who batted fourth in the Mets' line-up, began seeing better pitches with Valentine behind him. Over the first sixteen games in which Kingman and Valentine batted fourth and fifth in the line-up, Kingman clubbed seven home runs with sixteen RBIs. Valentine, meanwhile, batted just .176 over that stretch with one home run and seven RBIs. Almost as if National League pitchers realized they had nothing to fear from Valentine's bat, Kingman began seeing tougher pitching again, and hit just three more home runs over the rest of the season. With new manager George Bamberger and George Foster added to their line-up for , the Mets went into Spring training with high hopes. As things turned out, the Mets narrowly avoided losing one hundred games, and finished last in their division. Valentine went 31 games to start the season without driving in a single run. From there, Valentine put up respectable numbers, seven home runs and 33 RBIs, through the Mets' 6–4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on August 13. After which, Valentine called the New York Mets "the worst organization in baseball" to New York reporters. As one might imagine, this charge did not sit well with Mets management. Bamberger and Mets GM Frank Cashen met with Valentine on August 15, and offered to try to trade the disgruntled outfielder. They were unable to find a taker despite the impressive .327 batting average Valentine put up over the rest of the season. California Angels Valentine was selected by just one team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, in the MLB re-entry draft when he became a free agent at the end of the season. When the California Angels' Bobby Clark suffered a back injury playing Winter ball in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, it opened up a vacancy in the Angels' outfield. Valentine signed with his home team on January 21, . After straining his Achilles tendon during Spring training, he failed to make it onto the field for his new club until their 25th game. He appeared in 86 games for the Angels in , batting .240 with thirteen home runs and 43 RBIs. At the end of the season, he signed a multi-year deal with the Angels, however, a bruised heel kept him off the field for the entire season. He logged just four plate appearances on a rehab assignment with the Edmonton Trappers, and was released at the end of