Bobby Valentine, American baseball player and manager
Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is a former American professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969, 1971–72), California Angels (1973–1975), New York Mets (1977–78), and Seattle Mariners (1979) in MLB. He managed the Texas Rangers (1985–1992), the New York Mets (1996–2002), and the Boston Red Sox (2012) of MLB, as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (1995, 2004–2009).
Valentine has been an analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. In February 2013, CBSSports.com hired Valentine to represent its Fantasy Sports business, including running a viral marketing campaign in which he made fun of the many times he was fired in his career and gave fans a chance to "Hire or Fire Bobby V" one more time. In August 2021, a video went viral of Valentine accidentally leaving his phone on while recording a Cameo and he submitted an 8 minute long video that included him not picking up his dog's poop in a neighbor's yard. He also claims to have invented the wrap sandwich.On November 2, 2021, Valentine lost the election to become Mayor of his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut to Caroline Simmons, the first female elected Mayor in Stamford.