Ellis Valentine
| Ellis Valentine | |||
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| Right fielder | |||
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Born: July 30, 1954 Helena, Arkansas |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 3, 1975, for the Montreal Expos | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 2, 1985, for the Texas Rangers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .278 | ||
| Home runs | 123 | ||
| Runs batted in | 474 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Ellis Clarence Valentine (born July 30, 1954) is a 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."
Valentine played football and baseball at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles. He was the first professional athlete ever signed out of Crenshaw when the Montreal Expos selected him in the second round of the 1972 Major League Baseball draft. He was quickly recognized as one of the top prospects in the Expos' lauded farm system. He batted .289 with 27 home runs and 195 runs batted in over four different levels in four seasons to earn a September call up to Montreal at the end of the 1975 season. In his fifth major league at-bat, he hit his first major league home run off the Pittsburgh Pirates' Jim Rooker. He remained in the Expos' line-up semi-regularly through the end of the season, posting a .364 batting average.
Gary Carter, who was an All-Star and finished second in National League Rookie of the Year balloting as the right fielder for the Expos in 1975, was shifted back to his natural position behind the plate for the 1976 season to make room for Valentine in right field. After batting just .238 with two home runs and six RBIs through the middle of May, he was shipped back to the Triple-A Denver Bears for more seasoning. He rejoined the Expos in mid-July, and batted .285 with five home runs and 33 RBIs the rest of the way.
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