Bobby Valentine

🎙️ The Mask & The Mic Podcast | Episode 25 | Bobby Valentine

Few people in sports have lived a career as colorful, accomplished, and fascinating as Bobby Valentine.

On Episode 25 of The Mask & The Mic, Guy Hebert and Kent French welcome the legendary manager, broadcaster, author, entrepreneur, and recent inductee into the New York Mets Hall of Fame for a conversation that spans decades of baseball history—and far beyond.

Bobby begins by reflecting on what his induction into the Mets Hall of Fame means to him before taking us back to one of the most emotional periods in sports history. As manager of the New York Mets following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Bobby shares what it was like leading a clubhouse, helping players navigate unimaginable emotions, and representing a city searching for hope. He also recounts the unforgettable night President George W. Bush delivered the ceremonial first pitch when baseball returned to New York—a moment that remains one of the most iconic in American sports.

The stories continue as Bobby reflects on managing Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, being in the dugout for one of Ryan's legendary no-hitters, and the lasting influence of Dodgers icon Tommy Lasorda, whose leadership style forever changed Bobby's perspective on managing people.

The conversation then takes a lighter turn as Bobby shares the story of meeting Frank Sinatra for the first time, discusses life beyond baseball, and even answers one of the most entertaining questions of the episode: Did he really invent the wrap sandwich?

As only Bobby Valentine can, the conversation moves effortlessly from baseball history to leadership, culture, food, music, and unforgettable stories from one of the most remarkable careers in sports.

If you love baseball, leadership, history, or simply great storytelling, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

🎧 Watch the full episode here on YouTube.

🎙️ Also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everybody, this is Guilla Bear, former NHL goaltender from the podcast, as you know it is The Mask and the Mic. And yes, uh I know that I have the dual threat of being both the mask and the mic, but I'll just take being the mask because I think Ken French tried to steal my thunder last episode saying he was the mask. But listen, we got a great show for you coming up. We got Bobby Valentine. And yes, the legend sits down and talks to us, and uh man is he entertaining.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Yeah, and you can sense the energy in Kebo's voice, can't you? I mean, Bobby V brought it. I mean, it was a lot of fun. And oh, by the way, I'm Ken French. Yes, I am the Mike. I didn't say the mask last time. I just I was jealous, apparently. But, anyways, regardless, this is the mask in the Mike podcast. As Gebo mentioned, the great Bobby Valentine is here to talk about his career as a player, a manager, some wonderful stories, and just being inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame. That is happening. A great conversation. I think it's part one of eight or nine because Bobby V's got so much to talk about. Uh, that's all coming up on the podcast. And as always, Gebo, and good for us. Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of The Mask of the Mike. Ken French Gabriel with you, and uh joining us this week, very special guest. It's taking a while. We've coordinated our schedules. The one, the only, Bobby Valentine is on the podcast. Bobby, thank you. And you got the Frenchie's friend hat. You came on, oh my gosh, you came on my screen with that thing on, and I was speechless. I'm surprised you still have it. But thank you for for wearing that. Wearing it with pride, Bobby. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_02 1:35

With pride indeed, because you told me I was your only friend, Frenchie. And then I find out that you have another. So I don't know that I'm gonna wear the hat very often, you know.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

I had a few hats, only a couple of them, though, not too many. I think Gibo's got one, he said somewhere in his garage.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

So I think yes, I have it. It's just a matter of finding it. That's all. I I know it's in there somewhere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:56

You guys crack me up. Um, well, listen, uh, Bobby, so good to have you on. We really appreciate it. It's been uh it's been a long time coming, and um we were just talking. I've had the the the great honor, I will call it, of carpooling with you both to the uh former Santa Monica studio in your in your respective Teslas. So thank you publicly for allowing me to be your uh co-pilot in that experience. I highly appreciate it. Kind of like a wingman, I guess.

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Sometimes, Bobby, I don't know, back seat driver, sides. Hey, Gebo, what are you doing? Get out of that lane, watch that car. Yeah, there was a little too much. Um I'm like, where's your car? And he's like, Well, I have got the car with no hood ornament, but that's all I'll say.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

Yeah, my car has lots of miles on it, and it was probably safe for both of you not to be in my car. So that that worked out well. Um, but we have uh shared many a story, and it was uh it's been such a pleasure getting to know Bobby over the years, being able to drive up in the in that LA traffic, as you know. And so when I look at a podcast with Bobby V, Gibo, I think of I think of like nine parts. I there's no way in hell that you can potentially get in. Everything we'd love to talk to you to Bobby about. But um, I think the jumping off point, Bobby, I I would like to jump off is one of the latest wonderful things to uh add to the chapter of uh the book of life for Bobby V is uh your Mets Hall of Fame induction. I want to say congratulations uh publicly on this podcast for that, for the May 30th, I think it was, um, with Lee Mazzilli. What what a wonderful honor that was. Um, great career you had with the Mets. And when you looking back on that experience, Bobby, how special was that for you and your family to be inducted into the Hall of Fame?

SPEAKER_02 3:41

Yeah, very special, Frenchie. Thanks for asking. Um, you know, Lee Mazzilli and I were roommates in 1977 when he was like the man in New York City, switch hitting center fielder, Greek-looking goddess type or god-type looking guy, you know. And uh, you know, to to go in with him because of the coaching and the managing that I did, not the playing that I did uh for the Mets, um, well, it was a indeed an honor. There's only about 30 uh guys in that Hall of Fame and a couple gals who were uh owners. Uh uh so it's it's indeed, you know, an honor. And it was like a wedding, you know, all excited about what it was going to be like on the field and the speech and the people who are coming and the tickets and all that. Once it was over and you could look back on it, well, it was a day to remember.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

Well, I mean, you think about being, you know, honored for something that you were able to do and fortunate, and I think we're all consider ourselves fortunate to be able to play a game that we loved. And and sometimes it wasn't as rosy as uh people might think it was as a player or as a manager. You know, obviously there's always you know some difficult times, uh peaks and valleys. But you know, as you think about your career and thinking about having an honor like that bestowed upon you, you know, are there certainly moments, because I know that's what always asks people ask me, is like, you know, what moments pop out, you know, as a player or uh as a for me as a broadcaster, not as a coach or manager, but is there are there things or certain moments that you know you reflect upon and say, you know, like these were crucial, critical, memorable moments uh that stand out more than others?

