Valentine to Return for 5 Years

As I read it, Valentine has not been signed at all. In fact, a previous Nikkan Sports article said that Valentine wouldn't take offers until both MLB and NPB seasons were over. What the article does say is that the Lotte owner is prepared to give Valentine a five year contract. It's really nothing more than the Lotte owner telling the press what he's planning, rather than an official decision of any kind. The team's front office basically said "No comment" because it was during the season.

I assume you are talking about Bobby Valentine? I cannot imagine him returning to manage in Japan. He has a successful career now as a broadcast baseball analyst on ESPN, which he is quite suited for. He also has a couple of restaurants to keep him busy that he seems to enjoy.

He lost a good friend in the WTC on 9/11 and I think it changed him. He lost some of that combativeness and I think realized that it's good to stop and smell the roses. In his last year with the Mets, you could see a big change. As such, I just don't see him managing very soon. But he is a competitive guy and he did enjoy Japan, so who knows.

Today's (August 26) Nikkan Sports (paper edition) has the article CFiJ-san is referring to. I guess you were reading the on-line version? The only additional information is mention of Valentine's ESPN commitment, as Steinbrennernot-san points out. Nikkan states that Valentine's contract with ESPN is until 2005.

I'm afraid we don't get Valentine-kantoku's commentary here. It would be nice. My Dad mentioned that he really likes how Valentine will speak his mind. My Dad mentioned a time when each of the speakers had to take sides on an issue, and after the other speaker challened Valentine's statements, Valentine fired back that he didn't really believe it but he drew that side of the arguement. The only down side to that is that now my Dad doesn't know when Valentine is saying what he means or not.

Anyway, Nikkan's revised information is that Lotte will decide some time either in September or after the season ends. This may be a publicity stunt to get the failthful to come out and "protest" for Bobby's return - after buying a ticket. They drew 25,000 on a Monday night at Chiba Marine, the most since Golden Week (a day game). The Seibu vs. Daiei game took two pages in today's paper, so there wasn't any photo of such "protesters," but I'm sure they were out in large numbers.

Lotte games on Mondays 
at Chiba Marine Stadium
+------------+-------+------------+
|    Date    |  Time | Attendance |
+------------+-------+------------+
| 2003-08-25 | 18:15 |     25,000 |
| 2003-08-04 | 18:15 |     17,000 |
| 2003-07-21 | 18:16 |     20,000 |
| 2003-07-07 | 18:16 |     12,000 |
| 2003-06-09 | 18:15 |     15,000 |
| 2003-05-26 | 18:16 |      9,000 |
| 2003-05-12 | 18:15 |      6,000 |
| 2003-05-05 | 13:01 |     33,000 |
| 2003-04-14 | 18:15 |     11,000 |
| 2003-04-07 | 18:15 |     12,000 |
| 2003-03-31 | 18:15 |     20,000 |
+------------+-------+------------+

It's hard to believe that ESPN would hold Valentine to that contract. Moreover, there may be an out clause in it that Bobby can leave should he be offered another position in baseball (did Buck Martinez have that kind of deal?). Valentine is pretty fond of Japan and I think that at least part of him wants to go back.

But having said that, here is a toast to Yamamoto-kantoku. He has done the best job that he can with little personnel (his ace pitcher, Tomohiro Kuroki, has been out of commission for the better part of two seasons). There are only two legitimate Japanese studs on that team right now, Fukuura and Masahide Kobayashi. Masaumi Shimizu isn't bad, but he seems injury prone. The two foreign position players, Short (a PCL batting champ) and Fernandez (former Angels' Minor League Player of the Year), have been disappointments. Minchey has been a horse and the way he has chewed up innings has really saved that pitching staff's bacon, but he's no ace like a Matsuzaka or a Kuroki, but rather a nice complement to Naoyuki Shimizu, who could one day be an ace if he develops more consistency.

Gambare Yamamoto-kantoku!

I talked to Rick Short before a game in May. It was his first time in Japan and he said that the park in Chiba was hard for him to adapt to. When he played in the PCL last year, he was in Salt Lake City and he hit at altitude in a great hitters' park. Chiba is pretty much the exact opposite of that.

