Before César Valdez journeyed around the world and soft-tossed his way to the back end of the Orioles' bullpen, he was a quiet 21-year-old in Yakima, Washington, pitching stateside professionally for the first time.
It was there, as a young right-hander for the Arizona Diamondbacks' rookie-ball affiliate, that the changeup Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has dubbed “the dead fish” came to life.
Nicknamed “El Jefe” — The Chief — by his fellow Orioles relievers as their elder statesmen, the 35-year-old has pitched to a 1.46 ERA in his seven outings with Baltimore. But this success comes after he began his professional career, reached the majors, failed, pitched in country after country, made it back to the big leagues and failed again.