SPEAKER_02 5:23

Wow. Uh yeah, you know, I got it.

SPEAKER_00 5:25

I'm putting you on the spot. I mean, how much time do we have? I know that's the thing. It's like people are like, can you name one thing that you read? And it's usually like, uh well, I always wanted to play one game. And once I played that one game, I figured everything else beyond that was going to be gravy. And that was kind of my patented line. So that when I retired, I just said, you know, they said, Well, what do you think? What was your most memorable? I said, uh, I got to play one game, and then I had a lot of gravy after that. So uh you can be as generic as that if you'd like to, but I, you know, sometimes there are those one or two particular moments that are like, you know, that is the moment. Uh that kind of defines me as a player or a manager or both.

SPEAKER_02 6:04

Yeah, you know, that stuff's tough. Um, I don't remember my first hit, so I can't talk about my first hit or my first home run or, you know, even my first win as a manager. I don't I don't remember any of that stuff, I guess because I'm old. Um uh but uh you know, when I look back and people remind me of stuff that went on, it's uh kind of crazy. You know, behind me, I have the Dodger number two up there. You know, it's retired. The number two is retired uh with the Dodgers because of La Sorda. But I wore the uniform before La Sorda, and the thing behind me is um the 1970 uniform that was made for me to wear when I was supposed to come to the major leagues uh as a 20-year-old uh after my triple A season, but I got bean the last day of the season. So I never got to wear the uniform. And then my partner found this thing online, and and you know, there's uh all the documentation that says it was 1970, Valentine, set number one, all that stuff. And so um, you know, that's a memory that I don't have, but that I've created in my mind. Uh so yeah, you know, baseball's been bitty bitty good to me. Uh, and and I've had so many wonderful things, you know, to manage Nolan Ryan's uh sixth no-hitter, his seventh no-hitter to play in his first no-hitter with the Angels in 1973 uh were were honors for me. Again, I don't remember so many of them. I remember uh uh his no-hitters because I it wasn't that long ago. It was only in the 80s and not in the 70s. Um and then I remember, of course, some of the great Memph moments, including, you know, the first game after 9-11 when we came back at play in New York against the Atlanta Braves on September 21st, 2001, after their horrific attacks of um uh on our Trade Center and on our on our country. And uh Mike Piazza hit a dramatic home run, and I was in the dugout for that. So, you know, I i there are a lot of great memories, and getting into that Hall of Fame kind of brought them all back.

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Unbelievable, and there's so much to unpack there, my gosh.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

I can't I can't. I knew it was a loaded question.

SPEAKER_01 8:13

I I know I can't I can't imagine. Um, I do want to uh to dive a little bit more into your time with New York since we're here and and what that was like being well, first of all, what was it like managing in New York with the pressure of I mean the the number one media market? I mean, I I there's no one I can imagine be better with the media than than Bobby Valentine uh would be, but what was it like being the manager of the New York Mets?

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Well, Frenchie, it was a different era, you know, it was uh the late 90s and into the 2000s, and you know, you guys both know you you've been in the media that the world was changing, right? Um it was the talk radio was uh number one uh uh thing happening where the fans could call in and call the manager an idiot every night, you know, and and have the uh the hosts of the show agree with them and you know have to come to the ballpark the other day, the next day and explain why you're not such an idiot that they said you were. Uh and we were playing in the same town as the New York Yankees in the right in the prime of their dynasty. You know, Derek Jeter came to the major leagues in '95. I got to the Mets in 95. My owner said to me, Hey, I don't know if we're going to win, but we need more back pages. That's the uh, you know, the post and the news and the news day always had the back page of sports, and the Yankees were were uh, you know, number one there. So I was able to pull a few rabbits out of my hat and do some stuff that got a back page or two, and I guess that kept me uh alive as a manager for uh eight years there in New York, but it was it was tough. The new the the newspaper writers were fighting for the stories to beat the ESPN 24 Hour Sports, which was really, you know, in its heyday uh there in the in the late 90s and and talk radio, as I mentioned, and even the internet, that thing was kind of popping its nasty head into the sports community where people had bulletin boards and it would put stuff out. One time I gave a speech at the University of Pennsylvania at the Wharton School of Business and talked about the the business of baseball. And afterwards, I'm walking down the hallway, and a bunch of Met fans, young kids, came over and they started asking me questions, and I sarcastically answered some of the questions that I knew they thought would be a cool answer. Well, my answer showed up on one of the kids' bulletin boards, and they weren't all that flattering about the general manager's moves from the previous winter. And oh, was that a fun thing to figure out who Brad 34 was, you know, on the internet on his bulletin board and get the tape before the team got the tape so that I didn't get fired. Yeah, all that stuff was uh kind of crazy in New York for sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Well, I mean, that's I mean, Frenchie, I we see it with the the current players uh of today. And, you know, I'm thankful that as I retired in 2001, that as the internet and the web browsing and social media just started to kind of rear its head that my career was ending. And, you know, think about the players of today. You know, yes, it's a double-edged sword, right? You can use it for marketing and marketing your own brand and your you know, your own self. But then there's a lot of people out there who may not like you or don't think you played well. And uh it's it's tough. It's tough for current players in any sport to be able to be out there, put themselves out there, you know, try, give 100%. Some days you just don't have it. And then you see these kids get immediately on their phone and start scrolling through to see what the world thinks of them. And I can only imagine as a manager in today's world, you know, how difficult that is for coaches and managers to try to, I don't know, I don't know how you mitigate that at all. I mean, have you, you know, us being on the broadcast side, you know, we get to give our opinion, but it's I think different us giving an opinion as per former professionals than you know, someone sitting on their couch who's never played a game of that particular sport who's critical of a player, and then that player taking it to heart, thinking, like, man, I was I was just terrible. And that's what the world is saying to me. So uh I love to hear your thoughts on what you think how that's affected, you know, sports in general, not even just professional sports, because I know it leaks into college and probably even youth sports as well.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

