ABOUT BOBBY VALENTINE

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Stamford native Bobby Valentine is a sports legend with strong ties to the state of Connecticut. In addition to his baseball achievements at Stamford’s Rippowam High School, Valentine was the only three-time all-state football player in Connecticut history. He was widely recruited out of high school and attended college at the University of Southern California. Voted by Sports Illustrated as one of the best athletes of the 20th century from Connecticut, Bobby was selected in the first round of the MLB Draft by the L.A. Dodgers.  He spent 10 years as a MLB player that included successful stints with the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mets and Mariners. 

 

After retiring from baseball as a player, Valentine opened the first of seven restaurants while working in television for ESPN and NBC. He later coached in the minor leagues with the San Diego Padres and the New York Mets before becoming third-base coach for the Mets in 1982. In 1985, he was named manager of the Texas Rangers. As the Rangers’ manager, he was named UPI American League Manager of the Year in 1986 and went on to become the winningest manager in Rangers history. In 1994, he became the first American to accept a management position in the Pacific League of Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines, and in 1995, he took on the role of manager of the Mets AAA club in Norfolk, VA.

 

In 1996, he was hired as the manager of the New York Mets, where he led the team to the post season in consecutive years for the first time in team history and to the World Series in 2000.

 

In 2004, Valentine returned to the Japan and led the Marines to its first Asian championship. He became the first foreign manager to win the prestigious Shoriki Award given to the person who contributes the most to Japanese baseball. In 2011, Valentine was appointed director of public health and safety in his hometown of Stamford. During his time of service, he donated his salary back to the city. That same year, he took on an analyst role for ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. He returned to the baseball diamond to skipper the Boston Red Sox during the 2012 season. He currently serves as NBC’s senior baseball analyst. In addition, he is the longtime owner of Bobby Valentine’s Sports Gallery Café in Stamford.

 

Valentine helped to found the Mickey Lione, Jr., Scholarship Fund, which awards scholarships to Stamford sophomores who excel off the field and exemplify the values that Lione instilled in his athletes and students. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Steel Excel and Steel Sports. Valentine co-founded the Shin Taku Juko School in Japan. The University of Southern California Business School has created a curriculum for Shin Taku Juko, which teaches values to parents and their children. The school also offers a stay-abroad program for children who lost their parents in the tsunami that devastated Japan. Over the years, Valentine has received numerous awards both for his athletic successes and philanthropy. Bobby Valentine has also served as a Grand Marshall for the Columbus Day parade in New York City, holds a key to the city, is a Branch Rickey Award recipient and is also a CT Gold Key winner.