Pedro Valdes was a corner outfielder for the Chicago Cubs during the 1998 season. As you will learn through this article, that may have been the toughest position to find playing time for this team. Not only did they have starters in Sammy Sosa and Henry Rodriguez, but they would go on to add a ton of talent to their corner outfield, and had Jose Hernandez as a full-blown utility player. Still, Valdes managed to carve out a role in 14 games where he could attempt to help the team.
Although his line of .217/.250/.348 is not going to impress on its face, he did manage some positive contributions during his time on the big league roster that year. He went 3-4 with a double against the Royals, and his final at bat for the team was his best hit of the year as he managed a triple off of Jason Bere in a game against the Reds.
Unfortunately for Valdes, he was more of a Quad-A player. He could handle the AAA level, but when it came to the big leagues, he was never quite able to measure up. The good news was after he gave up the MLB, he went to Japan and truly found his niche. During his four years in Japan, he managed a .300 batting average with a little over 20 home runs per season. He ended up playing professional baseball in Mexico until 2011 and would still play in Puerto Rico until at least 2013. He managed to play 23 seasons, for 18 teams, in 13 leagues, in five countries. Valdes may have not had the most exciting major league baseball experience, but it's tough for anyone to match the experiences he lived because of baseball.
In case you missed it:
Introduction
#47 - Matt Karchner
#46 - Jose Nieves
#45 - Rodney Myers
#44 - Justin Speier
#43 - Tony Fossas
#42 - Kennie Steenstra
#41 - Chris Haney
#40 - Bob Patterson
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