Efraín Valdez has been the greatest starting pitcher in the history of the Gigantes del Cibao team, at the same time he is the first player who has worn the jersey of the national champions who will be inducted into the Dominican Sports Hall of Fame.
Valdez, one of the most outstanding pitchers in our league, is only second to Guayubín Olivo among lefties. Efraín is the LIDOM leader in starts (149), fourth in wins (60), sixth in innings pitched (893) and tenth in strikeouts (432). With the Giants he occupies the lead in wins (26), second in ERA (2.88) and innings pitched (316).
When the southpaw was thought to be finished, after two years without winning a game with the Tigers, the Bengals literally evicted him, taking him off the reserves in 1996.
When the Giants acquired him in the player draw and gave him the ball in the first game in its history (October 25, 1996), he achieved victory against the Eagles at the Cibao Stadium. His performance with the Colts was so important that he returned to organized baseball and the Majors in 1998 with the Arizona team.
The most interesting thing is to make a comparison of the records of Valdez and the behavior of the Cibaeño group, in those first years the Cinderella of the LIDOM.
GIANTS-CHICKENS EFRAÍN VALDEZ
1996-97 (20-28) 3-4 3.70
1997-98 (23-28) 8-2 2.39
1998-99 (9-51) 4-4 5.06
1999-00 (16-31) 4-3 1.17
2000-01 (19-30) 6-5 2.36
2001-02 (15-33) 1-3 3.98
In the first six seasons, the Giants and Chickens were basers in three campaigns, the other three occupied the penultimate position. The Cibaeños recorded 102 wins with 201 losses (.333), while Efraín had 26 wins (25% of the team’s total wins in those six years) and 21 failures (10% of the total losses).
We duartians and northeasterners feel rejoiced that a person with the lineage and humility of Efraín Valdez is the first player in the history of our franchise elevated to the Pavilion of the Immortals of our country.