Jose Valverde
Pitcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (2003-2014)
Jose Valverde was a pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2014 for 4 teams, including the Arizona Diamondbacks, a span of 12 seasons. Across 626 career appearances, he went 27-33 with a 3.27 ERA, 692 strikeouts, and 288 saves. Jose Valverde was a 3-time All-Star and a 2-time Reliever of the Year. His career Pitcher PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of pitching impact — is 9113.3.
- W (Wins):
- Games credited to a pitcher whose team took a lead it never surrendered while he was the pitcher of record.
- ERA (Earned Run Average):
- Earned runs allowed per nine innings pitched: (ER × 9) ÷ IP. The primary measure of pitching effectiveness.
- SO (Strikeouts):
- For a batter, times retired on a third strike; for a pitcher, batters retired on a third strike.
- WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched):
- Baserunners allowed per inning: (BB + H) ÷ IP. Under 1.00 is elite.
Data updated
- Position
- Pitcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'4" / 265 lb
- MLB Debut
- 2003-06-01
- Last Game
- 2014-05-26
- Awards
- 3× All-Star · 2× Reliever of the Year
Full name: Jose Rafael Valverde
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | ARI | NL | 2 | 1 | 54 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 50.1 | 24 | 12 | 26 | 71 | 2.15 | 4.40 (+51%) | 1891.0 |
| 2004 | ARI | NL | 1 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 29.2 | 23 | 14 | 17 | 38 | 4.25 | 4.46 (+5%) | -675.2 |
| 2005 | ARI | NL | 3 | 4 | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 66.1 | 51 | 18 | 20 | 75 | 2.44 | 4.29 (+43%) | 2617.9 |
| 2006 | ARI | NL | 2 | 3 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 49.1 | 50 | 32 | 22 | 69 | 5.84 | 4.53 (-29%) | 1416.3 |
| 2007 | ARI | NL | 1 | 4 | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 64.1 | 46 | 19 | 26 | 78 | 2.66 | 4.47 (+41%) | 1452.8 |
| 2008 | HOU | NL | 6 | 3 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 72.0 | 62 | 27 | 23 | 83 | 3.38 | 4.32 (+22%) | 1187.5 |
| 2009 | HOU | NL | 4 | 2 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 54.0 | 40 | 14 | 21 | 56 | 2.33 | 4.32 (+46%) | 1115.6 |
| 2010 | DET | AL | 2 | 4 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 63.0 | 41 | 21 | 32 | 63 | 3.00 | 4.08 (+26%) | 482.4 |
| 2011 | DET | AL | 2 | 4 | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 72.1 | 52 | 18 | 34 | 69 | 2.24 | 3.94 (+43%) | 718.8 |
| 2012 | DET | AL | 3 | 4 | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 69.0 | 59 | 29 | 27 | 48 | 3.78 | 4.01 (+6%) | 696.6 |
| 2013 | DET | AL | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 19.1 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 19 | 5.59 | 3.87 (-45%) | -1204.8 |
| 2014 | NYN | NL | 1 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20.2 | 24 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 5.66 | 3.74 (-51%) | -585.7 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 27 | 33 | 626 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 288 | 630.1 | 490 | 229 | 264 | 692 | 3.27 | — | 9,113 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 626 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 1.500 | 0 |
Career AVG .500 vs. league average .261 across their career seasons — +91.7% above league average.
Career OBP .500 vs. league average .328 across their career seasons — +52.5% above league average.
Career SLG 1.000 vs. league average .412 across their career seasons — +142.5% above league average.
