- Bobby Valentine
dablink|This article is about the baseball player/manager. For the R&B
singer , seeBobby Valentino .Infobox MLB retired
name=Bobby Valentine
caption=
position=Outfielder / Manager
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1950|5|13Stamford, Connecticut
debutdate=September 2
debutyear=by|1969
debutteam=Los Angeles Dodgers
finaldate=September 30
finalyear=by|1979
finalteam=Seattle Mariners
stat1label=Batting average
stat1value=.260
stat2label=Hits
stat2value=441
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=157
teams=As Player
*Los Angeles Dodgers (by|1969, by|1971-by|1972)
*California Angels (by|1973-by|1975)
*San Diego Padres (by|1975-by|1977)
*New York Mets (by|1977-by|1978)
*Seattle Mariners (by|1979)As Manager
* Texas Rangers (by|1985-by|1992)
*Chiba Lotte Marines (by|1995)
*New York Mets (by|1996-by|2002)
*Chiba Lotte Marines (by|2004-present)
highlights=
* 2002Branch Rickey Award Robert John Valentine (born
May 13 1950 in Stamford,Connecticut ), nicknamed Bobby V, is a former player and manager inMajor League Baseball and the current manager of theChiba Lotte Marines of Japan'sPacific League .Early years
Valentine was widely recruited out of Rippowam High School in
Stamford, Connecticut as a star inAmerican football and baseball. He was recruited by the likes of theUniversity of Nebraska ,Duke University , theUniversity of Notre Dame and theUniversity of Southern California . He attended USC where he became a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity andArizona State University . He was then drafted and signed by theLos Angeles Dodgers in 1969. He is considered to be among the best high school athletes in Connecticut history.Playing career
Valentine played from by|1969 to by|1979 with the Dodgers, California Angels,
San Diego Padres ,New York Mets andSeattle Mariners .Valentine was the
Pacific Coast League MVP in 1970, a team managed by future Dodger greatTommy Lasorda , and helped theSpokane Indians to the league championship over a legendaryHawaii Islanders powerhouse.As a player, he was never a
home run hitter (he only hit 12 home runs in his major league career), but he had 107 hits as a member of the Dodgers in by|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 atAnaheim Stadium in 1974 while crashing into the wall chasing a home run, and was never the same caliber player after that.Career as a manager
He has managed the Texas Rangers (by|1985–by|1992) and the
New York Mets (by|1996–by|2002). Valentine's managing led to the late 1990s and early 2000s resurgence of the Mets, which culminated in by|1999 with a wild card berth and a loss to theAtlanta Braves in the National League Championship Series, and aNational League pennant in by|2000. The Mets lost the2000 World Series to the crosstown rivalNew York Yankees , four games to one. Valentine is also infamous for a dubious incident during a by|1999 game in which 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'sWharton School of Business somewhat cynical, insider comments regarding a handful of Mets players and the organization as a whole. [ [http://www.citypaper.net/articles/042000/sl.howcol.shtml The Whartongate Affair ] ]Valentine is currently in his second stint as manager of the Japanese
Pacific League Chiba Lotte Marines (by|2003—) for a 3-year $4,500,000 (US) contract. OnOctober 17 , by|2005, he led the Marines to win the Pacific League pennant after thirty-one years in a close playoff with theFukuoka SoftBank Hawks . OnOctober 26 , the team becameJapan Series champions with a victory over theHanshin Tigers , as well as the firstAsia Series champions overSamsung Lions in finals. He served as manager for the same team in by|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 by|1974. However, he was fired abruptly due to the personal conflict with general managerTatsuro Hirooka , despite having a two-year contract.On
October 27 , by|2005, Valentine issued a challenge to the World Series championChicago White Sox , prior to the completion of the tournament, on behalf of theChiba Lotte Marines . Valentine called for a seven-game World Series to be played between the American and Japanese championship teams. Unlike theWorld 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.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 when not managing in Japan or inArlington, 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 theFood Network .Fact|date=April 2007 Since 2003, Valentine has held an annual "Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine & Food Experience", a charity fundraising event featuring food from lowerFairfield 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. [Advertisement "Sixth Annual Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine & Food Experience", Weekend section, "The Advocate" of Stamford, Connecticut, page 8,December 6 2007 ]Valentine's father-in-law is former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher
Ralph Branca , who gave up the famous pennant-winning home run toBobby Thomson in by|1951.Fact|date=April 2007Valentine is a member of the
Delta Chi fraternity.Notes
External links
*Bobby Valentine's official blog: http://www.bobbysway.jp
*baseballstats |mlb= |espn= |br=v/valenbo02 |fangraphs=1013324 |cube=V/bobby-valentine
*baseball-reference manager|id=/valenbo02
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