Yeah, it's another thing to manage. There's no doubt about that. And uh I was a director of uh athletics at a Division I school there back uh 10 years ago or so. And I sat in the lobby one day asking the young athletes what they wanted to do, what they were going to be when they got out of uh the university life. And the majority of them said they were going to be famous. You know, they they weren't saying how they were gonna be famous, they were just going to be famous because they realized that maybe they could just stand on their head, blow a bubble, and and juggle a ball with their feet and uh get a million views on on TikTok and be famous, you know. And that's something that that is really difficult today. That, you know, maybe the the player thinks they can wear something, do something, and sometimes say something that's gonna make them famous. They're gonna give them a but a lot of likes out there, and uh that's a distraction away from what they're getting paid to do. And and um it's such a short short life in professional sports, as you well know. Um, you know, it ends before it seems like before it even started, and uh then you're looking back, wondering what you could have done and should have done. And a lot of these players um are having those angst because they're they're worried about um the distraction that they can't get out of their mind. You know, I used to say the little guy who's on your shoulder, you have to tell him to sit in the dugout and watch the at-bat. He can't come into the batter's box with you talking to you about your hands or your head or or any of that because it's it's a distraction. Well, sometimes things that are said and things that are done online are taken into the batter's box, taken out to the mound, brought onto the ice, uh, you know, even maybe what was happening with that USA um soccer team the other day that they were so distracted they couldn't tell their head from their feet. And they they the performance resulted in such a distraction. So um, because of a distraction, so it's tough. It's a it's a tough world right now to to be young in, and it's a tough world world to be uh great in the sport that you're playing.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

Yeah, and I I I can't imagine and it and it morphs, right? You you have to evolve as a player, as a manager, as a leader, you have to evolve with everything going on around you. And you mentioned distraction, you mentioned things that are happening on the outside. Uh and Bobby, also you you touched on when you were with the Mets on and you were part of that horrific uh day, 9-11, and you had to manage through that. Um, you told me a story, and and I could be wrong, but when you first landed back in New York from that, um and driving on a bus and what you were what you saw through your eyes, how did you lead as a manager through that time with your players, knowing that you were at the the epicenter of of something that had happened? Because there's no playbook, right? You're you're you're going as you're you're drawing from whatever experience you had in your life to trying to figure that out. How did you lead through that time as manager of the New York Mets?

SPEAKER_02 16:19

Well, you know, people say uh, you know, there's a decision that's made and it's a gut reaction. Well, you know, it was really the seat of the pants that was that uh was leading me at the time. Uh I had worked and become very good friends with uh, you know, George W. Bush, who is now the commander-in-chief, who is now, you know, standing on the rubble in in uh Manhattan and saying, we shall never forget. Well, I was thinking about a listing. I was thinking about, you know, being part of the force that was going to conquer this evil, and in the same time trying to put on a costume and go into a clubhouse and tell a group of guys that uh they have to deal with this new thing, this new distraction, this thing called fear, and not fear of feel failure, but actual fear of taking care of your family, that you might be attacked again, that we might be at war on the homeland, all of these things that were so uh unknown. And as you say, it was it was there was no playbook for it. And so what I tried to do is lead with my heart and my mind and say that we have to make decisions, we have to decide to put a best put foot forward because people are watching, and if people are watching, that means they need to be led. And and I just beg my players to play in New York. That was a tough thing to start with. You know, we were in Pittsburgh when the horrific attack uh occurred. We took a bus back to New York the next morning. We left at like three in the morning to get back at about eight in the morning. And as we were approaching the George Washington Bridge from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River, we took a turn which usually gave you a beautiful view of the skyline of New York City. And as we took that turn around the highway, we looked to see the skyline and it was covered with black smoke. And at that time, everyone's face was pasted onto the window on the on the Manhattan side of the bus and were looking with their mouth open in total silence on the bus. It had a little music and had some conversations going on at the time, but then for the next hour we drove in silence, wondering what world we were going into because we were entering going over the Hudson River into Manhattan to our cars that were parked at Shea at uh Shea Stadium to go home to our family. So um it was a it was a tough world. It was a it was a tough thing to navigate, and I I was so proud that I had so many guys who were in uniform with me, who who did the right thing, that went to the right places and put on the right face. You know, my first clubhouse meeting, Al Ider, my star pitcher, raised his hand during the clubhouse meeting. He said, Hey, so Bobby, how are you dealing with the fear that you you have in your heart? Wow, how about that for a clubhouse meeting, huh? So anyway, uh yeah, that that was an amazing, an amazing part of my life. I'm glad that Mike hit the home run. I'm glad we played in New York and showed the world that we weren't afraid. I'm glad that, you know, the frowns that were in the stands turned upside down and became smiles when the the hero of the team hit the home run to have the home and the good guys go ahead of the bad guys. Um, you know, all that symbolism kind of transcended the moment and um I think began the healing process in our country.

SPEAKER_00 20:16

Wow. Well, I know it's just incredible to think uh all that transpired. And you know, I know as an athlete when there are distractions outside, which obviously this was uh a different distraction than anybody had ever dealt with. Uh, but did you find that like yourself, the other coaching staff members, uh the players, once you got into that locker room, once you got out onto that field, we always talk about that being our environment where we feel safest, most natural, and that you kind of block out everything else that's going out in the world. Generally, it's not as important. But did you find that once you got there and you got into the you know the dugout and the players got on the field that it became a little bit more normalized after that initial game? That this was like, okay, we feel like you know, this is our our little safety net. And of course, I mean, the athletes in the sports that started up, uh, I mean, was such a comfort to all the people in the United States, right? I mean, you could feel like that was some sense of normalcy that, hey, there there are my guys out there playing, but I just didn't know if that's what the players were feeling. Like I'm sure game one was really difficult, but then as the you know the game started to go, that there was a sense of comfort being on that field and blocking everything out.

