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Language: en
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Hi folks, I'm Peter Lemieux with
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Rounding Third and Batter Sports and I
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tell baseball stories. Uh there's a
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story I've wanted to tell for some time
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and I was motivated because just a few
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days ago the New York Mets put
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Lee Mazili and Bobby Valentine into the
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New York Mets Hall of Fame. For a long
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time, I've wanted to talk about Bobby
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Valentine, and that's what I'm going to
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do for a few minutes today. I want to
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tell you a few things people really
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don't know about Val Bobby Valentine and
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what makes him such an extraordinary
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person.
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First of all, let's talk about what made
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him famous. They call it Bobby
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Valentine's mustache game. It was on
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June 9th, 1999.
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The Mets were playing the Blue Jays at
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Shea Stadium, their home at the time.
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It was extra innings and in the 12th
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inning there was catchers interference
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called on the Mets catcher Mike Piaza.
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Of course, Bobby Valentine being a very
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emotional guy, easily set off, protested
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and was kicked out of the game. What he
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did next is legendary. He went into the
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dugout and with black
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eye makeup, he drew a mustache on
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himself and put on fake glasses.
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Returned to the dugout thinking no one
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would notice him sitting there with a
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fake mustache and eyeglasses.
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Of course, he didn't get away with it.
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He was kicked out of the game and
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suspended for a while. and that has gone
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down pretty famously as Bobby
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Valentine's mustache game. That's a
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wonderful story, but that's not what I'm
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going to share with you today. I want to
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tell you a few things about Bobby
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Valentine that most people have no idea
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about about what an extraordinary
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athlete and human being he was. So let's
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go back to Bobby Valentine in high
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school playing for a place in
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Connecticut Stamford, Connecticut called
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Ripple Wam High School. Okay. He was an
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allstate player in football, baseball,
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and track. Bobby Valentine was a very
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fast runner. He set three all-time
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allstate football records. He set
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records for career touchdowns, 53,
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career interceptions for a touchdown,
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five. And he also set a career record
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for the 60-yard dash. Um, his career
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interception TD record remains having
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been tied, but no one has gotten to six
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TD interceptions.
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As a sophomore in 1965, he averaged
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rushing 5.6 yards a carry. He scored 21
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touchdowns and led Ripawan to a 9-0
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record and the state championship. Well,
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you think that's great, great athlete, a
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ripam, hold on. Bobby Valentine was a
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champion ballroom dancer as a teenager.
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He was also um regional competition at
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the Waldorf Atoria in New York and he
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took part ballroom dancing at the
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opening of the World's Fair in 1965
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64 excuse me. By the way, while he was
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at this high school, Bobby was of course
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the president of student council. He
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went on to go to Southern California. He
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wanted to play football and baseball.
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but he settled into baseball. It was the
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one that he liked the most and was
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drafted by the Dodgers getting a $65,000
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signing bonus. Now, in truth, Bobby
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Valentine's major league career was
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pretty much as a journeyman. He was
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effective with a lot of teams, never
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being a league leader in anything, but a
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guy who could play several positions. He
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ran very well, made contact on the ball.
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He was the kind of guy that teams could
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use. But in the minors, when he first
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started, he was at the Ogden Utah uh
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Load full transcript
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Ogden
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Dodgers of the Pioneer League. And in
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his first year, he won the MVP of the
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league, batting .281 and slugging 460
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with 20 stolen bases. He's the only one
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of three players in the whole league
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that played every single game. While he
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was there, he developed a lifelong deep
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friendship with his manager, Tommy
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Lassorta, which speaks to how he did so
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much coaching and managing later on 1970
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with the Spokane Indians. Valentine was
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again the league MVP. this time batting
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340
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14 home runs, leading the Pacific Coast
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League in eight offensive categories.
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Injuries came in. He suffered a
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fractured cheekbone when he was beaned
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in the PCL playoffs. Later on, he had to
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have surgery on a ruptured ligament in
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his leg. He played with the Dodgers, the
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Angels, the Padres's, the Mets, and
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managers. But subsequent to that
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good major league career, but nothing,
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you know, putting him in the Hall of
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Fame, he became a manager at several
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locations, the Rangers, the Norfolk
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Tides, the Chea Latte Marines in Japan.
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Um, he managed, of course, the New York
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Mets.
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He was not without controversy, okay?
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when he managed the Mets, he had a flare
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up with two players during the World
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Series. Two players to be named at a
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later story
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went in the dugout and were playing
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cards during the game. That was
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unacceptable to him. He criticized the
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player and later criticized the general
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manager for assembling the team even
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though they're in the World Series. So,
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guess what? that got Bobby out of the
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league where he went back to Japan and
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won their World Series series and
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afterward he challenged the major league
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champion to a playoff which of course
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didn't happen. Um, one year with the Red
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Sox he got fired. He had runins with the
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media, feuds with players and coaches.
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So, when Bobby Valentine left Major
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League Baseball, the feeling was he was
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kind of a hothead, out of control, um
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not real liked by ownership, and a lot
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of players didn't like him either. What
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Bobby had inside of him was this immense
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passion to win, and that couldn't be
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controlled. So he left Major League
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Baseball and took over a kind of would
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seem insignificant position at Sacred
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Heart University in Fairfield,
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Connecticut. Now, while he was there, he
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got this university to replace the
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playing surface on the field. And
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eventually, Sacred Heart invested
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almost $22 million in the construction
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of the Bobby Valentine Health and
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Recreation Center. Catch this, my
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friends. 57,000 square foot building,
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three stories high. It's a fitness
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facility for the whole student
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population, including indoor track,
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bowling, 18 bike spin centers, 45 ft
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climbing wall, exercise and weight
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training rooms. This facility opened in
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August 2019, the Bobby Valentine Health
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and Recreation Center. And in addition
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to that, while he was the athletic
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director, they won the neck. That's the
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league they're in. Best eight
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commissioners cup for excellence in
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women's athletics. He was driven to be
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the best he could. Now, not to put that
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aside, on top of being an athlete, a
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ballroom dancer, a player, a coach, a
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winning manager, a controversial
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manager, a successful athletic director.
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In May of 2021, Bobby Valentine decided
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he was going to run for mayor of
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Stamford, Connecticut as an independent,
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not supported by either the Democrats or
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the Republicans.
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At the end, he lost by only 1,500 votes
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to a woman, uh, Caroline Simmons. And of
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course, being Bobby Valentine, after the
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election was over, he stated that there
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was voter fraud and he wanted it
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investigated. It didn't come to
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fruition. Folks, I share with you just a
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few thoughts. Bobby Valentine
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is more than the mustache man. This man
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was an incredible athlete in many
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sports. He was multi-dimensional for the
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skills he had in several areas. He was a
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leader. He was not afraid of
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confrontation. When he saw something
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wrong, he would state it. It was both
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his strength and his weakness. So, when
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they have Ba Bobby Valentine's Day at
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City Field, in my mind, this is a lot
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more than the mustache guy. This is an
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extraordinary human being who has
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accomplished a lot in his life. So today
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I want to say tip of the hat. Thank you
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Bobby Valentine. Thank you for letting
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us know about you and how this all
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works. And I will wish all of you a
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great day. Come back and see me again
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soon. Like, subscribe, and look forward
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to more stories from
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Rounding Third. Have a great day,
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everyone.
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Hey. Hey. Hey.