The first sign that Japan would play a large role in Bobby Valentine's life manifested itself in a role he played on stage in high school. When Valentine was a sixteen-year-old junior, his English teacher convinced him to play the lead in The Teahouse of the August Moon, a Tony award-winning Broadway play and a 1956 movie starring Marlon Brando. The accomplished Connecticut athlete played Brando's character of Sakini, a Japanese interpreter in post-World War II, U.S. - occupied Okinawa. His first taste of acting was also his first – but certainly not his last – taste of Japan.
The Los Angeles Dodgers selected Valentine in the first round of the MLB draft in 1968, and he had a ten-year major league career as a player. He is the only person to manage an American League team (Texas Rangers), a National League team (New York Mets), and a Japanese professional team (Chiba Lotte Marines). With his direct manner and quick wit, he was brilliant in revealing his passionate connection to baseball and Japan at the Japan Society Thursday night.
The charismatic Valentine engaged his audience with stories of how he continued to have encounters with Japan after his high school performance, like the time he was hit on the cheek by a pitch while playing AAA ball in Hawaii and a Japanese plastic surgeon (and Dodger fan) repaired Valentine's face. Or the time during spring training Valentine bought coffee for representatives of Mizuno, a Japanese sporting-goods manufacturer, and became what was thought to be the first American ballplayer to wear a Japanese glove. (He later discovered it was actually Lou Gehrig.)
In 1986, while managing the Rangers, Valentine spoke at a Japanese baseball summit. The summit was organized by Tatsuro Hirooka, who would later hire – then fire – Valentine as the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines for the 1995 season. Valentine would return to the Marines for six more seasons, guiding them to the Japan Series championship in 2005.
Between his stints with the Marines, Valentine managed the Mets, taking them to the 2000 World Series. Valentine is convinced his team reached the World Series because they began the season playing the Chicago Cubs in Japan. That allowed him to expand the roster to include Benny Agbayani, who wouldn’t have made the team otherwise. After a strong performance in Tokyo, Agbanyani had a solid season.
Valentine made it clear that these connections to Japan aren't coincidences. It started with a play, and then became, as he puts it, "a little piece of Japanese silk" that wound its way through his life. "I don't know how or why," he says, "I think I'm blessed because of it."
Valentine's interest in both MLB and NPB are still strong, and he wants to remain in the game. He doesn't know if he'll manage here or there again, but for now he seems content with his role as an analyst for ESPN's Baseball Tonight. His first broadcast of 2010 will be, appropriately, on Valentine's Day.
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