achilles tendon during Spring training,[31] he failed to make it onto the field for his new club until their 25th game. He appeared in 86 games for the Angels in 1983, batting .240 with thirteen home runs and 43 RBIs. At the end of the season, he signed a multi-year deal with the Angels,[32] however, a bruised heel kept him off the field for the entire 1984 season. He logged just four plate appearances on a rehab assignment with the Edmonton Trappers,[33] and was released at the end of the season.[34]
Texas Rangers
The
Career stats
Games | PA
|
AB
|
Runs | Hits | 2B | 3B | HR
|
RBI
|
SB | BB
|
SO | Avg. | OBP | Slg. | OPS | Fld% | OA
|
894 | 3392 | 3166 | 380 | 881 | 169 | 15 | 123 | 474 | 59 | 180 | 462 | .278 | .315 | .458 | .773 | .972 | 85 |
Alongside
After retiring from baseball, Valentine took a job with
Post-playing career
Valentine fought drug and alcohol addiction throughout his career.[42] In September 1986, a year after retiring, he moved from Southern California, and immediately entered drug rehab in Phoenix, Arizona. After cleaning up, he took a position as a drug counselor with St. Luke's Hospital, and began helping others overcome similar issues.[2] He holds certificates in behavioral-health and chemical dependency counseling.
Valentine currently lives in the
References
- ^ Jeff Pearlman (March 26, 2001). "Launchpad". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ a b "This Valentine is a Heart of Gold... and a Pillar of Character". Baseball Against Drugs. Archived from the original on 2013-08-08. Retrieved 2013-01-13.
- ^ Larry Mlynczak (May 29, 1974). "McHale: Montreal's System Came of Age". The Palm Beach Post.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Pirates Split With Montreal". Westmoreland County News-Dispatch. September 6, 1975.
- ^ Ian MacDonald (January 26, 1976). "Expos' Owner Urges Caution Over Tickets". The Gazette. Montreal.
- ^ "Jim Lyttle Looms as Expos' Hero". The Evening News. May 24, 1976.
- ^ Ken Rappoport (April 16, 1977). "Phillies Jump on Don Stanhouse". Reading Eagle.
- Lewiston Daily Sun. July 2, 1977.
- ^ a b Bob Dunn (August 8, 1977). "A Bargain, And Bye-bye Basement". Sports Illustrated.
- ^ "Chicago Cubs 4, Montreal Expos 3". Baseball-Reference.com. April 21, 1979.
- ^ "Verdict on Valentine Coming by Game Time". Montreal Gazette. April 24, 1979.
- ^ Randy Phillips (April 26, 1979). "Feeney Levels Fine, Suspension for Umpire 'Bumping' Incident". Montreal Gazette.
- Milwaukee Sentinel. April 30, 1979.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Valentine's Bat Hot as Expos, Cards Split". Ottawa Citizen. May 28, 1979.
- ^ "Expos Flog Phils, Lead by One Game". Reading Eagle. May 30, 1979.
- ^ "Long Healing Period For Ellie". Montreal Gazette. June 2, 1980.
- ^ Richard Griffin (December 31, 2012). "Ex-Blue Jay Ryan Freel's Death Cautionary Tale on Concussions". TheStar.com.
- ^ "Expos, 'Rednecks and Militants' Laugh Together". Montreal Gazette. September 6, 1980. p. 2.
- Lakeland Ledger. September 15, 1980.
- ^ Bob Ferguson (September 22, 1980). "Valentine Comes Home With Sprained Wrist". Ottawa Citizen.
- ^ "Not a Secret Now". The Register-Guard. May 21, 1981.
- Leader-Post. May 30, 1981.
- ^ William R. Barnard (August 19, 1981). "Christmas Valentine in May Helped Put Mets' Dave Kingman Back in Power". Portsmouth Daily Times.
- ^ Jack Gurney (March 20, 1982). "Mets' Big Guys Fall to Pirates". Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
- ^ "Valentine Unloads on Braves". Observer–Reporter. May 25, 1982.
- ^ "New York Mets 6, Chicago Cubs 4". Baseball-Reference.com. August 13, 1982.
- ^ "Valentine Upset; Now So Are Mets". Eugene Register-Guard. August 15, 1982.
- ^ "Valentine Tells Mets He Desires to Leave". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. August 15, 1982.
- ^ "Detroit Owner 'Baffled' By Sims". Eugene Register-Guard. August 16, 1982.
- ^ Ian MacDonald (January 25, 1983). "Valentine Goes to Angels with Expos' Blessing". Montreal Gazette.
- The Telegraph (Nashua).
- ^ "Veteran Carew, Oriole Ford Bring Free-Agent Total to 46". Montreal Gazette. November 1, 1983.
- ^ "Islanders Stage a Late Awakening". Edmonton Journal. August 26, 1984.
- ^ "Angels Waive Valentine". The Telegraph-Herald. November 8, 1984.
- Gainesville Sun. July 7, 1985.
- ^ "Pro Tennis Council Suspends John McEnroe for 6 Weeks". The Day (New London). December 17, 1985.
- ^ "Valentine Declines". The Victoria Advocate. February 28, 1986.
- St. Petersburg Independent. March 25, 1978.
- ^ David Zingler (October 2002). "Ellis Valentine". Simply Baseball Notebook's Forgotten In Time.
- ^ Steve Elling (January 7, 1995). "No Players Yet, but Six Teams Set to Play Ball: Baseball: Golden State League is ready to throw its first pitch in May with a franchise in the Antelope Valley". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Rob Fernas (August 11, 1995). "For Rosamond, It Was Only Another Mirage: Baseball: Desert town might have taken to the Ravens, but some citizens just feel taken by Golden State League". Los Angeles Times.
- Daily News (Los Angeles). November 23, 2001. Archived from the originalon March 5, 2016. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ "Ellis Valentine". LinkedIn.
- ^ "About Us". pastpros.com. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Ultimate Mets Database
- Ellis Valentine's Official Website
- Centerfield Maz
- The Joy of being Ellis Valentine: 'If You Don't Like it, You Can Move to Toronto
- Ellis Valentine Baseball Clips on YouTube