José Valdivielso, the primary shortstop during the final season of the Griffith Senators, died March 4, 2025, at age 90.
He debuted with Washington in 1955 and moved with the organization when Calvin Griffith left D.C. for Minnesota. Not much with the bat, Valdivielso hit .219 in 401 games over parts of five seasons in the big leagues. He got into 117 games in 1960, starting 92 times before ceding the position in September to Zoilo Versalles, a future MVP and first Latino player to win the award.
Beyond his forgettable stats, however, Valdivielso is remembered for becoming a significant voice in the Cuban and Latino baseball community as a Spanish language broadcaster for both the Yankees and Mets and for years of work on behalf of the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.
On July 23, 1960, Valdivielso was part of the only triple play involving all Cuban-born players. As often is the case when a player recalls a game years later, Valdivielso mixed up one of the participants: “It was at Kansas City. Whitey Herzog was hitting with runners on first and second… Herzog hit a line drive to Camilo [Pascual] who threw to Julio Becquer at first base. Julio then threw to me at second base. A 1-3-6 triple play,” he told author Rich Marazzi in 2004. In fact, the pitcher who started the triple play was the Senators’ other Cuban starter, Pedro Ramos.
Four days earlier in Detroit, Valdivielso came close to saving what would have been a Ramos no-hitter. Ramos had held the Tigers hitless into the bottom of the eighth. Rocky Colavito led off and hit Ramos’ first pitch back up the middle. Vadivielso had the Tigers’ pull-hitting slugger shaded toward third.
“Colavito’s ball shot past Ramos with Valdi running to his left in hot pursuit,” Bob Addie wrote in the Washington Post’s July 20 game story. “Had the ball stayed down, Valdi might have grabbed it, but the onery thing took a big hop and sailed past Jose’s frantic glove.” Ramos settled for a one-hit shutout.
I recall listening to this game on the radio, and legendary play-by-play man Bob Wolff describing the bad hop that kept Valdivielso from getting to it.
Although born in Cuba, Valdivielso had strong ties to the United States, where his father played football while attending Boston University. The younger Valdivielso was playing for Lubbock in the West Texas-New Mexico League when he was signed early in 1954 by Joe Cambria, the famous scout noted for finding players for the Senators in Cuba.
A cartoon in The Sporting News in January 1956 depicted Senators’ manager Chuck Dressen, who had several non-English speaking Cubans on his roster, trying to talk to Valdivielso in badly broken Spanglish. The bilingual Valdivielso replies: “Mr. Dressen, I’ve studied English all my life.”
Shortly after his call-up in 1955, Valdivielso had what he later described as one of his biggest thrills; In his first game at Yankee Stadium, he went 3-for-3 with an RBI and a walk off Whitey Ford. One of the hits was a double.
In 1977, Valdivielso was asked to accept the Hall of Fame plaque on behalf of legendary Negro Leaguer Martin Dihigo, a fellow Cuban, who entered Cooperstown’s ranks that year.
Best known for his long broadcasting career, Valdivielso joined the Yankees’ Spanish-language radio broadcasts alongside Buck Canel in the early 1970s. Starting in 1974, Valdivielso and Canel worked together again on the Mets Spanish-language broadcasts.
Valdivielso became a member of the board of the MLB Players Alumni Association, which was founded by former expansion Senators’ players. In January 2020, he was given lifetime emeritus status on the board.
Washington baseball history 