Travis Whitmore’s day began on the bench.It ended with his teammates mobbing him between first and second base.FORT WAYNE – Jose Valentin is coming back to the organization where his professional baseball career began.
The former major league infielder, who was drafted by San Diego in 1986, was named the manager of the TinCaps, the Padres’ low-A club, on Thursday.
“When I heard that they wanted me to go up there and be a manager in that organization, I didn’t hesitate,” Valentin said in a phone interview Thursday. “That was my first family. That was the first organization to teach me and give me the opportunity to be the player that I was in my career. I couldn’t miss it. I couldn’t let it go.”
This is the first managerial or coaching position in a major-league organization for Valentin, who retired in 2009. Valentin replaces Shawn Wooten, who was promoted to San Diego’s advanced-A team in Lake Elsinore, Calif.
“Being a former Padre is a plus as we continue to try to build some tradition and have as many ex-Padres in the system as we can,” said Randy Smith, vice president of player development and international scouting for the Padres, during a phone interview.
Valentin, 42, played 16 seasons in the major leagues. He finished his career with a .243 batting average, 249 home runs and 816 RBI. Valentin was traded to Milwaukee’s organization in 1992 and made his major league debut with the Brewers on Sept. 17 of that year. Valentin also played for the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets. His brother Javier played in Fort Wayne in 1995.
“I love the game of baseball,” Valentin said. “I want to be a part of it.
“I feel that all that I got and learned from other coaches, I think it’s time to give back to the future players. That’s my goal right now.”
In 2004, Valentin became owner of the Santurce Crabbers of the Puerto Rico Baseball League. He has spent the last several years as an instructor at the Puerto Rico Baseball Academy and High School in Gurabo.
“We’ve had a pretty good runs of managers there, and I think Jose is going to fall right with (Randy) Ready, (Doug) Dascenzo, Shawn (Wooten), Gary Jones and those guys,” Smith said.
“He had an excellent big-league career. He played the game the right way. He had fantastic instincts, and I feel he’ll be able to help develop players in the same mode.”
Willie Blair will return for his second year as the pitching coach. Under Blair’s guidance last year, Fort Wayne’s pitching staff finished with a 3.99 ERA during the regular season. Dan Turner will return as the trainer, and the hitting coach will be named at a later date.
