Bobby Valentine

**MANAGERIAL/COACHING CAREER** In his 1st season as manager of the Red Sox...Named the 45th manager in club history on 12/1/11...Signed through 2013 with club options for 2014 and 2015 ... Is the 6th Red Sox manager born in New England and 2nd from Connecticut, joining Meriden's Jack Barry, who managed the club in 1917 ... Owns an 1,117-1,072 (.510) Major League managerial record over parts of 15 seasons with the Rangers (1985-92) and Mets (1996-2002)...Ranks 4th among active managers in games (2,189) and 5th in wins ... Has been ejected 37 times as a Major League manager and 40 times overall in the Big Leagues, including twice as a player and once as a coach ... Managed the Chiba Lotte Marines of Japan's Pacific League for 6 seasons from 2004-09, his 2nd stint with the club (also served as manager in 1995) ... In 2005, led the Marines to their 1st Pacific League pennant in 31 years and a 4-game sweep of the Japan Series for the Nippon Professional Baseball Championship...Became the 1st foreign manager to guide a team to the Nippon Series...Chiba Lotte also won the inaugural Asia Series that year, defeating the Samsung Lions of Korea Professional Baseball ... Presented with the 2005 Matsutaro Shoriki Award, given to an individual who makes great contributions to professional baseball in Japan...Also received the Golden Spirits Award in 2005, which is given annually in Nippon Professional Baseball to the individual who best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and team contributions...Is the only foreigner to receive either award...Also named the 2005 Sportsman of the Year by the Foreign Sports Writers Association of Japan ... Spent parts of 7 seasons from 1996-2002 at the helm in New York and guided the Mets to a 536-467 (.534) record, the 2nd-most managerial wins in franchise history behind only Davey Johnson's 595...Named New York's manager on 8/26/96, the 16th manager in Mets history...Dismissed from the position on 10/1/02 ... Took the Mets to the postseason in back-to-back years in 1999 and 2000, the only time in club history they reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons ... Led the 1999 Mets to a 2nd-place finish with 97 wins and the NL Wild Card after beating the Reds in a 1-game playoff...New York defeated the Diamondbacks in the Division Series (3-1), but fell to the Braves in the NLCS (2-4) ... Honored with the New York Athletic Club's Manager of the Year Award after the 1999 season ... Again guided the Mets to a 2nd-place finish and the NL Wild Card in 2000 after the club won 94 games...New York beat San Francisco in the Division Series (3-1) and St. Louis in the NLCS (4-1) to become the 2000 National League Champions...The Mets fell to the Yankees in the World Series, dropping 4 of 5 games ... Notched 1,000th career managerial victory on 7/14/01 in a 2-0 win vs. BOS...Became the 48th manager in Major League history to reach the 1,000-win plateau ... Managed at the minor league level for parts of 2 seasons with the Mets Triple-A Norfolk club in 1994 and 1996...Named the Tides manager for the 1st time on 11/22/93 and led the team to a 67-75 mark (.472) for the 1994 season...Returned to Norfolk on 11/15/95 and managed the club to a 76-57 (.571) record in 1996 until being selected as the Mets manager on 8/26 ... Became the 1st American to manage in Japan's Pacific League when he took the helm of the Chiba Lotte Marines in 1995...Led the club to a 69-58-3 mark and 2nd-place finish in the league that year, their 1st winning season and best finish since 1985 ... year as an advance scout before joining manager Davey Johnson's Big League staff as third base coach in May ... Made Major League managing debut with Texas after he was named to the post on 5/16/85...Was at the helm of the Rangers until 7/9/92 and led the club to a 581-605 (.490) mark during his tenure...Owns the Rangers record for all-time managerial victories and games ... Selected as the American League's Manager of the Year in 1986 by United Press International after guiding the Rangers to an 87-75 record (.537), an increase of 25 victories from 1985 ... Served as the Mets minor league infield instructor in 1982 before being named to New York's Major League staff as third base coach and infield and baserunning instructor on 11/15/82...Held that position until taking over as the Rangers manager in May of 1985, working under managers George Bamberger, Frank Howard and Davey Johnson ... Began coaching career with the Padres, serving as minor league infield instructor in 1980-81. **PLAYING CAREER** Selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the first round (5th overall) of the 1968 June Draft ... Played parts of 10 Major League seasons with the Dodgers (1969, 1971-72), Angels (1973-75), Padres (1975-77), Mets (1977-78) and Mariners (1979)...Batted .260 (441-for-1,698) with 59 doubles, 9 triples, 12 home runs, 157 RBI, 176 runs, 140 walks and 27 stolen bases in 639 career games while appearing at every position except pitcher...Retired as an active player in 1979 at the age of 29 ... Named Pacific Coast League Player of the Year in 1970 after leading the circuit with a .340 AVG (211-for-621). **PERSONAL** Married to Mary, who is the daughter of former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca...The couple has a son, Robert John Jr ... Served as an analyst for ESPN's baseball coverage in 2003 and for parts of 3 years from 2009-11...Was a member of the network's Sunday Night Baseball broadcast team for the 2011 season ... Has been in the restaurant business for over 30 years...His restaurant "Bobby V's Sports Gallery Café" has locations in Connecticut and Texas ... Owns a sports academy in Stamford, CT, "Bobby Valentine's Sports Academy."...Held the position of Director of Public Health and Safety for the City of Stamford from January 2011 until joining the Red Sox ... In 2003, was inducted into the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame in Chicago ... Served as the Grand Marshall for the 2001 Columbus Day Parade in New York City ... Attended the University of Southern California and Arizona State University ... Graduated from Stamford's Rippowan High School in 1968...Starred in baseball, football and track...Is the only 3-time All-State High School football player in Connecticut scholastic history ... Selected to the Connecticut High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1986 ... Voted among the greatest athletes of the 20th century from Connecticut in a 1999 Sports Illustrated poll ... Played a summer in the Cape Cod Baseball League before his senior year in high school...Hit .294 and led the CCBL in runs scored with the Yarmouth Indians ... A champion ballroom dancer, performed in opening ceremonies of the 1964 World's Fair in New York City.