SPEAKER_02 21:34

I think you're right. And you experienced it obviously that that's the safe haven, right? You you get into that uh comfort zone. You know, the first uh that first homestand though, it wasn't so comfortable because the dogs were sniffing our lockers every day. You know, there are guys with long guns up on the light towers all around the stadium. You know, it was the beginning of metal detectors being inst instituted uh at the uh stadium you know so it it was a different uh kind of safe house if you will and um uh luckily you know the great athletes of uh major league baseball and others uh were were able to step step into that you know state safe haven and and perform because that's what the people needed they needed that performance to get away from where their head was and back into that land of fantasy and watching sports and speaking of performance president bush threw a strike didn't he i mean i mean that was uh when you look at the video and him throwing the strike and being out there uh and putting himself out there and being in front of all those fans I mean what a moment Bobby that must have been to to to watch him do that and be part of that reaction yeah that was special you know and and Freddy just a little quick little story when his dad came to opening day in Arlington Texas the first year that George W owned the Texas Rangers his dad George H. who played at Yale came out to throw out the first pitch and that was interestingly enough during the last Iranian situation. You know George H was the CIA director uh when we had the hostage situation with the Iranian government and they put out a death threat on all the Bush family. So uh George H. came out with a big vest on and he's gonna throw out the first pitch and he warmed up in the bullpen and as he walked out Nolan Ryan said to him don't bounce it and he sure in hell bounced it and then if you fast forward from 89 to 2001 now young George is coming out during the World Series to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium and Derek Jeter says to him don't bounce it and he actually threw a strike so that's like that was like a little family joke amongst the the bushes how the profess the guy who played at Yale bounced it and the guy who didn't didn't play in college uh threw a strike.

SPEAKER_00 24:17

Kind of cool so good kind of cool yeah well I mean that's always the thing right so I've had a chance to throw the first pitch out at Angel Stadium on a couple occasions. Obviously they couldn't find anybody else after my first visit but was happy to do it and that was the first thing is all the players were like hey I know you're a hockey player I know you're a goalie I know you usually get hit by this thing for a living uh but hey if you don't want to be ridiculed please don't bounce the ball so I threw honest to God I mean I went up there no warm-up I threw it as high and as hard as I could and you know there's I whoever was catching was probably like six something and he had to jump up for the ball and so I felt like I did myself some justice by not put throwing it in the dirt and you know because they don't want to pretty good you threw from the mountain and you threw it high huh? I did yeah yeah I was like there's no way I'm gonna go to the front of the mountain I want to be on the rubber I want to clean it off um and actually Frenchie knows this story because uh our same producer for our pregame show for the ducks was doing the Angels uh pre-post show and so I said hey I'm gonna do my best Louis Tiante when they go on the mound they're like no way you won't do that I did I'm like I'm like I'm I'm super flexible I can do this so I do it with the big leg kick and the big twist and throw it and I threw it nice and high and I think the catcher had to jump up for it. But uh in the postgame show they broke down the the elevation of my leg kick. It was hilarious. You know they had the bar go up it starts at two feet it ends up at five here's the rotation it's one of the funniest things I've ever seen in they had a big thing. So somewhere it it's on video. But uh bring it back dude that's yeah we got to yeah gotta put it on hey we got to bring it on our show. We should we should well by the way it is his Instagram profile picture. I have I do I do I get I got the I got the orange ducks jersey on and the big high kick.

SPEAKER_01 26:09

It's impressive you actually look like you know what you're doing.

SPEAKER_00 26:11

It's I think it was trying to throw a slider and so you can see my hand trying to rotate but um and how'd you come up with the Louis Tian thing?

SPEAKER_02 26:20

I mean that's an easy you know he's a Boston guy I know Louis Tian a Cleveland guy. Where did you come up with that not Juan Marischell huh?

SPEAKER_00 26:30

Well so I I grew up in northern New York town of Troy New York my dad uh was went to Boston College and uh that love for Boston when he went to Boston college and then came back home to Troy uh he's like if I have sons they're gonna be Red Sox fans and so I have an older brother and so from as young as I can remember uh hockey you know hockey is whatever game we could see sometimes the Bruins sometimes the Rangers sometimes Buffalo Sabres uh whoever we could watch we would watch but we only watched the Boston Red Sox because whatever channel we got we got WSBK in Boston and Louis Tian and you think about all the great you know Jim Rice Rick Burleson uh Denny Doyle Carlton Fisk right I mean so Carlton yeah uh yeah Dewey Evans in the outfield so but Louis Tian I mean how could you forget you know that motion coming to the mound right it was like uh it was like he's gonna corkscrew himself right into the mound with that spin so uh but yeah so I I've been a lifelong Red Sox fan and Angels fan of coins isn't that amazing uh I'll give you a quick little one I managed Red Sox for like seven months you had a cup of coffee as they say Bobby with the Red Sox.

SPEAKER_02 27:44

I didn't do much there on the positive vein but what I did do is I put Louie in uniform every day that we were home. He's a dear friend of mine. He was kind of kind of removed from the baseball scene and put into the front office to sell tickets and shake hands and things and and he wanted to be with the guys and every day we were home he was in my office and in uniform and became a very good friend of mine spectacular person.

