Better Know a Metstache: Jose Valentin

We mean no disrespect, but from here on out, you're just Jose to us.

Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for a gang of Mets fans to sit around a fire with a cold case of beer and talk mustache-lore of past and present. The usual suspects often come to mind… Hernandez, HoJo, Franco, Piazza and the like. But often, a very prominent stache is over looked. A stache that should be a lot more fresh on people’s minds. And that’s the stache of the man himself, The Stache. Of course I’m referring to Jose Valetin, the veteran infielder who made an amazing resurgence as the star second basemen of the 2006 Mets. The angular slant of his dark brown stache was commonly viewed as being porno-esque, and earned him the nickname, “The Stache”.

A career .243 hitter and one of the top 500 home run hitters of all time, Jose came up through the Padres system, but was traded to the Brewers in 1992 where he made his major league debut. With the Brewers, he played alongside other mustachioed-Milwaukeans like Greg Vaughn, Franklin Stubbs, and of course, Robin Yount (who by the way, owns more than just a Gold Glove…he owns a big ‘ol fluffy Gold Stache as well). He was traded to the White Sox in 2000, where he posted 5 seasons of solid power numbers – 136 home runs in total. His other numbers, however, steadily declined during his tenure with the White Sox, and in 2004, he became a free agent. He signed with the Dodgers, and an injury-filled season indicated that his career was winding down. Valentin was getting old and he just wasn’t producing anymore.

But then the New York Mets came along. They saw something in the aging Valentin. Maybe it was his history as a journeyman infielder who knew the game and provided some pop every once in a while. Or maybe it was something else entirely…the stache, perhaps? Whatever it was, the marriage between the Mets and the mustache seemed to rejuvenate Jose, and in 2006 he posted a .279 average and 18 home runs. Jose’s consistent hitting and veteran wisdom provided a nice push for the team, and helped lead them to the NLCS in the same year.

After that season, his career once again declined due to injury, and he was eventually released. However, to the delight of many Mets fans, he recently re-signed with the team to a minor league contract, and is currently battling it out for a roster spot in spring training. His mustache could be exactly what the team needs to boost spirits and bounce back after a tumultuous 2008 season. Here at The Wright Stache, we’re really hoping Jose makes the team, if for no other reason than to provide David with a beaming beacon of support along his path to stachedom.

Beyond this post, we won’t be referring to Jose by his nickname, “The Stache”, anywhere else on this site, at any point whatsoever. “The Stache” is being reserved, of course, for the one and only stache that truly matters, and that is the future stache of a Mr. David A. Wright.

And so now, we officially pass the torch of “The Stache” nickname on, hoping dearly that it will become that of the man for whom this website was built. Thanks, Jose. You carried it well.

And now you better know a Metstache.

2 Comments

1. Week in Wreview | The Wright Stache — March 28, 2009 @ 5:10 pm

2. No Way, Jose: Valentin Released by Mets | The Wright Stache — March 31, 2009 @ 7:19 pm

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