Valentin Is Happy to Be With Mets

A year ago, Jose Valentin sat glumly in the Dodgers’ clubhouse contemplating retirement. He had been brought in to plug the gap at third base left by the departure of Adrian Beltre, but he tore up his knee early in the season and finished with a .170 batting average and two home runs.

The Dodgers paid him $3.5 million for the trouble and never even considered asking him back.

“I needed someone to believe in me,” he said. “There was a point I thought it would be hard to find a job.”

What a job he has done. The Mets signed him to a minor league contract, he became the starting second baseman and any discussion of comeback player of the year has to include him.

“What we have going here is awesome,” he said. “When everybody is going well, you can’t wait to come to the park the next day.”

Valentin, 36, is batting .285 with 15 home runs and 55 runs batted in. He hasn’t made an error in 60 games, the longest streak among National League second basemen. In fact, if the Dodgers faced the Mets in the playoffs, the Mets would have a slight edge at second base in position-by-position matchups. That’s right, Valentin over Jeff Kent.

Kent has a lower batting average and slugging percentage, fewer home runs and has made seven errors to Valentin’s four. The only statistic that favors Kent is RBIs, but he bats in the middle of the lineup and Valentin bats either eighth, sixth or second.

Valentin wouldn’t knock last season’s Dodgers, but it isn’t difficult to read between the lines.

“We have players who want to win,” he said. “We have players who play hard every day. We all get along so good. We’re all on the same page. We know what we want and go for it. We want to win everything.”

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Andre Ethier, who is one for 13 on the trip, was not in the lineup for the second time in three days and almost certainly will fall short of the 502 plate appearances necessary to qualify for the league batting title.

The rookie left fielder is batting .325 in 407 plate appearances with 19 games to play. He would rank fourth in the league in batting if he qualified.

“He needs a break,” Manager Grady Little said. “These days off plus our off day [today] should give him a fresh start Tuesday.”

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Chad Billingsley threw 75 pitches in the bullpen and felt no pain from the strained muscle in his left side that has kept him sidelined since Aug. 27. Billingsley remains on track to start Saturday at home against the San Diego Padres.

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steve.henson@latimes.com