SPEAKER_01 28:11

That's oh that's so well I chose well I chose well with one of my heroes and hard to hit yeah chosen you've chosen wisely yes Gebo we'll have to we'll have to dig that video up for sure. We'll have to let Bobby V break it down I'd love to get his two cents on that. Saying in the theme of pitchers Bobby you mentioned at the outset of the show when you talk about just you know overreaching memories of of baseball being around Nolan Ryan and his dominance was certainly one that stood out to you did what was it like going to the mound to pay a visit to Nolan Ryan and did you ever try to take the ball from him I I can't imagine what that would be like to tell Nolan Ryan you are done.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

What can you even give us an insight into what that conversation would look like going to the mound to visit Nolan Ryan or did you not just go to the mound send the pitching coach out there let's just draw the photo real quickly I go to the mound I take Nolan out he walks off the mound everyone's standing to give him a standing ovation I give the ball to the relief pitcher I turn I walk off the mound the fans are still standing but they're not cheering when I walk off the mound they're throwing shit right and they're booing and they're what do you think I brought my kid here you're taking him out of the game what okay so I make a deal with Nolan I said hey Nolan here's a story you're the star I'm the manager sometimes I got to take you out it's getting a little dangerous people are starting to throw stuff how about I come down to the mound I call in the relief pitcher I give the relief pitcher the ball and we walk off together. What do you think dude? And he said hey Bobby V, I think that's a good idea. You're taking some abuse out there you don't need to be taken I said thanks Nolan well the PR director for the for the uh Rangers charted the next 22 times I took him out of the game and every time he walked off without me okay and left me out to dry so uh it it was no fun you know one time before the game even started he came out of the bullpen came into the dugout and he took off his hat and he was wiping his head ready to go out on the field and he looked down at me and he said hey Skip get someone ready I think I'm through and with that he went out to warm up and Tom House my pitching coach came around the corner and he looked like he had just seen a ghost I said what's going on here he says he can't reach the mound his arm is through get someone up in the bullpen and get them ready to to uh come into the game and I called it a bullpen as Nolan's walking out to start the game and I told Dale Mahorsick to get ready and they thought I was crazy and I just said get ready and I hung up and he bounced the first six pitches that he threw in warm-up and then he threw one that the catcher caught and then they threw it down the second base and then he walked around the mound and he picked up a little thing as he always did you know between the mound and home plate and kind of threw it off the side like a little pebble or whatever it might be. Went back to the mound and pulled down his hat and pitched his six no hitter in his life.

SPEAKER_00 31:32

And it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen that you know the pitching coach with his mouth open and and uh the everyone holding their breath he just pulled up the bootstraps and said I could do this and by golly he did actually it was a seventh no hitter not his unreal do you know so do you know what the the problem was like was he sick was he was his arm hurting was he was he playing games with you he was I never asked big text what the problem was no that I I I never went there no no well it sometimes you know beware of like the injured or sick athlete right you think about some of the greatest uh you know Michael Jordan with having the flu slash food poisoning in the playoffs off stranger yeah yeah I mean guys uh and and I know I've experienced it myself and I'm sure you did too is like the days that you felt at your absolute worst you sometimes like I said you just pulled up the bootstraps and you're like I the only thing I need to focus on is the next two hours of my life and go out there and just grind it out. And then sometimes you know for whatever reason you have one of your best performances of your life and you're like I I don't know how that happened.

SPEAKER_02 32:49

Boy I'm glad you said that because that's so true. You know you feel the worst you can't hit a ball in batting practice you think your your whole life's coming apart and you get four hits and uh you have a smile afterwards. It has to have something to do with you know eliminating distractions because the distractions are really loud when you're not feeling good huh? So yeah whatever it is he he did it and uh it's all documented and um I lived it it was fun to see.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

As Kevin Costner once said clear the mechanism right yeah absolutely I like it with a cold one I hope. Oh God. Yes exactly so as I as I'm sitting there Bobby staring at that jersey behind you I do want to to ask you because there's so many uh incredible stories and that's you know another podcast but what when did you first meet Tommy Lasorda and what were your first impressions when you did meet him huh I was being recruited to go to USC I was going to play football and baseball I was taken around the campus by OJ Simpson interestingly enough and uh he dropped me off at the baseball field because the catcher on the baseball team was a guy named Steve Saggi.

SPEAKER_02 34:02

He was also the quarterback on the football team who handed off to OJ and he said you want to know about playing two sports wait until the game's over and talk to the catcher and he left and went off OJ did and I was sitting there watching a game and a guy came down and tapped me on the shoulder and he said you're Bobby Valentine aren't you I said yes sir I am he said here take this and he gave me a little thing that was about this size and on it it had Dodgers written on it and he said the Dodgers really like you and I said thank you very much and in it was a a a um transistor radio and uh with the transistor radio was a little business card it said Tom LaSorda Scout Los Angeles Dodgers so that's the first time I met him and didn't shake his hand tapped you on the back of the that was him oh wow I was sitting I was sitting watching the game to meet Steve Soggy and then about three weeks later uh I got drafted by the Dodgers interestingly enough and just a little footnote I found out the other day I'd never mentioned this before uh I'm the highest draft that the Dodgers ever had I was the number fifth fifth pick in the country in the draft the Dodgers had the fifth pick and they never had a higher draft than that since the draft began to this day. I guess because they always had good teams. But um anyway I got drafted by the Dodgers in some major Connecticut.

SPEAKER_00 35:36

I flew out to Ogden Utah uh uh actually Salt Lake City Utah I got off of the plane because I was going to play in rookie ball in Ogden Utah and the guy who met me at the airport was the same guy who gave me the transistor radio Tommy Lacerta so yeah kind of interesting and then I wound up you know giving his eulogy uh after he died so well for me I think that's a really really cool thing yeah well I mean that's the beauty of the sports world like it's it's so vast but yet so small and you know we always talk about you know as as players you know well never burn any bridge because you'll realize the longer you play how small this community of hockey really is and it's so true because the people that you meet uh whether it was a scout earlier in your career that you know you fast forward throughout you know a a decade or two decades or beyond that you know how many interactions you have with the same people and the friendships and relationships that you build over that time uh is really incredible. And I think that's the beauty of the sports world is that and it's not just hockey amongst hockey it's you know uh all the sports where you meet people from different sports and you know like for us playing for the ducks we made such great connections with the angels and the angels players and the front office staff and you know it's relationships that you know I've had for you know I don't want to age myself but for 30 plus years. And I think that's an amazing story that you know you could have met Tommy Lassorda way back then uh seemingly in an interaction that you know maybe you would never see him again. And then you know what transpired over decades is is really incredible.

