a series to be played between the American and Japanese championship teams. Following their Japan Series championship, the Marines won the inaugural Asia Series by defeating the Samsung Lions of the Korea Baseball Organization in November 2005. Valentine aided in bringing innovative promotions to Japan, which doubled Marine attendance during his tenure. Some of these gimmicks, like allowing children to run the bases after games or dedicated autograph sessions, are common in America but were unseen in Japan; others, such as Valentine hosting dance classes for female fans, played on the manager's personal appeal (and his history—Valentine was a competition ballroom dancer in his youth). In 2008, Valentine was the subject of the ESPN Films documentary The Zen of Bobby V., which followed Valentine and his 2007 Marines team. The Zen of Bobby V. was an official selection at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival. The Marines let Valentine go after the 2009 season after an extensive smear campaign led by club president Ryuzo Setoyama, which ironically backfired and resulted in an overflow of support for Valentine by local fans. In the end, Valentine was fired, even though a petition to extend his contract was presented to the organization with 112,000 signatures. ESPN Valentine accepted a position as a baseball analyst for ESPN. He had previously appeared on the cable network's Baseball Tonight show in 2003. He made his broadcasting debut for the 2009 American and National League Championship Series and World Series. In late 2009, Valentine was a candidate to replace Eric Wedge as manager of the Cleveland Indians, however the job went to Manny Acta. Valentine continued working with ESPN for the 2010 MLB season. He was interviewed for the Baltimore Orioles managerial position after manager Dave Trembley was fired in early June; Valentine later withdrew his name from consideration. Valentine was considered a front runner for the Florida Marlins managerial position that opened after manager Fredi González was fired in late June. However, Valentine confirmed he was no longer a candidate for the position after Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria stated that Edwin Rodríguez, the interim manager they summoned to replace Gonzalez, would manage the team through the 2010 season. With the firing of the New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel at the end of the 2010 season, Valentine had been speculated by the local New York sports media of returning to the team. It was also reported that