I sensed some homesickness in his voice also. He may just need some more time to adjust or he may benefit from playing for one of the domed teams. Does anyone have his home/road stats? I would assume that like most Marines, there is quite a difference.

I am not sure how everyone thought Bobby Valentine had a contract until 2005 with ESPN. I know Bobby, his contract ended after the 2003 World Series.

I talked to Bobby Valentine a couple of weeks ago and asked him specifically about coming back to Japan. His reply was "maybe, someday, but not for at least three years because of present obligations."

For those interested in Bobby V's broadcasting career, check out this link from New York Newsday.

A month and a half have now passed since Lotte suggested that they were going to sign Valentine-kantoku to return and finish what he started. The reaction from Valentine-kantoku at the time was that he hadn't yet heard anything about it, and that he had other obligations. After the press hyped it for a few days, the Valentine headlines disappeared and there was no more information on it -- until now.

Once again Lotte has announced that they're pursuing the former Marine manager who turned the club around his one and only year at the helm. While the talk of 5 years has disappeared from this most recent press release, it does mention a multiple year deal. Lotte is hoping to have Valentine's signature some time at the end of the month, most likely during the Japan Series.

I had almost given up on this, thinking it was nothing more than a publicity stunt. But Lotte's owner definitely appears to be pursuing Valentine-kantoku. We have until the end of October to see if anything comes of it this time.

Tonight on ESPN's SportsCenter after the New York (AL) Florida game, Chris Berman, the host of the baseball segment, asked Bobby Valentine (now a commentator on the baseball segment) about the rumours of heading to Japan to manage.

Valentine said, "Well I guess there's thoughts, there have been talk about me going over there, in a couple languages, nice offer on the table but obviously I'm here with ESPN loving what I'm doing and I'm gonna do this obviously until the end of this baseball season, and then I'll take it from there."

Reading between the run-on sentence, it sounds like Valentine-kantoku is in talks and seriously considering it.

More confirmation that Valentine-kontoku is serious. From MLB.com:

"Valentine said he probably will travel next week to Chiba City, 30 minutes east of Tokyo, to sign the contract.

"I'll probably sign it, but I just want to be clear in my mind that it's the right thing to do," said Valentine, who was at Pro Player Stadium this week for the World Series games between the Marlins and Yankees."

[Link]

With the Boston Red Sox firing or Grady Little as their Manager, the talk is that Valentine will be the new Red Sox Manager. This is all over the radio talk shows and TV sport shows in North America.

A poll published by ESPN yesterday, shows Valentine as the overwhelming number one choice among Red Sox fans for the managerial post.

I'm seeing his name out there for the Boston Red Sox job that is now open. If Boston offers a lot of cash also, wonder what he'd do?

Peter Gammons is reporting that Valentine is a lead candidate to be the new manager of the Red Sox. Let's see who Bobby chooses.

If the Red Sox sign Valentine it would just add to the Curse of the Bambino. I just can't see him dealing with Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez. Despite his terrible managerial decisions, Grady Little managed to keep those giant egos happy most of the time.

Bobby Valentine terrible decisions? You must not know him. You can call Bobby "a jerk" or "hard to get a long with," but as a strategist, he is one of the best out there.

He was saying Grady Little made terrible decisions, not Bobby.

I don't know how you got your information. But I know Bobby V. very well. He has to be hard on the players and yells at the umps if he believes he is in the right. Off the field he is one of the most pleasent people you would like to meet.

And if he does choose the BRS, what kinds of choices does that leave Lotte?

I guess this is another one of the "wrong reports" Pet Gammons has made. Bobby V. Never had any interest in managing the BoSox. I will say this, Bobby V. burned a lot of bridges while he was with ESPN. I hope he wins it all in his first year.

Reportedly both CNN Headline News and ESPN are reporting today (October 31, 2003) that Bobby Valentine has indeed signed a contract to manage the Chiba Lotte Marines. I myself saw the news crawler on CNN's Headline News, and my father called me to confirm that he had seen it on ESPN's Bottom Line. I've been searching MLB.com, CNNSI.com, and other online sports outlets, but can find no official story.

