TTM Success - Bobby Valentine

I admit that I didn't care for the guy when he signed on as the manager of the Red Sox.  I thought it was a bad move on their part, and for once, I was actually right about something.  That being said, I still feel that Bobby Valentine is a good baseball guy, and had a good career as a manager.  Working now as the athletic director for Sacred Heart University, I figured that I would take a chance and see if I could obtain his autograph via TTM.

I did pretty well, I think.  I was able to get him on two different 1987 Topps, running my total up on the set that I have the most cards of (signed and otherwise).  I really like how the Team Leaders cards look when signed.  Too bad Ricky Wright doesn't sign (at last check), because that card would be 43rd all-timereally cool with both of their signatures.

I was able to get the 1976 Topps card of Valentine as a player signed as well.  The 1992 Topps was nice, due to the awesome Rangers jacket that Valentine is sporting.

Valentine (b. 1950) played in the majors in 1969 and 1971 to 1979 for the Dodgers, Angels, Padres, Mets and Mariners.  He had 441 hits, 12 home runs and a .260 batting average.

Valentine was named as manager of the Rangers in 1985 and managed them until 1992.  He had a record of 581-605 record with them (.490 win %), then moved on to the Mets, where he managed from 1996 to 2002.  His record with the Mets was 536-467 (.534 %).  He took them to the World Series in 2000 where they lost to the Yankees.  He managed the Red Sox for one dismal season in 2012 to a record of 69-93 (.426%).  No amount of chicken and beer could make his time there look any better.  His career managerial record is 1,186-1,165 (.504).  His 1,186 wins currently rank 43rd all-time.

I mailed to Valentine on March 17 and got the cards back on April 21, for a 35-day TAT.