Henry Antonio Mateo Valera (born October 14, 1976) is a professional baseball infielder. He played all or part of six seasons in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2006, and part of the 2010 season in Chinese Professional Baseball League.

Henry Mateo
Second baseman
Born: (1976-10-14) October 14, 1976 (age 48)
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Batted: Switch
Threw: Right
Professional debut
MLB: July 28, 2001, for the Montreal Expos
CPBL: July 11, 2010, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
Last appearance
MLB: October 1, 2006, for the Washington Nationals
CPBL: October 3, 2010, for the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions
MLB statistics
Batting average.233
Home runs1
Runs batted in10
CPBL statistics
Batting average.249
Home runs1
Runs batted in11
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  Dominican Republic
Central American and Caribbean Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Veracruz Team

Professional career

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Expos/Nationals

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Mateo was drafted by the Montreal Expos at age 18 in the second round of the 1995 amateur draft. He spent the next 6 years in the Expos' minor league system before making his major league debut in 2001. He remained with the team when they moved to Washington, D.C. and became the Nationals in 2005. After batting .154 in 2006, he was granted free agency after the season.

Tigers, Rays, and independent ball

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In 2007, he signed with the Detroit Tigers, spending all of that season with their top farm team, the Toledo Mud Hens. He was released by the Detroit Tigers on April 21, 2008. Later in 2008 signed with the Bridgeport Bluefish of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He batted .318 for the Bluefish and led his team in hits with 170. On May 24, 2009, Mateo was signed to a minor league contract by the Tampa Bay Rays and immediately optioned to the minor league Durham Bulls, where he ended the season. Mateo is currently being sought for the civil charge of criminal conversation in North Carolina.

Mexico and Taiwan

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Mateo became a free agent again after the 2009 season. He then went to the Mexican League, signing with the Vaqueros Laguna. He was later traded to the Diablos Rojos del México, but was subsequently released. In July, Mateo was signed by Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. He finished the year there, and returned to Mexico with the Olmecas de Tabasco in 2011.

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