Either they were jumping the gun with the report or there was something lost in the translation. Bobby arrived at Narita yesterday (November 1 JST, October 31 for much of the Americas) to 200 welcoming Marine fans, making Narita look like a rock star was arriving. According to Nikkan Sports, Valentine-kantoku wasn't scheduled to meet with Lotte officials until after October was over in the U.S. to respect Bobby's contract with the Mets.

An official signing announcement is expected today (November 2 JST).

Has there actually been an announcement regarding Bobby Valentine coming back to the Marines? I've been hearing plenty of rumors, but nothing certain yet. By the way, is there a site for this "Nikkan Sports"? I need a news source that's a bit better than reading about the games three days after the fact. I'm new to the forum as you see, but not to NPB. I hope you don't mind my asking an occasional stupid question.

Nikkan Sports' Pro Yakyu section is here [in Japanese only]. I subscribe to the paper version of the newspaper, so don't often look up the articles on the web. When articles are available in both, that's where they'll be.

English sources include the Japan Times and Daily Yomiuri English papers, both also availble on-line via a quick Google. I don't use either of those as resources, so I don't have them bookmarked. Sorry.

Otherwise, the Links forum has recommendations from several readers about other Pro Yakyu related sites in English and/or Japanese.

And the only "stupid question" is one that is already answered in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions). Reading that before posting (on any forum site or mailing list) is always a good idea.

Hope this helps.

ESPN.com has announced that he has agreed to a 3 year deal. The announcement will be made Monday.

Bobby Valentine and the Marines have agreed on a 3 year deal with the official announcement expected to be made Monday. Here is a link to the report from mlb.com: [Link]

It has been announced that the deal is $6.4 million for 3 years with an option for 2 more. But it is not clear whether it is per year or in total for 3 years. If it is $6.4 per as American media people are reporting, it would be even more than Joe Torre.

It's official. The Associated Press, as well as Major League Baseball, reported that Bobby Valentine inked a 3 year deal with the Marines today. Go Marines!

[Admin: Actually, they're still jumping the gun. They've come to an agreement, but I haven't found any evidence that he's signed. Valintine is expected to sign when he meets today (November 3, JST).]

He wants Shinjo! Ouch!

Here's a link to mlb.com on the Bobby V signing [Link].

He's already after Shinjo. It will be interesting to see how he does. So, it's a question of poor Bobby being wanted. Pleeeease, I want to puke, or roflmao.

As reported by several (a little early), Bobby has signed with Lotte. The figure appears to be a little fuzzy in the North American press, so let's clear that up. The Japanese press reports that it's 10-oku (1,000,000,000) yen total for three years, which at 120 yen per dollar (that's been about the average rate over the past several years) is $8.3 million total or $2.8 million per year. Averaging 3.3-oku yen per year, Bobby has become the highest paid manager in Pro Yakyu history, surpassing Oh-kantoku's 2.2-oku and Hoshino-kantoku's 2-oku yen salaries of last season.

Welcome back Bobby. Gambatte!

Who cares how much Valentine is making, or any player makes? Stop talking money and start talking baseball!

[Admin: While I agree that I'd rather talk baseball, many people do care as I get numerous requests for salaries several times a year.]

For my part, the money is interesting when looking at Boston's rumored interest in Valentine and his decision to go back to Japan. I would generally guess that a Japanese team would really have to wow him with money to get him to abandon possible offers from MLB clubs, not to mention make him forget about his previous bad experience managing in Japan.

Bobby V. can return to the U.S.A. Major Leagues before his contract ends if he is offered a manager job. That Boston was interested in him is so full of beans. Bobby and Grady are similar towards players, so why would Boston want Bobby?

Bobby V. has a good managing record whereever he has been. The people who let him go always got fired after. Look at Texas, New York, and of course, Japan. Billy Martin and Bobby V. are mirror managers.

- [...] That Boston was interested in him is so full of beans. Bobby and Grady are similar towards players, so why would Boston want Bobby?

Because the Boston organization is pursuing team building via sabermetric principles, and Valentine is open to sabermetrics.

That said, the Boston rumors were nothing more than that: rumors.

