So, Bobby Valentine will be the new manager of the Boston Red Sox. Surprised? Not me. The now 61-year-old former skipper of the Texas Rangers, New York Mets and Chiba Lotte Marines said a few years ago while still working in Japan, "I plan to be in uniform until I'm 70 years old."
After two years of not wearing a team logo, Valentine will be back where he belongs — in the dugout, this time at historic Fenway Park.
The news broke on Wednesday Japan time that Boston had decided to hire Valentine over Gene Lamont, the other of two finalists for the job. At the time, Valentine was en route back to the U.S. from Japan where he had come to participate in a few charity events, including further assistance to victims of the March 11 Tohoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami disasters.