Nine years ago on May 25, Wilson Valdez made some Phillies news and history
Going into a Wednesday evening game against Cincinnati, Phillies utility infielder Wilson Valdez surely wasn’t thinking of making any kind of Phillies news or history, let alone pitching in the 19th inning.
Nine years ago on May 25, Valdez did just that in a wacky classic against the Reds when he pitched a no-hit 19th inning and earned a win at home.
But before all of that craziness that turned him into a folk legend in Philadelphia and now after that improbable game, who was and where is Wilson Valdez?
On February 4, 1997, Valdez was signed by the Montreal Expos as an amateur free agent out of the Dominican Republic. He played three years in the Expos minor league system hitting .259 with 246 hits and just 47 extra-base hits in 261 games between Rookie ball and High-A.
Just before the 2002 season Valdez was placed on waivers and picked up by the Marlins where he played in Double and Triple-A, having his best minor league season yet in 2004 hitting .295 with 49 stolen bases.
During the ’04 season Valdez hit well over .300 in Triple-A and was traded to the White Sox in a deal for Billy Koch. He made his major league debut for the White Sox on Sept. 7, 2004, and went 0-3 against the Rangers.
Chicago would place the new-found journeyman back on the waiver wire for the Mariners to snatch up. Valdez ended up being Seattle’s opening day starter at shortstop in 2005 and stuck around until late May when he was hitting. 198 and traded to the Padres.
Philadelphia Phillies
Valdez bounced through the Padres, Royals, and Dodgers organizations before going overseas to both the Japanese and Korean leagues in 2008 where he hit .240 in 47 games. After just one year there he came back and went through the Indians and Mets organizations, but played only 41 games in New York, his first big league games in two years.
Going into the 2010 season Valdez signed a minor league deal with the Phillies where he would enjoy the best stretch of his professional career.
With Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley both hurt, Valdez got ample playing time, nearly as much as he did in his first four big leagues seasons combined. He hit a respectable .256 in 41 games and played four different positions for a very good Phillies club.
The next year Valdez returned as a utility man but he surely didn’t expect to appear as a pitcher. In the aforementioned game on May 25, Valdez entered a game started by Roy Halladay in the 19th inning against Cincinnati. A game that ended after 1:00 a.m., Valdez managed to get two flyouts and a popout, as well as hitting Scott Rolen and going 3-6 with a walk at the plate.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Valdez became the first position player since Babe Ruth in 2921 to start a game in the field and be the winning pitcher.
More from Phillies History
- Philadelphia Phillies achieve franchise feat for first time since 2011
- Phillies History on August 23: Eric Bruntlett records historic triple play
- Remembering Vin Scully: Dodgers voice’s first game was against Phillies
- Phillies in hot water for inviting Pete Rose to 1980 World Series celebration
- 4 Phillies players who skipped the minors and went straight to MLB
Valdez would be traded to those same Reds after the 2011 season for reliever Jeremy Horst. He would play his last big league game for Cincinnati in October 2012. He spent time in the Marlins and Giants minor league systems and played in the Dominican Winter Leauge and 2013-14 Caribbean Series.
In 2015 Valdez returned to the Philadelphia area to play for the Atlantic League’s Camden Riversharks at Campbell’s Field where he hit .310 in 90 games. The next season he stayed in the Atlantic League playing for the York Revolution, with whom he hit .277 in two seasons before retiring.
There isn’t much on Wilson Valdez out there right now, but it appears his son Wilson Valdez Jr. is a prospect in the Phillies farm system according to clips on Youtube and the hometowns matching online between Facebook and Baseball Reference.
The Phillies signed Wilson Valdez Jr. to a minor league deal in 2018 and he’s played three seasons in the Dominican League hitting .283 with 48 stolen bases. He’ll turn 21 later this fall.