The news is not officially official yet (no press releases or anything), but Mike Lynch of Boston’s WCVB station is tweeting that Bobby Valentine will be the next manager of the Boston Red Sox after reaching a verbal agreement with the team.. Yesterday, it was reported that Valentine and former Chicago White Sox manager Gene Lamont were the finalists for the position, and earlier today, it was reported that Lamont was no longer in the running.
Valentine last managed in the majors in 2002 with the New York Mets. Over his 15 seasons in the majors, his career record is 1117-1072. He has never won a division title, but won the NL wild card and pennant in 2000 with the Mets. After leaving the Mets, Valentine managed in Japan for the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004 to 2009, winning the Marines first Japan League pennant in 31 years in 2005. Also in 2005, Valentine’s Marines won the first-ever Asia Series over Korea’s Samsug Lions. After leaving the Marines in a heated and much-popularized split following the 2009 season, Valentine worked in broadcasting, spending two seasons and the 2009 playoffs with ESPN. He was featured as a commentator on Sunday Night Baseball in 2011.
During his ESPN tenure, Valentine was linked to the open managerial positions for the Baltimore Orioles, Florida Marlins, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, Toronto Blue Jays, and Milwaukee Brewers, but didn’t get any of the jobs. Now, he’ll get a chance in a large market with the Red Sox, after prior stops in large markets with the Texas Rangers and the aforementioned Mets.
