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Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed " Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969, 1971–72), California Angels (1973–1975), San Diego Padres (1975-1977), New York Mets (1977–78), and Seattle Mariners (1979) in MLB. He managed the Texas Rangers (1985–1992), the New York Mets (1996–2002), and the Boston Red Sox (2012) of MLB, as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (1995, 2004–2009).
Valentine has been an analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. In February 2013, CBSSports.com hired Valentine to represent its Fantasy Sports business, including running a viral marketing campaign in which he made fun of the many times he was fired in his career and gave fans a chance to "Hire or Fire Bobby V" one more time.
On November 2, 2021, Valentine lost the election to become mayor of his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut, to Caroline Simmons, the first female elected mayor in Stamford.
He was recruited by the University of Nebraska, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern California as a star in football and baseball, but ultimately chose USC. In 1967, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth Indians of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him fifth overall in the 1968 Major League Baseball draft and he signed with the Dodgers, receiving a $65,000 signing bonus. He attended both USC and Arizona State University while in the Dodgers organization and was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. His roommate at USC was Bill Buckner, who was the Dodgers second round pick in 1968.
Back with the Spokane Indians for 1970, Valentine was again his league's MVP after batting .340 with fourteen and leading the Pacific Coast League in eight offensive categories. Led by Valentine and manager Lasorda, Spokane won the league championship over the Hawaii Islanders. He suffered a fractured cheekbone when he was beaned in the PCL playoffs that season and also had right knee surgery to repair a ruptured ligament in January 1971.1992 Texas Rangers Media Guide page 9.
As a regular starter for the Angels, Valentine had a strong start, leading the Angels with a .302 batting average. Four days after his 23rd birthday, he suffered a multiple compound leg fracture on May 17, 1973, at Anaheim Stadium in a game against the Oakland Athletics after his spikes got caught in the outfield's chain link fence while attempting to catch a home run ball hit by Dick Green, one of only three home runs hit by Green during the season. He missed the remainder of the 1973 season and never regained his speed as the bones did not heal properly. Two days prior to the injury, Valentine was playing center field when Nolan Ryan threw his first career No-hitter. Valentine would later be Ryan's manager in Texas for his last two No-hitters (6th and 7th). In 1974, despite still recovering from his leg injury, Valentine made 414 plate appearances, the second most of his career, and batted .261 with three home runs. On April 4, 1975, the Angels loaned him to the Charleston Charlies, a AAA Pittsburgh Pirates organization where he played in 56 games before returning to the Angels organization on June 20, 1975. He was assigned to the Angels AAA affiliate Salt Lake City Bees and played in 46 games batting .306 before being called back up to the Angels On September 17, 1975, he was traded to the San Diego Padres with Rudy Meoli for Gary Ross. On September 19, 1975, in his first game as a Padre, Valentine homered off Mike Caldwell in a 3–1 loss to the Giants.
In 1989, while still managing the Rangers, Valentine worked as an on-the-field analyst for NBC's 1989 ALCS coverage alongside Bob Costas and Tony Kubek.
Over the next two seasons, Valentine led a Mets resurgence, finishing 14 games over .500 (88–74) both years. In the 12th inning of a 14-inning marathon against the Toronto Blue Jays on June 9, 1999, Valentine was ejected by home plate umpire Randy Marsh for arguing a catcher's interference call against Mike Piazza. Valentine returned to the dugout an inning later disguised with sunglasses and a fake moustache made from eye black. The Mets went on to win the game 4–3, and Major League Baseball fined Valentine $5,000 and suspended him for two games.
Valentine led the Mets to a record of 97–66 and a wild card playoff berth that season. The Mets defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in four games (3–1) en route to the National League Championship Series, where they eventually lost to their division rival the Atlanta Braves in six games (4–2).
In early 2000, Valentine 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. The incident was called "The Whartongate Affair". That year Valentine returned as Mets manager, finishing with a 94–68 record and another wild card playoff berth. This time the Mets were successful in winning the National League pennant, defeating the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2000 National League Championship Series in five games (4–1). The Mets lost the 2000 World Series to their crosstown rivals the New York Yankees in five games (4–1).
On July 14, 2001, Valentine won his 1,000th game as manager, doing so against the Boston Red Sox in his 1,958th game as manager.
Valentine won the 2002 Branch Rickey Award for his donations and personal work with survivors of the September 11 attacks. Valentine had an uneasy, if not volatile relationship with general manager Steve Phillips, who fired three of Valentine's coaches at the end of one season and refused to discipline Rickey Henderson and Bobby Bonilla for their actions in 1999 (the two were seen playing cards during the end of the NLCS that year and the latter asked Valentine to a fight in the dugout). At one point, Phillips refused to let Valentine attend the winter meetings. At the end of the 2002 season, with owner Jeff Wilpon seeing no optimism for improvement in 2003, fired Valentine. Valentine described himself as a scapegoat and stated, "Nobody in this organization has done more for the community than I have. Steve Phillips has done nothing in the community. I went to his church for a father-son night, his church, and he was late."
He finished his Mets managerial career with a record of 536 wins and 467 losses.
