Dave Valle

David Valle (; born October 30, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and Texas Rangers from to . He's been an on-air analyst for MLB Network since 2009, including appearing on MLB Now and MLB Tonight.

Career The Seattle Mariners selected Valle in the second round of the 1978 MLB draft. He played in the minor leagues for seven seasons before making his MLB debut at age 23 with the Mariners in 1984 on September 7. For the next two seasons, he split his playing time with the Mariners and the Calgary Cannons of the Pacific Coast League, producing a .312 batting average with 21 home runs and 71 runs batted in with Calgary during the season. He had his best offensive season in 1993, hitting for a .258 batting average with thirteen home runs and 63 runs batted in. Early in the season on April 22, Valle caught Chris Bosio's 97-pitch no-hitter.

Valle became a free agent after the season, who traded him in June to the Milwaukee Brewers for outfielder Tom Brunansky. He signed a two-year contract in December with the Texas Rangers, serving as a reserve catcher for the next two seasons to hall of famer Iván Rodríguez. The Rangers won the AL West in 1996. Rangers broadcaster Eric Nadel has credited Valle for calling a players only meeting during that season that helped turn around their season when they were struggling. That season would be the only one in Valle's career in which his club qualified for the playoffs. However, he did not appear in the ALDS that the Rangers lost to the New York Yankees. Valle retired in while with the Atlanta Braves organization.

Career statistics In a 13-year career, Valle played in 970 games, accumulating 658 hits in 2,775 at bats for a .237 career batting average along with 77 home runs and 350 runs batted in. Valle joined the YES Network as a pre and post game analyst in 2024. Beginning in 2025, the Seattle Mariners brought back Valle to serve as a TV and Radio analyst.

Managerial career Valle interviewed for the vacant Mariners managerial opening in November 2013, ultimately filled by Lloyd McClendon.

For the 2014 season, Valle was the manager of the Class A Everett AquaSox, the Mariners' nearby affiliate in the short-season Northwest League.

Esperanza Esperanza International is a charitable organization founded in 1995 by Valle and his wife Victoria. It is a Christian development organization focused on serving the most impoverished families in the Dominican Republic and Haiti through microfinance initiatives, healthcare, education, and water. As of 2015, Esperanza has served over 200,000 people on the island of Hispaniola.