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Bobby Valentine's Playing Career (1969 -1979)

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Robert John Valentine was Born May 13, 1950, in Stamford, Connecticut. The five-foot ten right hand hitting Valentine was a star baseball & football player at Rippowam, High School in Stamford. Trivia: Valentine is considered to be one of the best high school athletes in the sports history in the state of Connecticut. He is the only player to have his number retired in both sports at his high school. In football he was a half back & in baseball a versatile fielder that could play anywhere while hitting the ball all over the field. He was recruited by the University of Nebraska, Duke, Notre Dame & the University of Southern California. But in 1969, he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team. In 1968 with the A ball Ogden Dodgers his manager was Tommy Lasorda who became his mentor & life long friend. On that team Bobby played alongside  Steve Garvey & Bill Buckner . PCL's MVP: In 1970 at AA Spokane, Valentine hit 19 HRs with 80 RBIs ...
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Remembering Mets History (2011) Carlos Beltran Hits Three HRs in a Win at Colorado

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Thursday May 12th, 2011: Terry Collins Mets (16-20) were at Coors Field in Colorado taking on Jim Tracy's Rockies (19-15). This game was scheduled for the previous night but was rained out. Terry Collins was in his first year as manager replacing Jerry Manuel. The Mets were in their third straight losing season in another bad stretch of franchise history. It was still another three years before they had a winning season & that year they would win an NL Pennant. In the top of the 1st inning, Willie Harris drew a one out walk. Carlos Beltran followed with a HR to centerfield, putting New York up 2-0. It was the start of a big day for Carlos. In the bottom of the 1st, the Rockies came back as Jonathan Herrera hit a solo HR off Jon Niese. In the top of the 4th, Jason Bay singled & stole second for New York. After Daniel Murphy was walked, Bay stole third base as well. Bay would steal eleven bases that season. Pitcher Ubaldo Jiminez then walked Justin Turner to load the bases. J...
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Remembering Mets History (1990) "Sweet Music" Frank Viola Sets Franchise Record With Nine Straight Wins

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Things had slowly going sour for the Mets, since the '86 Championship Season. They had only made the post season one more time (1988) in the 1980's not living up to the expectations put on them.  They began 1990 looking to top the NL East once again. The pitching staff was led by Dwight Gooden, David Cone, Sid Fernandez, Ron Darling & Frank Viola. The Mets had acquired Frank Viola during the 1989 season. The Long Island native & St. John's alumni was certainly a local boy. At the time he was the AL's current reigning Cy Young Award winner. After starting out at 3-5 he won his last two starts of the 1989 season. On September 29th he pitched a 7-2 complete game win in Pittsburgh. April 11th 1990: In 1990 Viola started the third game of the season shutting out the Pirates for 7.2 innings at Shea Stadium, allowing five hits with eight strike outs earning his first win over Pittsburgh's John Smiley. Greg Jefferies & Kevin McReynolds both homered with Darryl ...
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