centerfield maz

In 1968 Bobby Valentine had been drafted as a first-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers out of Stamford high school in his hometown of Stamford, Connecticut. At the age of 18, Valentine was named the MVP of the Pioneer League. There he played under manager Tommy Lasorda, who would become a mentor & lifelong friend to the young Valentine. In 1969 Valentine was briefly brought up to the big-league Dodger club for five games. Over the next two seasons he continued to develop at the minor league levels.  At the age 20 he was playing with the Dodgers AAA Spokane club where he hit .340 with 14 HRs 39 doubles 16 triples & 29 stolen bases. In 1971, the hot hitting young player was rushed up to the big-league club, where he batted .249 with in 101 games for the second-place team that finished just one game behind the Giants. The next year, although he raised his average to .274, Bobby still didn't regain the power & speed he had in the minors.  That...

After Bobby Valentine's playing career ended in 1979, he became a highly sought-after coach. Coach :  In 1980 Valentine began his coaching career as a minor league infield instructor for the San Diego Padres (1980-1981). The Padres were the last team he had played for the previous year. In 1982, the Mets hired the Stamford, Connecticut native, high school baseball star as a coach. Bobby was thrilled to be close to home & back with his old team in the New York metro area.  In 1983 he became the team’s third base coach. He would also handle the infielders and base-running instructions. As a Mets coach he worked under three Mets managers; George Bamberger (1982) Frank Howard (1983) and Davey Johnson (1984). Bobby quickly became a popular figure as a Mets coach, and a fan favorite. His coaching talents & baseball knowledge as well as a natural feel for the game, was recognized throughout the league. There was talk all over MLB for his ...

After the 1963 season & a sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series, Yogi Berra retired from playing baseball. He had just one at bat in that Series as he ended his Hall of Fame career.  That October, Berra took over as manager of the A.L. New York team replacing Raph Houck. Berra was unsure if he could manage, so he turned down a two-year contract & insisted on a one-year deal. Although he got the team to the World Series, the last one they would play in for another twelve years, they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in seven games. Even after all his years with the organization, Berra was fired. Across the borough in Queens, former AL New York team GM George Weiss & manager Casey Stengel were now running the Mets, National League baseball team heading into the club's fourth season.  Casey a huge fan of Berra, once said he never played a big game without his man, that man was Berra. The Mets gave Berra a position as a player/coach. With his wife Carmen's...