Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Red Sox Hire Charismatic Ex-Mets Skipper Bobby Valentine As New Manager
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 30, 2011
Modified Nov 30, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Nov 30, 2011
Modified Nov 30, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
The Red Sox have hired colorful and controversial former Mets skipper Bobby Valentine as their new manager. Valentine, who managed the Mets for six seasons and led them to the World Series in 2000, will take over for Terry Francona following the Sox's historic collapse at the end of last season. Below, relive our favorite Valentine's moment with the Mets—when he put on a fake mustache to sneak back into the dugout after getting ejected from a game:
Sportswriters are pumped about Valentine, who has worked as a baseball commentator and hasn't been shy about criticizing players, including Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. The NY Times excitedly notes that the man who "taunted the Yankees and stoked a rivalry from across town, now will do so from Fenway Park," and SBNation wrote that non-Red Sox fans should be "absolutely thrilled" about the hiring because the "American League's going to be a lot more interesting with him than without him."
Some reports suggest that Red Sox players and fans might be uneasy at the idea of Valentine's abrasive style shaking up the clubhouse, which was dogged by rumors of insubordination, beer drinking and chaos in the aftermath of last season. ESPN reports one source inside the Sox thought "they're going to have a mess on their hands" if Valentine was hired. And Tyler Kepner writes, "Some fans will immediately be put off by Valentine. They will be skeptical of his sales pitch, or yearn for the folksy, self-deprecating Terry Francona, who never flaunted his considerable baseball knowledge."
Valentine. who has managed more than 3,000 games for the Texas Rangers, the Mets and the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan, has kept extremely busy off the baseball field. After that successful stint as a manager in Japan, Valentine worked as a baseball analyst for ESPN; he owns a sports cafe in Stamford, Connecticut—Bobby V’s (where he claims to have invented the wrap sandwich)—runs the Bobby Valentine Sports Academy, and hosts the annual Bobby Valentine Celebrity Wine & Food Experience. As if that weren't enough, last winter Valentine was named as the director of public health and safety of his hometown, Stamford.
Below, check out a video in which Valentine fully explains why he donned the fake mustache and big glasses that Mets game. Blame Robin Ventura!
Tagged
baseball
bobby valentine
boston
coach
manager
mets
mlb
red sox
Yankees
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
New Yorkers are paying $300 million for natural gas they don't even use
A new study found that nearly 2% of the city's natural gas is leaking into the air and causing climate pollution.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
Hit-and-run driver arrested trying to flee to Uzbekistan after deadly crash, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NY measles outbreak more widespread than official count, health officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
A NYC judge brought his gun into court for an ‘experiment’. Now he’s censured.
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .