page_title: José Valverde
section_title: Pitching style
hierarchical_section_title: José Valverde / Pitching style
caption_attribution_description: English: The pitching motion of Detroit Tigers baseball player José Valverde. Photo collage from a July 2010 game against the Toronto Blue Jays.
context_page_description: José Rafael Valverde is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed "Papa Grande."
context_section_description: Valverde throws just two pitches, a four-seam fastball (93–96 mph) and a forkball (84–87). He throws a slightly higher percentage of forkballs to left-handed hitters. He is comfortable using the pitch in almost all counts, although he throws it most often when it is 0–2 or 1–2. Valverde's control is sometimes spotty, as he has an above average career rate of 3.9 walks per nine innings. This balances a dominating 10.3 strikeouts per nine innings ratio.
  Valverde is also known for his energetic, highly emotional style on the mound. He frequently celebrates outs and saves very demonstratively. Some have questioned the sportsmanship of his behavior, including former teammate Miguel Montero of the Arizona Diamondbacks who has called him "unprofessional".
caption: Valverde's pitching motion from 2010
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