Valentín Arévalo

Valentín Arévalo

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born February 14, 1916 in Caracas, D.F. Venezuela

Biographical Information

Valentín Arévalo pitched in Venezuela for decades.

He pitched for the Venezuelan national team in the 1940 Amateur World Series and helped them win the 1944 Amateur World Series and 1945 Amateur World Series. When the Venezuelan League formed in 1946, he played for Cervecería Caracas, going 7-7 with a 3.90 ERA. He was second in the league in wins (5 behind Roy Welmaker), second in losses (one behind Welmaker), 5th in ERA, 3rd in games pitched (20, second in starts (16, 4 behind Welmaker), tied for second in complete games (6), 2nd in IP (108 1/3, a distant 73 1/3 behind Welmaker), 6th in walks (40) and 7th in strikeouts (25). He fell to 3-4, 3.80 in 1946-1947 and had a 5.87 ERA and no decisions in the postseason as the team won it all. In 1947-48, he rebounded to 5-3, 2.45 with only 15 walks in 88 1/3 innings. He was second in ERA (.15 behind Don Newcombe) and tied Verdell Mathis and Saul Rogovin for 6th in victories.

The right-hander faded significantly in 1948-1949 (3-2, 5.32 ERA, 2.43 WHIP) though the team won it all. In 1949-1950, he had a 6-4, 3.95 record. He tied Alex Carrasquel and Daniel Ríos for 4th in the LVBP in wins, led with 26 games pitched and was 4th with 41 strikeouts (between Bill Ricks and Theolic Smith). He led Venezuelan natives in Ks as all players ahead were American or Cuban. In 1949-1950, he pitched for both Cervecería Caracas (2-0, 4.64) and the Patriotas de Venezuela (3-4, 3.70). He tied Emilio Cueche and Hugh Radcliffe for 8th in wins and ranked 4th with 21 games pitched.

Arévalo was 4-6 with a 4.30 ERA for the Navegantes del Magallanes in 1951-1952, tying for 7th in losses and tying Cueche and José Bracho for third in pitching appearances (23). In 1952-1953, he was 1-3 with a 5.02 ERA for the Patriotas. He tied for 8th in games pitched. The next winter, he was 0-3 with a 5.31 ERA for the Magallanes. He returned to the Patriotas in 1954-1955 and was 0-3 again, this time with a 4.44 ERA. In 1955-1956, he had a 5.79 ERA for the Licoreros de Pampero and no decisions.

The 40-year-old was still going effectively in 1956-1957, going 1-1 with a 3.95 ERA for Oriente. He was 9th in games pitched (19). In 1957-1958, he pitched six games for Oriente (4.50 ERA) and allowed two earned runs in one postseason inning. He was 1-0 with a 4.08 ERA in 8 games in 1958-1959 and allowed one earned run in two postseason innings. He appeared briefly in the 1959 Caribbean Series (2/3 IP). He wrapped it up in 1959-1960 with one shutout inning at age 43.

For his career, he was 36-40 with a 4.00 ERA in 224 LVBP games. He retired as the league's career leader in games pitched, though Bracho would pass him the next year.

Primary Source: Pelotabinaria