Following their Japan Series championship, the Marines won the inaugural Asia Series by defeating the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization in November 2005. Valentine aided in bringing innovative promotions to Japan, which doubled Marine attendance during his tenure. Some of these gimmicks, like allowing children to run the bases after games or dedicated autograph sessions, are common in America but were unseen in Japan; others, such as Valentine hosting dance classes for female fans, played on the manager's personal appeal (and his history—Valentine was a competition ballroom dancer in his youth). In 2008, Valentine was the subject of the ESPN Films documentary The Zen of Bobby V., which followed Valentine and his 2007 Marines team. The Zen of Bobby V. was an official selection at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. The Marines let Valentine go after the 2009 season after an extensive smear campaign led by club president Ryuzo Setoyama, which ironically backfired and resulted in an overflow of support for Valentine by local fans. In the end, Valentine was fired, even though a petition to extend his contract was presented to the organization with 112,000 signatures. This would lead to several members of the Marines' then ōendan fan club, MVP, to be banned from Chiba Marine Stadium for life, as they wouldn't stop chanting obscenities at management to keep Valentine, which also led to MVP's disbandment after 2009.
In late 2009, Valentine was a candidate to replace Eric Wedge as manager of the Cleveland Indians. The position, however, went to Manny Acta.
Valentine continued working with ESPN for the 2010 MLB season. He was interviewed for the Baltimore Orioles managerial position after manager Dave Trembley was fired in early June; Valentine later withdrew his name from consideration. Valentine was considered a front runner for the Florida Marlins managerial position that opened after manager Fredi González was fired in late June. However, Valentine confirmed he was no longer a candidate for the position after Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria stated that Edwin RodrĂguez, the interim manager they summoned to replace Gonzalez, would manage the team through the 2010 season. With the firing of the New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel at the end of the 2010 season, New York sports media speculated that Valentine would return to manage the team. It was also reported that the Toronto Blue Jays and Seattle Mariners had interviewed Valentine for their open managerial positions. Valentine was interviewed by the Milwaukee Brewers for their managerial opening in October 2010. He was believed to be a finalist along with Bob Melvin, Joey Cora, and Ron Roenicke. The Brewers job eventually went to Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke.
On December 1, 2010, Valentine, Orel Hershiser and Dan Shulman were named as ESPN's new Sunday Night Baseball crew for the 2011 MLB season. In June 2011, news outlets reported that Valentine was once again a candidate for the Florida Marlins managerial position after the ballclub free fell in the standings. That did not come to fruition, however, as the Marlins hired former White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén.
Valentine's first and only season with Boston was marred by undermining from the front office, injuries, public feuds with players, run-ins with the media, and a tumultuous relationship with his coaches. Under Valentine's management, the 2012 Red Sox finished last in the AL East at 69–93, their worst record in 47 years. Valentine was fired by the Red Sox on October 4, 2012, one day after the conclusion of the regular season.
During his tenure Valentine helped to raise the visibility of Pioneer athletics, with appearances on ESPN, SNY and other national and regional media outlets. He oversaw the replacement of the playing surface on Campus Field, as well as its surrounding track, in addition to renovations to William H. Pitt Center. Sacred Heart University invested $21.8 million in the construction of the Bobby Valentine Health and Recreation Center, a 57,400-square foot, three-story, fitness facility for the whole student population, which includes an indoor track, a bowling center, an 18-bike spin center, a 45-foot climbing wall and exercise and weight-training rooms. The facility opened in August 2019.
In addition, the Pioneers won their NEC-best eighth Joan Martin Commissioner's Cup for excellence in women's athletics in 2015, and overall the Pioneers have captured 13 conference championships since he has taken the helm. Programs have garnered national acclaim in that time, with the football team finishing the 2014 season nationally ranked, and the fencing squad finishing 11th in the NCAA at the 2014 championship.Sacred Heart Athletics In September 2016, Valentine was named the ECAC Division I Administrator of the Year. On June 8 2021, Valentine took a leave of absence from his position, with Judy Ann Riccio becoming the interim director. Three months later, Riccio was named the new athletics director.
In 2010, Valentine started the production company, Makuhari Media, with producing partner Andrew Muscato. The company produces sports themed documentaries.
In 2011, Mayor Michael Pavia named Valentine Director of Public Safety for the city of Stamford, Connecticut. Valentine was paid a token $10,000 salary for this position, which he pledged to donate to city charities. Valentine left the position 11 months later to manage the Red Sox.
In 2013, on the twelfth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, Valentine made comments that accused the New York Yankees of not contributing support to the New York community in the wake of the attacks. He was widely criticized for the inaccuracy of his comments, as many media sources documented several occasions on which the Yankees visited victims and workers after the attacks, and for the untimeliness of trying to take credit for helping. TBS had originally planned to feature Valentine as a studio analyst during its MLB on TBS coverage for the 2013 postseason, but reportedly declined to do so after the negative publicity his comments attracted.
On December 9, 2016, WEEI-FM reported that, on the recommendation of New Jersey governor Chris Christie, Valentine was being considered by Donald Trump's presidential transition team for appointment as the United States Ambassador to Japan.
He was challenged by Democratic state representative Caroline Simmons in the Stamford mayoral election that took place on Tuesday November 2, 2021.
Valentine lost the election to Simmons by 1,505 votes. With her election, Simmons became the first woman mayor of Stamford by taking 52.5% of the vote. Valentine obtained 47.5% of the vote. After the election, Valentine alleged voter fraud, which was disputed by Stamford's registrar of voters.
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