SPEAKER_02 37:19

You're so right. And Tommy used to say remember the people you see on the way up are the same people you're going to see on the way down. So be good to those on the way up and and one other little thing that you you you might like after my junior year in high school uh I was asked to play in Cape Cod the College Baseball League um as a as a high school player and the guy that I got to play for is someone you know and that guy was is and was and was on the field for my Hall of Fame induction because I invited him to be part of it was Lou Lamarello the Hall of Fame hockey coach and general manager.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

How crazy is that they see that's what I'm saying yes you know that it's not just hockey and hockey it's uh yeah sweet Lou um yeah I had a chance to play in the Olympics uh the world championships the world cup uh for Lou as our general manager and yeah I mean I actually you think about all these great stories I was playing in a tournament when I was I don't know 14 15 something like that it back on the east coast in Rhode Island and uh was getting recruited by colleges and the short version of the story is is as my dad was standing in the stands with other dads there were a couple guys there and my dad being a hockey fan or whatever is like I think that's Lou Lamarel and so my dad wasn't shy he walked right up and said hey Lou I went to BC and you know whatever da da da and he's like what are you he's like what are you doing here he goes I'm here to look at this goalie uh somebody said this goalie from you know this team in Troy New York is pretty good. He goes well that's my kid and he's like no way and so yeah so I you think about yeah the that context of small world uh but yeah so I got a chance to meet uh you know at the time Mr.

SPEAKER_02 39:11

Lamarello afterwards and Salo and and all that but uh yeah well I mean he's been an an incredible uh resource and an icon in the hockey world certainly really really good friend over too many decades for me and for you too we we've got that little bond there I love it yeah going back to uh to Tommy real quickly because that again that's another podcast but when you when you look back at Tommy and and I'm sure you brought some of this into your own managerial experience but what made Tommy such a good not just a good manager Bobby but a good leader of men as we were talking about earlier well you know um understood that uh the players didn't care what you knew until they knew that you cared you know and and he brought that kind of uh energy and and caring uh uh atmosphere uh into a baseball dugout and clubhouse and field and um I I it separated him from from the rest at the time you know everybody else hells bells I played for the Dodgers for uh two years in the major leagues and the manager called me Billy because it didn't matter what he called me I was just one of the other players and there were a lot of other Billy's on the team so why not call Bobby Billy? And uh you know Tommy not only knew your first name he knew your wife's name he knew your hometown he knew your kids' names he he knew what high school you played in and in and all of that um you know changed the management uh style of so many sports coaches and managers uh starting back there in the late eight uh late 60s uh but I I think that separated him at the time and then his absolute dedication to to his craft you know it was every hour he didn't play golf he didn't play tennis you know he he didn't go to the movies Tommy was baseball 247 and it was infectious everyone wanted more of Tommy and wanted more of baseball whenever they were around him he he he was a different kind of person yeah well it's interesting to think about you know how coaches managers uh with all the things we talked about with players distractions and social media and performance and and that's the thing I I I'd love to hear from you what you think about so there's certain sports um we think some sports athletes are stronger braver more willing to play with injury than other sports and uh I'll just generalize that out there but you know there are certain sports where players uh need a rest and they get scheduled rests you talk about load management are we going with load management right now I I am I I just think it's an interesting concept because um you know listen I never wanted to be out in lineup and and back when I played like goalies would normally your starting goalie would play back to back games all the time now in in hockey it's a great opportunity for the backup goalie to get into a game he's well rested the team's tired I I understand kind of that maybe benefit uh I would have hated it because I was always lobbying like hey if I'm gonna go through my whole process to play the game and sit on the bench I might as well play the game because it's not like I'm taking a break and sitting in the stands I have to be ready to go in at a moment's notice.

SPEAKER_00 42:43

So you know I what are your thoughts on on that load management and and from a coach's manager's perspective and from a fan perspective because I always got great advice from from veteran players when I was younger and they were like hey you know if someone wants your autograph stop and sign the autograph it could be the one time that this family is able to come to a game might be their first game might be their last game it might be their only game and that might be the only interaction they ever have with a professional athlete or a professional hockey player. So so take the time. So I I always thought about that and took that to heart and and you can't satisfy everybody all the time but I always did my best to try to make sure I I spent the time that I could and to play whenever I was tapped on the shoulder. So like what are your thoughts when you know an athlete is like okay well I'm gonna get this game off because it's part of my load management and fans come to that game and spend good money to come to the game to watch possibly their favorite player and then don't know until the game starts that that player is not playing at all. Um that's a loaded question once again I hate to put you on the spot but I I mean I know my feelings and I think I know Frenchie's feelings on this but love to hear your feelings.

