George Valesente

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George Valesente
Biographical details
Born1945 (age 79–80)
Playing career
1963–1966 Ithaca
1967 Lexington Braves
1967 Geneva Senators
1968 Burlington Senators
1969 Buffalo Bisons
1969 Savannah Senators
1970 Pittsfield Senators
1970 Burlington Senators
Position(s) Pitcher, First baseman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1973–1974 Brockport (NY)
1975–1976 New Paltz (NY)
1977–1978 SUNY Maritime
1979–2019 Ithaca
Head coaching record
Overall1,204–544–8 (.688)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Division III College World Series Champions 1980 and 1988
Awards
American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2005) American Baseball Coaches Association Division III Coach of the Year (1980 and 1988)

George R. Valesente (born 1945) is a retired college baseball coach who is the former head coach of the Ithaca Bombers. [1]

Contents

Career

Valesente graduated from Ithaca College in 1996. He coached for 41 seasons at his alma mater, from 1979 until 2019. [2] [3]

He was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 2005. He won his 1,000th game as a coach in 2012. In 2014, he was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2015, Valesente earned his 1,000th win as Ithaca's head coach on March 14 and, a month later, his 1,100th career coaching win on April 18. He retired with an all-time record 1,136–507–8 at Ithaca College and a 1,196–547–8 overall in 47 seasons as a head coach. [4] When he retired, Ithaca had a winning season in a record 81 consecutive seasons. [3]

Valesente coached the Bombers to two NCAA Division III national championships (1980 and 1988), [5] 10 World Series appearances and 35 Division III postseason berths in all. His teams never had a losing season and had won nearly 70 percent of their games. At Ithaca, his teams won 27 league titles and four runner-up finishes. Ithaca has won 17 of the 20 Empire 8 titles. Valesente coached 31 All-Americans and 42 players who signed professional baseball contracts. [4] One Ithaca player, Tim Locastro, played in Major League Baseball. [6]

Valesente won many coaching awards. He was voted the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Division III Coach of the Year in 1980 and 1988. and he earned district coach of the year recognition in 1980, 1981, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 2013. In 2012, he was named D3baseball.com's first NCAA New York Region Coach of the Year and earned his eighth Empire 8 Coach of the Year award. He won both awards again in 2013. [7] Valesente won 11 Empire 8 Coach of the Year awards, with his last coming in 2019. [4] He was inducted into the ABCA Hall of Fame in 2005. [7] In 2012, Ithaca renamed its baseball field in Valesente's honor. [3]

Before becoming a coach, Valesente played baseball at Ithaca. [4] After graduating he pitched and played first base in Minor League Baseball from 1967 to 1970 in the Atlanta Braves, Washington Senators, and Houston Astros organizations. His highest level of play was pitching 4 games for the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 1969. [8]

Valesente's older brother Bob Valesente also attended Ithaca, then played Minor League Baseball in 1963 and 1964. [9] He became a football coach, serving as the head coach of the Kansas Jayhawks in 1986 and 1987 and as an assistant coach in college and professional football. [10] [11]

Valesente's son David Valesente played in Minor League Baseball in 2012 and 2013. [12] [4] He became Ithaca's head coach in August 2019, succeeding his father. [13] [14]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "George Valesente announces retirement after 41 seasons at Ithaca". Fingerlakes1.com. June 18, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2024.
  2. ↑ Adams, Emily (June 25, 2019). "Legendary baseball coach to retire after 41 seasons". The Ithacan. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Valesente era to end at Ithaca". D3Baseball.com. June 18, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "George Valesente - Baseball Coach". Ithaca College Athletics . Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  5. ↑ "DIII Baseball Championship History". NCAA.com. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  6. ↑ "MLB Amateur Draft Picks who came from". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  7. 1 2 "ABCA Hall of Fame Inductee: George Valesente". American Baseball Coaches Association .
  8. ↑ "George Valesente Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Robert Valesente Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Kansas fires Valesente". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. November 24, 1987.
  11. ↑ "Exclusive with Former Steelers Linebacker Coach Bob Valesente, 1990-1991". Steelers Takeaways. August 21, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  12. ↑ "Dave Valesente Independent & Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  13. ↑ "David Valesente - Head Baseball Coach". Ithaca College Athletics . Retrieved January 21, 2025.
  14. ↑ Murphy, James (September 27, 2019). "New Ithaca College Baseball Coach Follows in Father's Footsteps". Ithaca Week. Retrieved January 21, 2025.
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