George Valesente

From BR Bullpen

George R. Valesente

  • Bats Right, Throws Left
  • Height 6' 3", Weight 190 lb.
  • School Ithaca College
  • Born ~1945

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

George Valesente has coached college baseball for over 30 years.

Valesente played basketball, baseball and soccer in college. He finished third in school history with 745 points in basketball. He signed with the Washington Senators out of college. In 1967, he hit .180/.276/.213 for the Geneva Senators and went 3 for 26 with a homer for the Lexington Braves; he was also 0-2 on the hill with 12 runs in 20 innings between the two stops.

Moved to the mound full-time in 1968, George was 11-11 with a 3.99 ERA for the Burlington Senators. He led the Carolina League in runs allowed (106), earned runs allowed (82), walks (106) and hits allowed (195) and also struck out 147 in 185 innings.

Valesente split 1969 between the Savannah Senators (1-3, 5 Sv, 7.20) and the Buffalo Bisons (0-1, 6 H, 9 BB, 7 R in 5 IP in his only stint in AAA). In 1970, he pitched for Burlington (8-1, 2.94) and the Pittsfield Senators (2-0, 3.91) to finish his career with a 22-18 record in the minors.

Valesente then coached for two years at the State University of New York at Brockport, two more at State University of New York at New Paltz and two more at the State University of New York Maritime College (where he also coached soccer).

In 1978, he became head coach at Ithaca College, a position he would hold for over three decades. He led his team to nine Division III College World Series appearances between 1980 and 1994, including national titles in 1980 and 1988.

Valesente was named Division III Coach of the Year by the American Baseball Coaches Association in 1980 and 1988.

Valesente's son, Dave Valesente, played minor league ball in 2012-2013. Dave was named as the first ever baseball coach at Wells College from 2017 to 2019 [1]. Dave then succeeded George at Ithaca in 2020.

Sources[edit]