Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s - #9 Valerio de los Santos

#28
Valerio Lorenzo de los Santos
Relief Pitcher

Even though the Phillies were 13 games behind the Braves in the division on September 2nd, they were still in the Wild Card hunt, just a game behind the Marlins.  To bolster the bullpen down the stretch, lefty Valerio de los Santos was purchased from the Brewers.  He appeared in six games for the Phillies in September, but half of those outings resulted in runs being scored by the opponent.  He finished his Phillies career with a 9.00 ERA, earned over just four innings pitched.  By my unofficial observation at the time, he was one of two current Phillies pitchers (along with Jose Mesa) who didn't take the field on September 28, 2003 for the post-game closing ceremony of Veterans Stadium.

de los Santos pitched in parts of nine seasons in the Majors, finding the most success with the Brewers between 2000 and 2003.

Bats:  Left  Throws:  Left  Height:  6'2"  Weight:  225
Born:  October 6, 1972, Las Matas de Farfan, Dominican Republic
Signed:  Signed by the Milwaukee Brewers as an amateur free agent, January 26, 1993.
Major League Teams:  Milwaukee Brewers 1998-2003; Phillies 2003; Toronto Blue Jays 2004; Florida Marlins 2005; Colorado Rockies 2008
Professional Affiliations:  Milwaukee Brewers 1995-2003; Phillies 2003; Toronto Blue Jays 2004; Florida Marlins 2005; Chicago White Sox 2006; Sultanes de Monterrey (Mexico) 2007; Dorados de Chihuahua (Mexico) 2007; Colorado Rockies 2008; Vaqueros Laguna 2011 (Mexico); Long Island Ducks (Independent) 2011

Phillies Career
6 games, all in relief - 1-0, 9.00, 4 strikeouts, 3 walks in 4 innings pitched
Acquired:  Purchased from the Milwaukee Brewers, September 2, 2003.
Debut:  September 4, 2003 - Relieved Jose Mesa after he had blown a save in the ninth inning against the Mets, pitching 2/3 of an inning.  Earned the win when Mike Lieberthal hit a walk-off single to left to score Marlon Byrd.
Final Game:  September 25, 2003 - Relieved Randy Wolf in the fifth inning, pitching an inning and allowing a run on two hits to the Marlins.
Departed:  December 21, 2003 - Granted free agency, signed as a free agent with the Toronto Blue Jays, December 27, 2003.

1997 Bowman #319

2003 Topps Total #59

2003 Upper Deck 40-Man #419

2004 Topps Total #403

2 de los Santos Baseball Cards in My Collection
2003 Topps Total #59
2003 Upper Deck 40-Man #419

Other Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1997 Bowman #319
First Topps Base Card:  N/A
Last Mainstream Card:  2004 Topps Total #403
Other Notable Cards:  1999 Fleer Tradition #329, 2000 Pacific Omega #187, 2001 MLB Showdown First Edition #235

Sources:  Baseball Reference and The Trading Card Database

Phillies Missing Links of the 2000s
1 Kirk Bullinger
2 Chris Pritchett
3 Bryan Ward
4 Mark Holzemer
5 Turner Ward
6 P.J. Forbes
7 Matt Walbeck
8 Kelly Stinnett
9 Valerio de los Santos

This is a continuing series looking at those players who spent time with the Phillies but possess no baseball card proof of their time in Philadelphia.  In some cases, the First and Last Mainstream cards listed above have been subjectively chosen if multiple cards were released in that year.