SPEAKER_02 44:00

I love it. I love the question. As a young guy, the best year I ever had, I I was 20 years old. I played every inning of every game in the minor leagues, right? And so I thought that was the way to do things. But as I got older, and then as I became a coach and then a manager, and in particular with Nolan Ryan, where uh his recovery had to be managed, and I had to get help managing it. So um I believe that recovery is is as big a uh a factor of a guy's performance as his conditioning, uh, you know, as his pregame workout. And what I always tried to do is is understand what when it was that it was the day before the guy got underwater. It was that day before he was really dragging, because if he plays in that state, sometimes it lingers and sometimes something bad happens, like an injury. So um I used to do it by uh getting the information right uh from the training room, from the guy himself, from his teammates, whatever it might be. And probably the craziest uh situation I had ever had was Mike Piazza, who was the star of my team. He was the biggest, strongest guy in the clubhouse, and he was the catcher. And there were times when he needed days off, and very often they were that day game, as you're mentioning, after the night game. And maybe he catched 13 innings or 12 innings of the night game, and then it's Sunday day game, and I thought it was a natural time to give him the day off. Uh, and he appreciated it and he needed it. But those fans and the people who called into the radio show, oh, Sunday was the day they brought their kids to the game, and Mike was their favorite player. And what about this stupid manager who's not playing him? How let's get rid of this manager doesn't he know that he's the best player on the team? And I had to live with that and deal with that. But I think it made Mike a better player. Now, having scheduled days off on the calendar, I totally do not believe in that. I think what happened is there were there were people in charge who didn't take in all the information, didn't understand when that star player in particular needed a little time off just to recover from whether it was a uh foul tip off of off of the hand or uh uh running the bases for five at bats, diving for balls, and yeah, whatever it was, that this is the particular time. Maybe it was that uh, you know, his wife was ready to give birth and she was up all night and he didn't the baby didn't come, but he didn't get any sleep because he was with the wife and he gets to the ballpark, and the trainer comes in and says, Holy cow, he looks like uh he just had a fight with the entire Chinese army. And uh, you know, you give that guy a day off at that time. Well, so many managers had no idea, I believe, how to manage that, that the front office took it into their own hands and told the training staff, hey, after so many days, after so many swings, after so many strides, after so many block shots, whatever it was, the guy gets a day off. Well, uh, I I'm not I'm not big with uh that kind of load management.

SPEAKER_00 47:38

That's I I I love it. I love it. I mean, sometimes players need to be protected from ourselves because a lot of times we'll just be like, hey, I got this nagging thing, but can I play? Sure. What am I? 100%? No, you're never 100%. Um 70%. And the coaches are usually like, well, that's good enough for me. You're in. But yeah, it is. It's that thing of making sure, excuse me, that a lingering problem doesn't become a a big problem that ends up being weeks or months. But um, yeah, it is. I mean, it's an ongoing conversation.

SPEAKER_02 48:10

And I think the the other thing, you you mentioned it so correctly that it does give that other guy an opportunity not to become a starter and take the star player, not to take your job away from you, but to give him some worth on the team so that when he's being appreciated, when he's appreciating what the other guys are doing because he's not doing it, it's a true appreciation because he did participate a bit. And uh I think that that's that's a big part of that team unit of getting the guys who are at the end of the bench to feel like they're part of the middle of the bench. It it's a real hard thing to do. Unless that guy on the bench that comes in is Joe DiMaggio or Lou Gehrick, and while I'm not Lou Gehrig, sorry, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:02

Lou Gehrig, yeah. I feel Lou Gehrig and then yeah, or the guy that Cal Ripkin replaced. Exactly. You're like, okay, then I shouldn't have. That's what you're always worried about.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

Isn't there a Tom Brady out there that uh some guy named Drew Bledsoe went out with an injury? And all those guys, right? I mean, that's as an athlete, that's uh well, I'll say in my generation, there was the fear that like if you open the crack in the door for so say I'm a goaltender and I go out with you know, maybe an injury, or I hey coach, I need a night off, and then the backup comes in and stands on his head, and then all of a sudden it's like, well, we can't take a hot goalie out, and all of a sudden he rolls in, and all of a sudden like you never know. So I I know you know during my time, like you you you loved your your partner because it was really critical to have and you know a one a 1A and a 1B, and but you never wanted to get relinquish that control of being the 1A guy. So at times you were willing to play with some injuries that maybe you shouldn't have. Uh, but I think and I love that you said this, the fact that bringing value to the other player who doesn't play on a consistent basis, and I think it's even more important now for I'll again say for hockey, the the backup goaltender or the guy that's getting scratched on the fourth line, uh, when they get their opportunity to come in because of an injury or a rest, uh, it's really important for those guys to be able to perform at high level. And it does, it gives them value and it gives confidence and not only the management and the coaching staff, but their own teammates to say, like, hey, he hasn't played in net for like eight straight games or ten straight games, and you know, should be concerned about his performance. And then when you step into that role as a backup goaltender or a guy who's getting scratched, and you go out there and perform, uh, it gives everybody on that bench a lift because you are performing at that level that's expected. And then, you know, a lot of times that guy goes back on the bench or back into the you know the luxury suite or into the locker room being scratched again, waiting for that next turn. But um, but then they can do that with a lot of value, feeling that they've contributed and that the next time they get their number called, they're ready to go. And the team won't wonder as much if they're going to be able to perform.

SPEAKER_02 51:21

Well, you're you're so right. Uh thinking and seeing that through the lenses of a player, and seeing that through the lens of of the coach or the manager, the the manager has to understand that it's really hard for him, that person to perform up to the level that you were performing at. And it's very important for the manager to appreciate the effort, whatever that effort is, if it's the best effort that that guy has, there needs to be an appreciation shown by the guy in charge. A lot of times the guy in charge r you know kind of uh dumps on that guy. Oh, he stinks. We could have won if my other guy was in there. Oh, I don't want everyone put him in there again. Oh, what? No. The manager and the coach has got to take that opportunity to appreciate the effort, and then possibly the next time the guy's in there, he'll get the results that you that you want. But it's so hard to do that job, play once in a while and usually replace you, the star. I mean, that's a really tough thing to do. I had a guy, Todd Pratt, who was a catcher, who was the guy to replace Mike Piazza. That's the toughest job in the world. Well, I made that guy feel like a star on my team. And when whenever you talk to Todd Pratt, he'll tell you that in our environment, he had as much appreciation for the job he did as Mike had appreciation for the job that he did. And and I think that's a real hard thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 53:08

You're talking about work ethic, you're talking about going out there every single day. Um how did your perspective, Bobby, change when do you talk about work eth ethic dedication managing in Japan a completely different culture and seeing how that culture approached work ethic and approached the game, and how did that change the way kind of you looked at approach and how people approached a sport, a professional sport?

