In a recent Q&A session, Bobby Valentine was questioned about his actions during his time as manager of the New York Mets. Valentine recalled his days in the dugout wearing his fake mustache and sunglasses. That happened 25 years ago.
Who asked the question? I am a 9 year old fan.
“His father and mother probably never met, but he wanted to know.” Valentine joked. “I was amazed at the legs that lasted a minute and a half of my life.”
Even though he wasn’t alive on June 9, 1999, there are many baseball fans who are well aware of 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 returned to the Shea Stadium dugout in disguise.
The disguise was now an interesting subject for Valentine and Orel Hershiser, who played a key role in the attempts to hide Valentine. And 25 years later, this fact is still something many people, young and old, laugh at, and it helped make Valentine a fan favorite.
mustache? Valentine reportedly found a black eye sticker in the practice room and placed it upside down under his nose.
“I looked in the mirror and it looked pretty good,” Valentine said. “But Orel looked at me and said, ‘They’ll never know.’ “The rest is history.”
June 9, 1999: @Mets Manager Bobby Valentine was ejected in the 12th inning. He sneaks into Dugout Shea Stadium wearing dark sunglasses and a fake mustache. #LGM pic.twitter.com/fMgSiyJ5yu
— Mets Rewind (@metsrewind) June 9, 2024
The Mets were tied 3-3 with Toronto on the night of June 12, and Blue Jays infielder Craig Grebeck came to the plate along with first baseman Shannon Stewart. When Stewart attempted to steal second base, the Mets called a pitch. Catcher Mike Piazza stole the ball wide from Pat Mahomes and attempted to throw Stewart out. However, when Piazza threw, he was called for a catcher’s balk because he went too far in front of the plate.
Valentine left the dugout to question umpire Randy Marsh and was ejected. After his ejection, Valentine thought of a way to get the message from the clubhouse to the dugout. A common practice for a disqualified manager was to watch the game on television and have a “runner” relay the message to the interim manager. Hershiser volunteered to be a runner, but Shea’s set-up involved running up and down stairs, making Hershiser’s offer to deliver a timely message unrealistic.
“Then Hershiser said, ‘Why don’t you come out to the dugout?’” said Valentine. “Then he threw his glasses and hat at me.”
Hershiser said he’s not sure who came up with the disguise as a solution, but he doesn’t intend to argue with the request, so to speak.
“I don’t know what his version (of the story) is,” Hershiser said. “To do that, I thought it would be best to cover it up as much as possible. “I believe him when he says I gave him the hat.”
Hershiser was tasked with blocking the referee’s view of Valentine, with help from Mahomes. Valentine said the cameras used to capture players in the dugout “destroyed” him.
Hershiser, who currently works as an analyst for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was familiar with the broadcast system. That’s what he saw as a Dodgers pitcher when manager Tommy Lasorda was thrown out of a game.
Now it’s an interesting story for Valentine. Especially since the Mets won that game on Rey Ordóñez’s walk-off hit in the 14th inning. But at the time, the ejection wasn’t fun, Valentine said. He was fined $5,000 and suspended two games for the stunt.
“And (Hershiser) never wanted to pay half the fine. And he was making more money than me.” Valentine said with a smile. “Go and find out.”
Hershiser responded, “No one forced him to do this.” “We just helped the managers with their ideas or added to their ideas.”
Additionally, there wasn’t much laughter around the Mets in late May and early June 1999. After eight straight losses, the general manager fired pitching coach Bob Apodaca, hitting coach Tom Robson, and bullpen coach Randy Niemann and left Valentine. He is worried about his job security with his revamped coaching staff.
But the Mets have turned things around, winning six of seven since their June 9 victory. This was actually the team’s fourth straight win. The Mets went 17-10 during the month and finished the regular season with a 97-66 record. They defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS and lost to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.
Even 25 years later, Valentine said he’s never heard much of the embellishment about the story. However, he was told that he prepared disguises at each stadium, but this was not true.
Hearing people of all ages, even 9-year-olds, still talking about it means it was truly a moment.
“I think it’s all about making people laugh,” Valentine said. “I’m glad today’s levity helped, and I think it helped then too.”
(Photo: John Conrad Williams, Jr. / Newsday RM via Getty Images)
