José Valentín Back In Chicago Reflecting On 'The Best Five Years' Of Career

Valentín reflects fondly on his run with the White Sox from 2000-04, as it came with some of the most individual and team success of his 16-year MLB career. He slugged a career-high 30 home runs in 2004 and hit at least 25 in each of the previous four seasons, representing his five most productive seasons from a home run standpoint.

One long ball he recalled with a smile was his walk-off solo home run off Antonio Alfonseca on June 27, 2003 against the Chicago Cubs.

"It was one of the biggest home runs in my career," Valentín said. "The one I’ll never forget [was] when I hit for the cycle here against Baltimore. That was something that’s not easy to do as a player. A lot of good memories in this field in Chicago the five years."

When Valentín joined the White Sox in 2000, he was still in search of his first career playoff appearance after missing them in eight straight seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers. That changed immediately when he got to Chicago, as the White Sox went 95-67 –– their most wins since 1983.

Valentín slugged 25 home runs and drove in 92 runs as part of a powerful lineup that featured four other players with 20-plus home runs: Frank Thomas, Magglio Ordoñez, Carlos Lee and Paul Konerko.

In addition to their success, Valentín liked that the team was overlooked by some.

"It was one of the best teams that I've been on in my career, not only because we won that division but it took baseball by surprise," he said.

"We didn't panic or anything. We went out there every day and played baseball. It didn't matter who we were facing, teams like Cleveland –– Cleveland had so many big names, All-Star players. The Yankees. You compare their roster's names with our roster's names: 'Those kids, they have no chance.' And we went out there and said, 'Well, let's see what happens.' We played nine innings of our baseball and forgot about who was in front of us. We just played the game of baseball, and we beat everybody."

Valentín, 55, remains active in baseball. He has managed in Mexico for the last two years and coaches winter ball in Puerto Rico. His two kids both play professional baseball, and he enjoys spending time with his grandkids.

He was also thankful that the White Sox welcomed him back.

"To be here, I've got to thank the organization and the people who remember my time here and brought me here this weekend," Valentín said. "Hopefully, the fans have some good memories about who Jose Valentin was and those years. I'm going to enjoy my time here in Chicago, and hopefully, it happens again in the future."