TRANSCRIPT 🔗
WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:02.230
Hi folks, I'm Peter Lemieux with
00:00:02.240 --> 00:00:04.230
Rounding Third and Batter Sports and I
00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:06.789
tell baseball stories. Uh there's a
00:00:06.799 --> 00:00:08.549
story I've wanted to tell for some time
00:00:08.559 --> 00:00:11.589
and I was motivated because just a few
00:00:11.599 --> 00:00:15.270
days ago the New York Mets put
00:00:15.280 --> 00:00:18.550
Lee Mazili and Bobby Valentine into the
00:00:18.560 --> 00:00:21.510
New York Mets Hall of Fame. For a long
00:00:21.520 --> 00:00:23.509
time, I've wanted to talk about Bobby
00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:25.670
Valentine, and that's what I'm going to
00:00:25.680 --> 00:00:27.750
do for a few minutes today. I want to
00:00:27.760 --> 00:00:29.669
tell you a few things people really
00:00:29.679 --> 00:00:32.229
don't know about Val Bobby Valentine and
00:00:32.239 --> 00:00:34.790
what makes him such an extraordinary
00:00:34.800 --> 00:00:36.790
person.
00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:38.709
First of all, let's talk about what made
00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:41.990
him famous. They call it Bobby
00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:45.510
Valentine's mustache game. It was on
00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:48.310
June 9th, 1999.
00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:50.790
The Mets were playing the Blue Jays at
00:00:50.800 --> 00:00:53.910
Shea Stadium, their home at the time.
00:00:53.920 --> 00:00:56.229
It was extra innings and in the 12th
00:00:56.239 --> 00:00:59.189
inning there was catchers interference
00:00:59.199 --> 00:01:02.069
called on the Mets catcher Mike Piaza.
00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:05.109
Of course, Bobby Valentine being a very
00:01:05.119 --> 00:01:09.190
emotional guy, easily set off, protested
00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:12.870
and was kicked out of the game. What he
00:01:12.880 --> 00:01:17.030
did next is legendary. He went into the
00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:20.390
dugout and with black
00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:24.950
eye makeup, he drew a mustache on
00:01:24.960 --> 00:01:28.630
himself and put on fake glasses.
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:31.350
Returned to the dugout thinking no one
00:01:31.360 --> 00:01:33.510
would notice him sitting there with a
00:01:33.520 --> 00:01:36.550
fake mustache and eyeglasses.
00:01:36.560 --> 00:01:39.030
Of course, he didn't get away with it.
00:01:39.040 --> 00:01:41.270
He was kicked out of the game and
00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:44.630
suspended for a while. and that has gone
00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:47.590
down pretty famously as Bobby
00:01:47.600 --> 00:01:50.789
Valentine's mustache game. That's a
00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:53.109
wonderful story, but that's not what I'm
00:01:53.119 --> 00:01:55.590
going to share with you today. I want to
00:01:55.600 --> 00:01:57.429
tell you a few things about Bobby
00:01:57.439 --> 00:02:00.389
Valentine that most people have no idea
00:02:00.399 --> 00:02:02.870
about about what an extraordinary
00:02:02.880 --> 00:02:07.429
athlete and human being he was. So let's
00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:09.669
go back to Bobby Valentine in high
00:02:09.679 --> 00:02:12.150
school playing for a place in
00:02:12.160 --> 00:02:14.630
Connecticut Stamford, Connecticut called
00:02:14.640 --> 00:02:18.150
Ripple Wam High School. Okay. He was an
00:02:18.160 --> 00:02:22.150
allstate player in football, baseball,
00:02:22.160 --> 00:02:24.390
and track. Bobby Valentine was a very
00:02:24.400 --> 00:02:28.229
fast runner. He set three all-time
00:02:28.239 --> 00:02:32.070
allstate football records. He set
00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:36.070
records for career touchdowns, 53,
00:02:36.080 --> 00:02:39.270
career interceptions for a touchdown,
00:02:39.280 --> 00:02:42.550
five. And he also set a career record
00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:46.150
for the 60-yard dash. Um, his career
00:02:46.160 --> 00:02:49.350
interception TD record remains having
00:02:49.360 --> 00:02:52.550
been tied, but no one has gotten to six
00:02:52.560 --> 00:02:54.550
TD interceptions.
00:02:54.560 --> 00:02:57.750
As a sophomore in 1965, he averaged
00:02:57.760 --> 00:03:01.110
rushing 5.6 yards a carry. He scored 21
00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:05.190
touchdowns and led Ripawan to a 9-0
00:03:05.200 --> 00:03:08.790
record and the state championship. Well,
00:03:08.800 --> 00:03:11.030
you think that's great, great athlete, a
00:03:11.040 --> 00:03:14.630
ripam, hold on. Bobby Valentine was a
00:03:14.640 --> 00:03:18.949
champion ballroom dancer as a teenager.
