Bobby Valentine
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| Bobby Valentine | ||
|---|---|---|
| Outfielder / Manager | ||
| Born: May 13 1950 | Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | ||
| September 2, 1969 for the Los Angeles Dodgers | ||
| Final game | ||
| September 30, 1979 for the Seattle Mariners | ||
| Career statistics | ||
| AVG | .260 | |
| Hits | 441 | |
| RBI | 157 | |
| Teams | ||
|
As Player
As Manager | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
| ||
Robert John "Bobby" Valentine (born May 13, 1950 in Stamford, Connecticut), also known as Bobby V, is a former player and manager in Major League Baseball. He is currently the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League.
Contents |
[edit] Early years
Valentine was widely recruited out of Rippowam High School in Stamford, CT as a star in American football, and baseball. He was recruited by the likes of University of Nebraska, Duke University, University of Notre Dame, University of Southern California, but he wound up being drafted and signed by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969. He is considered to be among the best high school athletes in Connecticut history.
[edit] Playing career
Valentine played from 1969 to 1979 with the Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels, San Diego Padres, New York Mets, and Seattle Mariners.
Valentine was the Pacific Coast League MVP in 1970, a team managed by future Dodger mentor great Tommy Lasorda, and helped the Spokane Indians to the league championship over a legendary Hawaii Islander powerhouse.
As a player, he was never a home run hitter (he only hit 12 home runs in his career), but he had 107 hits as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972. Eventually traded to the crosstown Angels , Valentine was a victim of one of the most notable injuries during that era when he broke his leg at Anaheim Stadium in 1974 while crashing into the wall chasing a home run, and was never the same calibre player after that.
[edit] Career as a Manager
He has managed the Texas Rangers (1985–1992) and the New York Mets (1996–2002). Valentine's managing led to the late 1990s early 2000s resurgence of the Mets which culminated in 1999 with a wild card berth and a loss to the Atlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, and a National League Pennant in 2000. The Mets would lose the 2000 World Series to the cross town rival New York Yankees four games to one. Valentine is also infamous for a dubious incident during a 1999 game where he was discovered to have sneaked back into the team dugout after being ejected by wearing a disguise consisting of a change of clothes, sunglasses, and a "moustache" painted on with eye black. In early 2000, Valentine was at the center of what would be called "Whartongate", in which he allegedly mentioned to students at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business somewhat cynical, insider comments regarding a handful of Mets players and the organization as a whole.[citation needed]
Valentine is currently in his second stint as manager of the Japanese Pacific League Chiba Lotte Marines (2003—) for a 3 year $4,500,000 (US) contract. On October 17, 2005, he led the Marines to win the Pacific League pennant after thirty-one years in a close playoff with the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. On October 26, 2005, the team became Japan Series champions with a victory over the Hanshin Tigers. He served as manager for the same team in 1995, when the team surprised most Japanese baseball fans by finishing in second place (69-58-3), a remarkable feat for the Marines which had not won the Japanese Pacific league pennants since 1974. However, he was fired abruptly due to the personal conflict with general manager Tatsuro Hirooka, despite having a two year contract.
On October 27, 2005, Valentine issued a dare to the World Series champions, prior to the completion of the tournament, on behalf of the Chiba Lotte Marines. Valentine called for a seven-game World Series to be played between the American and Japanese championship teams. Unlike the World Baseball Classic, a competition featuring sixteen national all-star teams, a World Series-styled tournament between the winners of both the American and Japanese championships has never been played.
[edit] Outside his baseball career
Outside of his coaching job, Valentine also owns Bobby V's, a decades-old sports bar with locations in Stamford, where he still keeps his residence in when not managing in Japan or in Arlington, Texas. He claims to have invented the wrap sandwich. He claims that his restaurant was the first anywhere to serve a sandwich in a tortilla wrap. Valentine made this claim while his restaurant was showcased on Food Network.[citation needed] Since 2003, Valentine has held an annual "Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine & Food Experience", a charity fundraising event featuring food from lower Fairfield County, Connecticut restaurants and a selection of wines. Valentine acts as the master of ceremonies and celebrities and sports personalities appear at the event. The January 2008 event, to benefit the Mickey Lione Jr. Fund, included both live and silent auctions and cost $150 to attend, with ticket sales limited to 750.[1]
Valentine's father-in-law is former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, who gave up the famous pennant-winning home run to Bobby Thomson in 1951.[citation needed]
Bobby is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Advertisement "Sixth Annual Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine & Food Experience", Weekend section, The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, page 8, December 6, 2007
[edit] External links
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (as player)
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (as manager)
- Bobby Valentine's official blog: http://www.bobbysway.jp
| Preceded by Doug Rader | Texas Rangers Manager 1985-1992 | Succeeded by Toby Harrah |
| Preceded by Dallas Green | New York Mets Manager 1996-2002 | Succeeded by Art Howe |
Texas Rangers managers |
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New York Mets managers |
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| Stengel • Westrum • Parker • Hodges • Berra • McMillan • Frazier • Torre • Bamberger • Howard • Johnson • Harrelson • Cubbage • Torborg • Green • Valentine • Howe • Randolph |
Baseball Tonight Personalities | |
|---|---|
| Hosts | Karl Ravech (Lead Host, 1996-present) · Chris Berman (Host, 1990-present) · Steve Berthiaume (Host, 2003-2005, 2007-present) · Gary Miller (Lead Host, 1990-1995 · Dave Marash (Host, 1990) · Rich Eisen (Host, 1996-2002) · Brian Kenny (Host, 2003) · Chris Myers (1991-1995) · Scott Reiss (Host, 2006) |
| Analysts | Orestes Destrade (Analyst, 2005-present) · Orel Hershiser (Analyst, 2006-present) · John Kruk (Lead Analyst, 2004-present) · Eduardo Perez (Analyst, 2007-present) · Steve Phillips (Lead Analyst, 2005-present) · Fernando Viña (Analyst, 2007-present) · Eric Young (Analyst, 2007-present) · Dusty Baker (Analyst, 2007) · Larry Bowa (Analyst, 2005) · Jeff Brantley (Analyst, 2002-2006) · Dave Campbell (Lead Analyst, 1990-2004) · Rob Dibble (Analyst, 1998-2004) · Ray Knight (Analyst, 1998-2003) · Mike Macfarlane (Analyst, 1999) · Tino Martinez (Analyst, 2006) · Brian McRae (Analyst, 2000-2005) · Harold Reynolds (Lead Analyst, 1996-2006) · Bill Robinson (Analyst, 1990-1991) · Buck Showalter (Lead Analyst, 2001-2002) · Rick Sutcliffe (Analyst, 2002-2003) · Bobby Valentine (Lead Analyst, 2003) |
| Reporters | Peter Gammons (Lead Reporter, 1990-present) · Tim Kurkjian (Reporter, 1998-present) · Buster Olney (Reporter, 2003-present) · Jayson Stark (2000-present) |
| Correspondents | Pedro Gomez (2004-present) · Bob Holtzman (2004-present) |
| See also: Major League Baseball on ESPN | |
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | 1950 births | Living people | Baseball managers | New York Mets managers | Texas Rangers managers | Major league infielders | Los Angeles Dodgers players | San Diego Padres players | California Angels players | Seattle Mariners players | New York Mets players | Major league players from Connecticut | Italian-American sportspeople | People from Stamford, Connecticut | People from Manhattan | People from New York City | Japanese baseball managers | Major League Baseball general managers