I think Valentine enjoys coaching in Japan. He is different from most other managers. He prides himself on being more intellectual, worldly, and open-minded. Some people see him as arrogant, but he is really a different breed of American baseball personality than most others. I don't think coaching in Japan is a step down for him. He truely respects Japanese baseball, and for that I admire him.

Too bad the Hawks' owner didn't give Kokubo to the Marines instead of to the Giants. Boy, that would have been a "Welcome Back, Bobby" present!

Methinks a more appropriate team for Bobby V. to join would be the Nippon Ham Fighters.

FYI: A "Ham" is slang for a guy who over-dramatizes and puts on an obvious and exaggerated demeanor for either effect or ego gratification.

The report of some North American journalist (or was it radio personality? - I can't find the post right now) saying that only washed up has-beens go to Japan to finish their careers really got me thinking about some of the comments here about Valentine's reasons.

First of all, many of you appear to think that it was the money that was the only reason for him not going to Boston. While I'm sure that the money isn't something to say no to, I don't think that it's the overriding factor in Bobby's decision. When he left in 1995, Bobby said that he wanted to return and "finish what [he] started." That's what he's doing, fulfilling his own declaration.

Furthermore, like Seiyu mentioned above, Bobby really enjoyed working with the team in Japan. Yes, he and Hirooka-GM didn't get along. With Hirooka's "coach/spies" aside, Valentine-kantoku was respected and appriciated by the team. He didn't have the problems he did with personality clashes in the locker room in New York. As a manager, is it more rewarding to work with a team that will wants to work with you? Or one where a variety of personal interests from all parties interfere with getting the job done? It seems to me that Bobby's got a better chance of having a unified team in Japan than in North America.

Finally, there are the fans. The Lotte fans love Bobby. They were very upset when he was fired, and demanded and got Hirooka-GM fired for the whole fiasco. Bobby even commented that he has three volumes of fan letters that he's recieved since 1995 asking him to return. On the first day of Fall Camp yesterday (November 5), about 500 fans came out to watch the team practice, and welcome Bobby back. He commented that he signed about 200 signatures for fans that day. (While he doesn't have a visa yet, and therefore can't start his job, Bobby did watch the team work out to get an idea of what needs to be done in three weeks when he can start work.)

There are many more reasons than being washed up and/or offered a mountain of money to come to Japan. The environment fits some people (myself included - I now have permanent residence). That some North American journalist (or radio host) that I've never heard of doesn't understand that is a shame. Perhaps some of you can educate the guy. There are many people happy to see Bobby return, and I'm sure he feels the same way. (Although, he'll have a lot more pressure on him this time around.)

Yeah, go Bobby-kantoku!

No one can question Valentine-kantoku's devotion to the teams he manages. I mean, who else would wear a disguise and sneak into the dugout while being suspended? (I heard it was one of those Groucho Marx masks, the plastic ones with fake eye glasses, nose, and mustache. Does anyone know if this is true, and if there's a picture of that posted on the web somewhere?)

- Does anyone know if this is true, and if there's a picture of that posted on the web somewhere?

Here's Bobby's evil mustached twin: [Link - UChicago.edu]

Good luck Bobby! I hope they go all the way!

Hey Bobby, good luck with your Japanese team. I will be rooting for you to go all the way.

Your driver from ESPN,
Chuck

As a Mets' fan and beat writer/columnist for NYFansonly.com and Yahoo! Sports, I loved Bobby Valentine. He was a master strategist, and the players that usually disliked him were the disgruntled, underproducers that the Mets didn't need, anyways. Valentine loved a hard working player and was fiercly loyal, as we can see with the Agbayani signing.

Many Mets' fans grew frustrated with Bobby at the end of 2002, but I think those who did realized that he was not behind the team's demise. Thus, Mets' fans love Bobby V. again, and many wish he wasn't fired at all (which would work well with the Matsui signing, in my opinion).

Bobby will be great in Japan, in my opinion. I now have a favorite NPB team in the Chiba Lotte Marines (I also will follow the Fighters, who, as you all know, signed fan favorite Tsuyoshi Shinjo), and I think many other New Yorkers will become interested in Bobby's Marines. In fact, the Mets are said to have been working to develop a relationship with Lotte, similar to that of the Yankee-Giant evil world-wide empire (with the Mets and Marines being the good guys, of course ).