SPEAKER_02 53:39

Well, we talked about how it was, right, when we played, right? You know, and all that stuff, Gee. But um, you know, it was always we'll outwork them, we'll do more, we will we'll take that extra mile. That that was the the motto. And then it came, oh, when I'm a hundred percent, I'll go out there, you know, and and you know, now it's probably a little in between, I'll go out there when I'm 95%. But uh in Japan, you know, they were still doing more as better when I got there. And uh, you know, if if you didn't hit the curveball, well, you better practice it in the curveball. How much should I practice it in the curveball? Well, hit it, practice until you can hit it. You know, that's that was the kind of mentality that was there. And uh I tried to bring it up, yeah. Yeah, right, right. I I tried to bring the rest factor into their culture, which was very difficult. It it was not there there was a non-compute button that was that was pushed uh when I did that. But um you know, the the appreciation for uh coming to work on time and doing your best is is part of their baseball and their sports and their their work ethic. You know, you don't come to work on time, you come there before time, and you don't leave when the bell rings, you stay over time. It's just the way their culture has survived. Um and I I learned from it and I tried to change it a little, but um I I totally show showed the appreciation and understanding after a while. I didn't understand it at the beginning, but after a while, I I think I appreciated it um uh as much as any outsider could.

SPEAKER_01 55:32

Yeah, I think I I want to go down that road uh at an on another podcast. I mean, winning a championship in Japan. I mean, you and I have chatted about it. I mean, Gee, we gotta, it's just fascinating and just amazing what what Bobby was able to do. But um, I will say this. I I have two quick ones here for you, Bobby. I know we can talk forever.

SPEAKER_00 55:50

Um just episode one, right? I mean it's gotta be.

SPEAKER_01 55:54

It's gotta be. Um, I want to know what your first interaction with Frank Sinatra was like. If you can tell me.

SPEAKER_02 56:05

My my first uh uh interaction was during the uh 88 World Series, I guess. Um uh I was asked by Tommy to sit with him and Barbara, Frank Sinatra and his wife, uh during the game, and to make sure that they, you know, were at the hospitality tent and everything was taken care of and they were in their private corner. And of course, Gilly Rizzo, his you know, bodyguard was there also. But I was kind of the um uh baseball guy for Frank for the day. And uh he left his hat in the hospitality tent. And we got on the the bus that was taking everyone from the hospitality tent, you know, over to uh the stadium. And uh as he got on the bus, he realized that he left his hat. And as he got off the bus, he was the last one off the bus. He says, wait, wait, wait, and everyone got off the bus. And then he went over to the driver and he took a hundred dollar bill out of his uh uh pants and he ripped it in half and he gave the guy half of a hundred dollar bill and he said, Hey, I left my hat over at the tent. Go and get it and bring it to me. I'll give you the other half. And that was like the first real, you know, I was sitting there holding my breath most of the time, being nice to his wife, and what do you need another drink or whatever, that type of thing. And he was quiet, but that was the first time I kind of saw his his true self come out. And and after that, it was uh I I was blessed. You know, I got to be backstage and and do things uh that other people probably didn't do, sitting down and just, you know, waiting for the next act to start. Uh Frank was another, I mean, he was an amazing, amazing uh person and an amazing time in our country.

SPEAKER_00 57:59

I can just say, wow. I I know Frenchie, you had a follow-up. You said you had two questions, so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna interrupt. Keep rolling.

SPEAKER_01 58:07

I have one for I have one for Ghee, actually. I mean, again, I I want to know more about uh C. And and I don't know if you knew that uh you know Bobby was on the dating game. We'll just touch on that. He was a great dancer. I mean, there are lots of things happening here, but the question I have for you, Gebo, did you realize that that Bobby V invented the rap sandwich?

SPEAKER_00 58:29

No, I didn't invent that. And I love a rap. I won't. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 58:36

We're getting close to the end of this, and it's already see how I did that? I brought it all. It's the rap sandwich. Full circle. Way to go, Frenchie. Bobby V's uh restaurant and sports bar, yes. Yeah, Bobby Eddie.

SPEAKER_02 58:49

It actually happened, but we're not gonna go into that because he didn't the Will Wall Street Journal tried to bust me on that one, and uh they they searched all the menus from 1980, and there wasn't a menu around that had a wrap sandwich on it, other than my restaurant in Stanford, Connecticut. So they said, Yeah, I must have uh created it, and I think I did. The American sandwich, not the burrito, not the taco, but the American sandwich wrapped in a tortilla. Um, yeah, I did in my kitchen.

SPEAKER_00 59:23

As we like to say, and good for us, we're gonna say and good for Bobby V.

SPEAKER_01 59:27

Thank you for the rap. Thank you for the rap. Yes. Uh well, Bobby V, can't thank you enough for joining us again. There's so much to go to go down. Yeah, scratching the surface. Oh my gosh, yeah. So uh again, thanks for taking the time to chat with us, share some stories, and uh please, this is an open invitation. We want you to come back and talk some more stories with us because this is just too much fun.

SPEAKER_02 59:49

Anytime, anywhere, Gee, I'm gonna uh text Lou and tell him you send his love, send your love to him because uh Absolutely You know, he he he's one of a kind too, boy.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:01

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, all right. Well, uh listen, Bobby, we appreciate it. And all of uh those out there, uh, if you want to see our smiling faces, don't forget you can catch the uh podcast on the Mass the Mic YouTube channel. We're also on Spotify and Apple Podcast. Gebo, uh thanks for thanks for you know thanks for just being me. Thanks for being you and Bobby, thanks for being you. This has been this has been a true pleasure, and we look forward Bobby to do it to do it again. And Gebo as as we always say, yes, and good for us.