Bobby Valentine
A baseball lifer whose fiery personality and inventive tactics, from a fake mustache to a Japanese championship, made him unforgettable.
Born 1950 (age 76)·American baseball player and manager·Birthday: May 13·Baby Boomers
Biography
Bobby Valentine's career in baseball is a story of relentless energy and a flair for the dramatic. Drafted by the Dodgers, his playing days were cut short by a gruesome leg fracture, but that injury only redirected his volcanic passion into managing. He took the Texas Rangers from doormats to contenders, then led the New York Mets to a memorable 2000 World Series, his intensity defining those teams. After a falling out stateside, he reinvented himself in Japan, winning a championship with the Chiba Lotte Marines and becoming a national celebrity for his embrace of the culture. His final, tumultuous season with the Boston Red Sox in 2012 was a fittingly chaotic capstone to a career that was never, ever boring.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Bobby was born in 1950, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Bobby Was Born
The biggest hits of 1950
#1 Movie
Cinderella
Best Picture
All About Eve
#1 TV Show
Texaco Star Theatre
Bobby's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1950Born
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1955Started school
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1963Became a teenager
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Could drive
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
1968Could vote
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1971Turned 21
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1980Turned 30
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1990Turned 40
Hubble Space Telescope launched; Germany reunifies
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.80/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Hold On" — Wilson PhillipsBest Picture: Dances with Wolves
2000Turned 50
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 60
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 70
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 76 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Managed the New York Mets to the 2000 National League pennant and World Series.
- Led the Chiba Lotte Marines to a Japan Series championship in 2005, the first for the franchise in 31 years.
- Guided the Texas Rangers to their first-ever second-place finish in 1986 after years in the cellar.
- Named the 2005 Pacific League Manager of the Year in Nippon Professional Baseball.
Did You Know?
He once returned to the dugout wearing a disguise of sunglasses and a fake mustache after being ejected from a game.
He is fluent in Japanese after his managerial stint there.
He served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
As a high school athlete in Stamford, Connecticut, he was a football star recruited by USC and other major programs.
“I'm not sure if I'm a genius or an idiot, but I'm here.”
