Ismael Valdez
Born: 8/21/1973 in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico
MLB Debut: 1994-06-15 | Final Game: 2005-10-01
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 6'3" | Weight: 185 lbs
Biography
Ismael Valdez, born in 1973, was a professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1994 until 2005. Known for his versatility on the mound, Valdez was a skilled right-handed pitcher who exhibited a blend of power and finesse throughout his career. He finished his tenure with a record of 104 wins and 105 losses, showcasing a competitive spirit in a league that often demanded perfection. With an earned run average (ERA) of 4.09, Valdez was capable of delivering solid performances, striking out a total of 1,173 batters over the course of his career.
Valdez's playing style was characterized by a strong fastball and effective off-speed pitches, allowing him to navigate through challenging lineups during the highly competitive late 1990s and early 2000s. Though he only recorded 1 save in his career, his contributions as a starter and reliever were significant to the teams he played for, which included the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Texas Rangers, among others. His ability to adapt to different roles on the pitching staff underscored his value in an era where pitchers were often required to take on multiple responsibilities. Valdez's career, though not marked by accolades, remains a testament to the dedication and skill required to thrive in Major League Baseball.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104 | 105 | 325 | 288 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 1827.3 | 1872 | 830 | 234 | 523 | 1173 | 4.09 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | LAD | NL | 3 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.3 | 21 | 10 | 10 | 28 | 3.18 | - |
| 1995 | LAD | NL | 13 | 11 | 33 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 197.7 | 168 | 67 | 51 | 150 | 3.05 | - |
| 1996 | LAD | NL | 15 | 7 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 225.0 | 219 | 83 | 54 | 173 | 3.32 | - |
| 1997 | LAD | NL | 10 | 11 | 30 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 196.7 | 171 | 58 | 47 | 140 | 2.65 | - |
| 1998 | LAD | NL | 11 | 10 | 27 | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 174.0 | 171 | 77 | 66 | 122 | 3.98 | - |
| 1999 | LAD | NL | 9 | 14 | 32 | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 203.3 | 213 | 90 | 58 | 143 | 3.98 | - |
| 2000 | CHC | NL | 2 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67.0 | 71 | 40 | 27 | 45 | 5.37 | - |
| 2000 | LAD | NL | 0 | 3 | 9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 53 | 27 | 13 | 29 | 6.08 | - |
| 2001 | LAA | AL | 9 | 13 | 27 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 163.7 | 177 | 81 | 50 | 100 | 4.45 | - |
| 2002 | SEA | AL | 2 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 49.3 | 59 | 27 | 11 | 27 | 4.93 | -128.2 |
| 2002 | TEX | AL | 6 | 9 | 23 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 146.7 | 135 | 64 | 36 | 75 | 3.93 | -1004.1 |
| 2003 | TEX | AL | 8 | 8 | 22 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 115.0 | 148 | 78 | 29 | 47 | 6.10 | -3830.0 |
| 2004 | MIA | NL | 5 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56.0 | 61 | 28 | 18 | 30 | 4.50 | - |
| 2004 | SDP | NL | 9 | 6 | 23 | 20 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 114.0 | 141 | 70 | 31 | 37 | 5.53 | - |
| 2005 | MIA | NL | 2 | 2 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 50.7 | 64 | 30 | 22 | 27 | 5.33 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 326 | 399 | 20 | 52 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 4 | 13 | 122 | 0.130 | 0.157 | 0.160 | 0.318 | -3383.2 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | LAD | NL | 21 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 1995 | LAD | NL | 33 | 62 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 26 | 0.097 | -786.0 |
| 1996 | LAD | NL | 33 | 70 | 6 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 0.143 | -737.4 |
| 1997 | LAD | NL | 30 | 57 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 17 | 0.088 | -684.5 |
| 1998 | LAD | NL | 27 | 48 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0.167 | -385.2 |
| 1999 | LAD | NL | 32 | 58 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 18 | 0.086 | -790.2 |
| 2000 | CHC | NL | 13 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.286 | 0.0 |
| 2000 | LAD | NL | 9 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0.091 | 0.0 |
| 2001 | LAA | AL | 27 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 2002 | SEA | AL | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 2002 | TEX | AL | 23 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2003 | TEX | AL | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | MIA | NL | 11 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0.235 | 0.0 |
| 2004 | SDP | NL | 23 | 35 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0.171 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | MIA | NL | 14 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.154 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | NLDS1 | LAN | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| 1995 | NLDS2 | LAN | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.3 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 2.02 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | NLDS1 | LAN | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.3 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4.26 |
| 1995 | NLDS2 | LAN | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 325 | 288 | 127 | 277 | 14 | 16 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | LAN | P | 21 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | LAN | P | 33 | 27 | 16 | 31 | 1 | 0 |
| 1996 | LAN | P | 33 | 33 | 19 | 27 | 1 | 3 |
| 1997 | LAN | P | 30 | 30 | 17 | 28 | 3 | 3 |
| 1998 | LAN | P | 27 | 27 | 12 | 24 | 1 | 1 |
| 1999 | LAN | P | 32 | 32 | 12 | 33 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | CHN | P | 12 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 1 |
| 2000 | LAN | P | 9 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 2001 | ANA | P | 27 | 27 | 7 | 34 | 0 | 2 |
| 2002 | SEA | P | 8 | 8 | 2 | 13 | 0 | 1 |
| 2002 | TEX | P | 23 | 23 | 10 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 2003 | TEX | P | 22 | 22 | 4 | 21 | 4 | 1 |
| 2004 | FLO | P | 11 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | SDN | P | 23 | 20 | 6 | 15 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | FLO | P | 14 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 1 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 325 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | FLO | NL | $1,500,000 |
| 2004 | SDN | NL | $800,000 |
| 2003 | TEX | AL | $2,500,000 |
| 2002 | TEX | AL | $2,500,000 |
| 2001 | ANA | AL | $2,500,000 |
| 2000 | CHN | NL | $5,737,500 |
| 1999 | LAN | NL | $4,275,000 |
| 1998 | LAN | NL | $2,800,000 |
| 1997 | LAN | NL | $900,000 |
| 1996 | LAN | NL | $425,000 |
| 1995 | LAN | NL | $136,000 |
| 1994 | LAN | NL | $109,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $24,182,500 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Rookie of the Year | NL | 7th | 1.0 | 140 | 0 |