00:03:18.959 --> 00:03:22.949
He was also um regional competition at
00:03:22.959 --> 00:03:26.309
the Waldorf Atoria in New York and he
00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:29.750
took part ballroom dancing at the
00:03:29.760 --> 00:03:34.309
opening of the World's Fair in 1965
00:03:34.319 --> 00:03:38.149
64 excuse me. By the way, while he was
00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:40.630
at this high school, Bobby was of course
00:03:40.640 --> 00:03:43.670
the president of student council. He
00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.390
went on to go to Southern California. He
00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:48.630
wanted to play football and baseball.
00:03:48.640 --> 00:03:51.110
but he settled into baseball. It was the
00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.070
one that he liked the most and was
00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:59.750
drafted by the Dodgers getting a $65,000
00:03:59.760 --> 00:04:03.750
signing bonus. Now, in truth, Bobby
00:04:03.760 --> 00:04:06.390
Valentine's major league career was
00:04:06.400 --> 00:04:09.429
pretty much as a journeyman. He was
00:04:09.439 --> 00:04:11.670
effective with a lot of teams, never
00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.949
being a league leader in anything, but a
00:04:14.959 --> 00:04:17.590
guy who could play several positions. He
00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:20.629
ran very well, made contact on the ball.
00:04:20.639 --> 00:04:23.110
He was the kind of guy that teams could
00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:26.150
use. But in the minors, when he first
00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:28.790
started, he was at the Ogden Utah uh
00:04:28.800 -->
Load full transcript
00:04:30.550
Ogden
00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.830
Dodgers of the Pioneer League. And in
00:04:33.840 --> 00:04:36.550
his first year, he won the MVP of the
00:04:36.560 --> 00:04:40.469
league, batting .281 and slugging 460
00:04:40.479 --> 00:04:44.070
with 20 stolen bases. He's the only one
00:04:44.080 --> 00:04:46.469
of three players in the whole league
00:04:46.479 --> 00:04:49.909
that played every single game. While he
00:04:49.919 --> 00:04:53.350
was there, he developed a lifelong deep
00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:56.310
friendship with his manager, Tommy
00:04:56.320 --> 00:04:59.510
Lassorta, which speaks to how he did so
00:04:59.520 --> 00:05:03.749
much coaching and managing later on 1970
00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:06.230
with the Spokane Indians. Valentine was
00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:09.510
again the league MVP. this time batting
00:05:09.520 --> 00:05:11.029
340
00:05:11.039 --> 00:05:14.310
14 home runs, leading the Pacific Coast
00:05:14.320 --> 00:05:18.950
League in eight offensive categories.
00:05:18.960 --> 00:05:21.510
Injuries came in. He suffered a
00:05:21.520 --> 00:05:24.070
fractured cheekbone when he was beaned
00:05:24.080 --> 00:05:26.950
in the PCL playoffs. Later on, he had to
00:05:26.960 --> 00:05:29.990
have surgery on a ruptured ligament in
00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:32.950
his leg. He played with the Dodgers, the
00:05:32.960 --> 00:05:34.950
Angels, the Padres's, the Mets, and
00:05:34.960 --> 00:05:39.029
managers. But subsequent to that
00:05:39.039 --> 00:05:42.629
good major league career, but nothing,
00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:43.990
you know, putting him in the Hall of
00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:47.430
Fame, he became a manager at several
00:05:47.440 --> 00:05:51.110
locations, the Rangers, the Norfolk
00:05:51.120 --> 00:05:55.830
Tides, the Chea Latte Marines in Japan.
00:05:55.840 --> 00:05:59.350
Um, he managed, of course, the New York
00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:00.870
Mets.
00:06:00.880 --> 00:06:04.390
He was not without controversy, okay?
00:06:04.400 --> 00:06:08.150
when he managed the Mets, he had a flare
00:06:08.160 --> 00:06:11.430
up with two players during the World
00:06:11.440 --> 00:06:14.870
Series. Two players to be named at a
00:06:14.880 --> 00:06:17.270
later story
00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:19.350
went in the dugout and were playing
00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:22.150
cards during the game. That was
00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:25.350
unacceptable to him. He criticized the
00:06:25.360 --> 00:06:28.309
player and later criticized the general
00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:30.790
manager for assembling the team even
00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.790
though they're in the World Series. So,
00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:35.430
guess what? that got Bobby out of the
00:06:35.440 --> 00:06:38.550
league where he went back to Japan and
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:41.590
won their World Series series and
00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:44.870
afterward he challenged the major league
00:06:44.880 --> 00:06:47.830
champion to a playoff which of course
00:06:47.840 --> 00:06:51.110
didn't happen. Um, one year with the Red
00:06:51.120 --> 00:06:53.430
Sox he got fired. He had runins with the
00:06:53.440 --> 00:06:57.590
media, feuds with players and coaches.
