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dave valle, 1987 donruss #510, mariners

Player: Valle, Dave

Card: 1987 Donruss #610

Position: C

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playerbio

David Valle (born October 30, 1960 in Bayside, Queens, NY) is a former professional baseball catcher for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Texas Rangers from 1984 to 1996. In 1995, Valle founded Esperanza International, a microfinance organization that serves families in poverty in the Dominican Republic.

Dave was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the second round of the 1978 MLB draft. He played in the minor leagues for seven seasons before making his MLB debut with the Mariners on September 7, 1984 at the age of 23. For the next two seasons, he split his playing time with the Mariners and the Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League.

Valle led American League catchers in 1990 with a .997 fielding percentage, committing only two errors in 102 games. He had his best season in 1993, hitting for a .258 batting average with 13 home runs and 63 runs batted in. He also led American League catchers in 1993 with 881 putouts, 57 baserunners caught stealing, a 7.05 range factor, finished second to Mike Stanley with a .995 fielding percentage, and finished third in assists behind Pat Borders and Iván Rodríguez. Valle also caught a no-hitter pitched by Chris Bosio on April 22, 1993.

Dave signed with the Texas Rangers in 1995, serving as a reserve catcher for the next two seasons to Iván Rodríguez. The Rangers won the AL West in 1996. Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel has credited Valle for calling a players only meeting during that season that helped turn around their season when they were struggling. That season would be the only one in Valle's career in which his club qualified for the playoffs. However, he did not appear in the ALDS that the Rangers lost to the New York Yankees. He retired in 1997 while with the Atlanta Braves organization.

Dave was a color commentator for Seattle Mariners television and radio broadcasts from 1997 through 2013. Beginning in 2007, he co-hosted the post-game show on the Mariners' radio network. In 2009, he became one of the analysts on the MLB Network's MLB Tonight show. In 2011, he began co-hosting the Mariner pre-game and post-game shows on Root Sports. After a one-year hiatus, he returned to the post-game show in 2015.

Dave was named the manager of the Everett AquaSox, the short season A affiliate of the Mariners, for the 2014 season.

(excerpted from Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen, and Wikipedia)

morecards

1993 Topps #370
1994 Donruss Gold Leaf #430
1996 Leaf Extended #NA (autographed)

tourstops


Dave Valle is part of the New York City Born Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


Dave is also part of the Boston Red Sox Player Tour – Go to the Next Stop


View more of Dave’s baseball cards at TCDB


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