Robert John Valentine (born May 13, 1950), nicknamed "Bobby V", is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He also served as the athletic director at Sacred Heart University. Valentine played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969, 1971–72), California Angels (1973–1975), San Diego Padres (1975-1977), New York Mets (1977–78), and Seattle Mariners (1979) in MLB. He managed the Texas Rangers (1985–1992), the New York Mets (1996–2002), and the Boston Red Sox (2012) of MLB, as well as the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball (1995, 2004–2009). Valentine has been an analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. In February 2013, CBSSports.com hired Valentine to represent its Fantasy Sports business, including running a viral marketing campaign in which he made fun of the many times he was fired in his career and gave fans a chance to "Hire or Fire Bobby V" one more time. On November 2, 2021, Valentine lost the election to become mayor of his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut, to Caroline Simmons, the first female elected mayor in Stamford. Early years Valentine was born in Stamford, Connecticut, to Joseph and Grace Valentine. He attended Rippowam High School in Stamford, Connecticut, where he was an All-State player in football, baseball and track. He is the only three-time All-State football player in Connecticut history. He set state records for career touchdowns (53), career interceptions for TD (5) and 60-yard dash. The career interception for TD record remains, having later been tied by two other players. As a sophomore in 1965, he averaged 5.6 yards a carry, scored 21 touchdowns and led Rippowam to a 9–0 record and a state championship. He was also a champion ballroom dancer as a teenager, winning a regional competition with his partner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York and took part in the opening ceremonies of the 1964 New York World's Fair. He was president of the student council. He was recruited by the University of Nebraska, the University of Notre Dame and the University of Southern California as a star in football and baseball, but ultimately chose USC. In 1967, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth Indians of the Cape Cod Baseball League. The Los Angeles Dodgers drafted him fifth overall in the 1968 Major League Baseball draft and he signed with the Dodgers, receiving a $65,000 signing bonus. He attended both USC and Arizona State University while in the Dodgers