00:06:57.600 --> 00:07:00.629
So, when Bobby Valentine left Major
00:07:00.639 --> 00:07:03.990
League Baseball, the feeling was he was
00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:08.790
kind of a hothead, out of control, um
00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:11.670
not real liked by ownership, and a lot
00:07:11.680 --> 00:07:14.150
of players didn't like him either. What
00:07:14.160 --> 00:07:17.350
Bobby had inside of him was this immense
00:07:17.360 --> 00:07:20.469
passion to win, and that couldn't be
00:07:20.479 --> 00:07:22.950
controlled. So he left Major League
00:07:22.960 --> 00:07:26.150
Baseball and took over a kind of would
00:07:26.160 --> 00:07:29.830
seem insignificant position at Sacred
00:07:29.840 --> 00:07:32.070
Heart University in Fairfield,
00:07:32.080 --> 00:07:37.430
Connecticut. Now, while he was there, he
00:07:37.440 --> 00:07:40.950
got this university to replace the
00:07:40.960 --> 00:07:43.350
playing surface on the field. And
00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:46.629
eventually, Sacred Heart invested
00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:50.070
almost $22 million in the construction
00:07:50.080 --> 00:07:52.870
of the Bobby Valentine Health and
00:07:52.880 --> 00:07:55.430
Recreation Center. Catch this, my
00:07:55.440 --> 00:07:59.830
friends. 57,000 square foot building,
00:07:59.840 --> 00:08:02.710
three stories high. It's a fitness
00:08:02.720 --> 00:08:04.710
facility for the whole student
00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.150
population, including indoor track,
00:08:08.160 --> 00:08:12.950
bowling, 18 bike spin centers, 45 ft
00:08:12.960 --> 00:08:15.589
climbing wall, exercise and weight
00:08:15.599 --> 00:08:18.550
training rooms. This facility opened in
00:08:18.560 --> 00:08:22.710
August 2019, the Bobby Valentine Health
00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:25.350
and Recreation Center. And in addition
00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:27.110
to that, while he was the athletic
00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:30.150
director, they won the neck. That's the
00:08:30.160 --> 00:08:32.870
league they're in. Best eight
00:08:32.880 --> 00:08:35.350
commissioners cup for excellence in
00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:39.670
women's athletics. He was driven to be
00:08:39.680 --> 00:08:42.870
the best he could. Now, not to put that
00:08:42.880 --> 00:08:45.910
aside, on top of being an athlete, a
00:08:45.920 --> 00:08:49.269
ballroom dancer, a player, a coach, a
00:08:49.279 --> 00:08:51.750
winning manager, a controversial
00:08:51.760 --> 00:08:55.670
manager, a successful athletic director.
00:08:55.680 --> 00:08:59.590
In May of 2021, Bobby Valentine decided
00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:01.910
he was going to run for mayor of
00:09:01.920 --> 00:09:05.430
Stamford, Connecticut as an independent,
00:09:05.440 --> 00:09:08.389
not supported by either the Democrats or
00:09:08.399 --> 00:09:10.230
the Republicans.
00:09:10.240 --> 00:09:14.790
At the end, he lost by only 1,500 votes
00:09:14.800 --> 00:09:18.870
to a woman, uh, Caroline Simmons. And of
00:09:18.880 --> 00:09:21.509
course, being Bobby Valentine, after the
00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.030
election was over, he stated that there
00:09:25.040 --> 00:09:27.350
was voter fraud and he wanted it
00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:29.590
investigated. It didn't come to
00:09:29.600 --> 00:09:32.949
fruition. Folks, I share with you just a
00:09:32.959 --> 00:09:36.150
few thoughts. Bobby Valentine
00:09:36.160 --> 00:09:39.670
is more than the mustache man. This man
00:09:39.680 --> 00:09:42.630
was an incredible athlete in many
00:09:42.640 --> 00:09:45.829
sports. He was multi-dimensional for the
00:09:45.839 --> 00:09:49.110
skills he had in several areas. He was a
00:09:49.120 --> 00:09:51.269
leader. He was not afraid of
00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:53.509
confrontation. When he saw something
00:09:53.519 --> 00:09:55.750
wrong, he would state it. It was both
00:09:55.760 --> 00:09:58.630
his strength and his weakness. So, when
00:09:58.640 --> 00:10:01.750
they have Ba Bobby Valentine's Day at
00:10:01.760 --> 00:10:05.590
City Field, in my mind, this is a lot
00:10:05.600 --> 00:10:08.070
more than the mustache guy. This is an
00:10:08.080 --> 00:10:10.150
extraordinary human being who has
00:10:10.160 --> 00:10:12.710
accomplished a lot in his life. So today
00:10:12.720 --> 00:10:16.710
I want to say tip of the hat. Thank you
00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.750
Bobby Valentine. Thank you for letting
00:10:19.760 --> 00:10:21.670
us know about you and how this all
00:10:21.680 --> 00:10:26.150
works. And I will wish all of you a
00:10:26.160 --> 00:10:28.310
great day. Come back and see me again
00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.990
soon. Like, subscribe, and look forward
00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.470
to more stories from
00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:36.630
Rounding Third. Have a great day,
00:10:36.640 --> 00:10:49.190
everyone.
00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.200
Hey. Hey. Hey.