Career OPS 1.500 vs. league average .740 across their career seasons — +102.7% above league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | ARI | NL | 54 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2004 | ARI | NL | 29 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2005 | ARI | NL | 61 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2006 | ARI | NL | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2007 | ARI | NL | 65 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2008 | HOU | NL | 74 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2009 | HOU | NL | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2010 | DET | AL | 60 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2011 | DET | AL | 75 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2012 | DET | AL | 71 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2013 | DET | AL | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 2014 | NYN | NL | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 12 seasons | 626 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | — | — | — | — | 0 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ALCS | DET | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2012 | ALDS2 | DET | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2012 | WS | DET | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2011 | ALCS | DET | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2011 | ALDS1 | DET | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2007 | NLCS | ARI | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 2007 | NLDS1 | ARI | 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 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 14.2 | 20 | 16 | 11 | 20 | 9.82 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | ALCS | DET | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 54.00 |
| 2012 | ALDS2 | DET | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1.2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16.20 |
| 2012 | WS | DET | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 54.00 |
| 2011 | ALCS | DET | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 4.1 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8.31 |
| 2011 | ALDS1 | DET | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3.0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6.00 |
| 2007 | NLCS | ARI | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5.40 |
| 2007 | NLDS1 | ARI | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3.0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0.00 |
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1252 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 337 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Away | 289 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 337 | 337.1 | 277 | 141 | 148 | 363 | 3.76 |
| Away | 289 | 293.0 | 213 | 88 | 116 | 329 | 2.70 |
Last 10 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-05-26 | NYN | PIT | L | 0.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-05-25 | NYN | AZ | — | 0.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-05-24 | NYN | AZ | — | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014-05-20 | NYN | LAD | — | 0.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014-05-16 | NYN | WAS | — | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014-05-14 | NYN | NYY | — | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 2014-05-11 | NYN | PHI | — | 1.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014-05-09 | NYN | PHI | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2014-05-06 | NYN | MIA | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014-05-01 | NYN | COL | — | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | ARI | P | 54 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | ARI | P | 29 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2005 | ARI | P | 61 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | ARI | P | 44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | ARI | P | 65 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | HOU | P | 74 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009 | HOU | P | 52 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2010 | DET | P | 60 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| 2011 | DET | P | 75 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2012 | DET | P | 71 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2013 | DET | P | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | NYN | P | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 626 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 2011 | This Year in Baseball Closer of the Year | MLB.com GIBBY |
| 2008 | Reliever of the Month | August |
| 2007 | Player of the Week | Week of 2007-05-19 |
| 2007 | Reliever of the Year Award | |
| 2007 | TSN All-Star | RP |
| 2007 | TSN Reliever of the Year | |
| 2003 | Player of the Week | Week of 2003-06-21 |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | NYN | NL | $1,000,000 |
| 2012 | DET | AL | $9,000,000 |
| 2011 | DET | AL | $7,000,000 |
| 2010 | DET | AL | $6,886,052 |
| 2009 | HOU | NL | $8,000,000 |
| 2008 | HOU | NL | $4,700,000 |
| 2007 | ARI | NL | $2,000,000 |
| 2006 | ARI | NL | $359,000 |
| 2005 | ARI | NL | $335,000 |
| 2004 | ARI | NL | $320,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $39,600,052 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Cy Young Award | AL | 5th | 28.0 | 196 | 0 |
| 2008 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 24th | 3.0 | 448 | 0 |
| 2007 | Cy Young Award | NL | 6th | 2.0 | 160 | 0 |
| 2007 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 14th | 19.0 | 448 | 0 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Jose Valverde (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Compare Jose Valverde
Jose Valverde: the record in brief
Jose Valverde played a first major league game on June 1, 2003 and a last one on May 26, 2014. The team column moves through the Arizona Diamondbacks (2003 to 2007), the Houston Astros (2008 to 2009), the Detroit Tigers (2010 to 2013), and the New York Mets (2014). At 265 pounds on a 6-foot-4 frame, Valverde is listed as a pitcher. Valverde batted and threw right-handed, per the bio block. The recorded birth is March 24, 1978, in San Pedro de Macoris, San Pedro de Macorís, D.R. The bio lists the given name Jose Rafael.
Valverde went 27-33 with a 3.27 ERA in 626 games, 0 of them starts. Valverde had 692 strikeouts and 288 saves. Against a 4.20 league ERA for the same years, Valverde was 22.2% better. No season topped the 6 wins of 2008. Valverde saved 49 games in 2011, the season high. In 2003, one of the busiest seasons, Valverde posted a 2.15 ERA; the league figure that year was 4.40.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jose Valverde
- What years did Jose Valverde play?
- Jose Valverde played in Major League Baseball from 2003 to 2014.
- Was Jose Valverde a pitcher?
- Yes. Jose Valverde pitched in the major leagues, recording 27 wins and 692 strikeouts.
- How many home runs did Jose Valverde hit?
- Jose Valverde hit 0 career home runs with 1 hits.
- What was Jose Valverde's career batting average?
- Jose Valverde batted .500 over his career, with 1 hits in 2 at bats.
- What was Jose Valverde's career ERA?
- Jose Valverde finished with a 3.27 career ERA, going 27-33 with 692 strikeouts.
- How many strikeouts did Jose Valverde have?
- Jose Valverde recorded 692 career strikeouts.