During a recent Q&A session, Bobby Valentine answered a question discussing his antics during his time as manager of the New York Mets. Valentin recalled a time when he was caught wearing a fake beard and sunglasses in a break room. That happened 25 years ago.
The person who asked the question? A 9 year old fan.
“His parents may not have met yet, but he wants to know,” Valentine joked. “I’m amazed at how well that minute and a half of my life turned out.”
There is a group of baseball fans who were not alive on June 9, 1999, but are somehow familiar with one of Valentine’s most infamous (or famous, depending on the person) moments. He was ejected in the 12th inning of a 14-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but would return to the Shea Stadium dugout in disguise.
This disguise is now an interesting topic for Valentin and Aurel Hershiser, who played a key role in the attempt to hide Valentin. 25 years later, it’s still something that many people, young and old, laugh at, and it’s what made Valentine a fan favorite.
Mustache? Valentine said he found black eye stickers from the training room and placed them upside down under his nose.
“I looked in the mirror and I looked good,” Valentine said. “Then Aurel saw me and said, ‘They will never know’. The rest is history.
June 9, 1999: @metropolis Manager Bobby Valentine was ejected in the 12th inning. He sneaked back into the dugout at Shea Stadium wearing sunglasses and a fake beard. #LGM pic.twitter.com/fMgSiyJ5yu
— MetsRewind (@metsrewind) June 9, 2024
That June night, the Mets were tied 3-3 with Toronto in the first half of the 12th when Blue Jays infielder Craig Grebeck loaded the bases and outfielder Shannon Stewart Shannon Stewart on first base. The Mets called the pitch as Stewart tried to steal second. Receiver Mike Piazza took the ball from Pat Mahomes and attempted to throw Stewart. However, Piazza was called for a catcher’s tackle for throwing too far from home plate.
Valentine left the dugout to challenge referee Randy Marsh and was ejected. After being ejected, Valentine pondered how to get the message from the clubhouse to the dugout. A common practice for a disqualified head coach is to watch the game on television and then have the “runner” deliver the message to the acting head coach. Valentine said Hershiser volunteered to be the runner, but Shea’s setup included walking up and down stairs, making Hershiser’s proposal to deliver a timely message impractical.
“Then Hershiser said, ‘Why don’t you come to the dugout?'” Valentine said. “That’s when he threw his glasses and hat to me.”
Hershiser said he wasn’t sure who came up with the disguise as a solution, but said he had no intention of disputing the call.
“I don’t know what his version (of the story) is,” Hershiser said. “It’s like, if you’re going to do this, you better cover it up as much as possible. If he says I gave him the hat, I’m going to believe him.
Hershiser’s job, with help from Mahomes, was to block the referee’s view of Valentine. Valentine said the cameras used to capture players in the dugout “ruined” him.
Hershiser, who now works as an analyst for the Los Angeles Dodgers, is familiar with the relay system. He saw this as a pitcher for the Dodgers when manager Tommy Lasorda was thrown out of the game.
It’s an interesting story for Valentine right now, especially since the Mets eventually won the game in the 14th inning on a hit by Rey Ordóñez. But Valentine said the ejection wasn’t funny at the time. He was fined $5,000 and suspended two games for the stunt.
“(Hershiser) never wanted to pay half the fine — and he made more money than I did,” Valentine said with a laugh. “You go figure it out.”
“No one forced him to do this,” Hershiser replied. “We just help our manager implement his idea, or supplement it.”
Just to add, there wasn’t a lot of laughter surrounding the Mets in late May and early June of 1999. Valentine was left behind after eight straight losses battered coach Tom Robson and bullpen coach Randy Niemann. job security.
However, the Mets managed to turn things around, winning six of seven games following their win on June 9, which was actually the team’s fourth consecutive victory. The Mets went 17-10 this month and finished the regular season with a 97-66 record. They defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NFC Cup before losing to the Atlanta Braves in the NFC Cup.
Twenty-five years later, Valentine says he hasn’t heard much embellishment of the story. But he’s heard stories about him being ready and pretending at every stadium, and that’s not true.
To hear people of all ages – even 9-year-olds – still talking about it means this truly is a moment.
“I think it’s all about making people laugh,” Valentine said. “I’m glad the ease helped today and I think it helped then too.”
(Photo: John Conrad Williams, Jr./Newsday RM via Getty Images)
