THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 7, 1994 TAG: 9410070736
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 135 lines
The deal could be worth as much as $2 million a year, but Norfolk Tides manager Bobby Valentine says he has yet to accept an offer to manage and help operate a Japanese League baseball team.
``I very well might do it, but I'm not ready to make it official yet,'' Valentine said from his home in Fort Worth, Texas. ``There's a few T's that haven't been crossed and a few I's that aren't dotted. It's a very complex contract. The obligations and responsibilities are great. I've got to figure out if that's the bite I want to take out of the apple.''
The New York Mets have offered Valentine, former manager of the Texas Rangers, the chance to return for a second season with the Tides. He made about $65,000 managing in Norfolk and is under contract to the Mets through October.
Valentine said he is also very aware of the number of openings at the major league level in the United States. He wouldn't comment on his interest in vacancies in Boston, Kansas City and Baltimore other than to say, ``I was in with Boston, but I don't think I am anymore.''
Valentine could be a candidate in Chicago, too, if the Cubs hire Ed Lynch, a Mets' special assistant, as expected and fire manager Tom Trebelhorn.
But none of those jobs would compare in money or uniqueness to the chance to be point man in the radical effort proposed by the Chiba Lotte Marines, a perennial losing team that wants Valentine to help ``Americanize'' their game.
Valentine said the contract under discussion, two years with an option year, would be for more than $1 million per, with bonus and other considerations that could elevate that figure to $2 million.
``If pay was the determining factor, anybody would go,'' said Valentine, who owns six restaurants in Texas, Connecticut and Rhode Island. ``It's a lot of money.''
Valentine said his responsibilities would extend far beyond simply managing games. There will be a general manager, but Valentine said he would still be active in overhauling the entire organization, including minor league teams. That would include establishing a budget, signing up to three American players and hiring one to two American coaches to assist him, as well as one American minor league manager.
In addition, as part of its normal two-month spring training, Valentine has proposed that the team train a month in Japan and a month in Arizona. Valentine would be responsible for arranging the stint in this country.
Valentine, who spent 11 days last month touring Japan and watching his prospective team play, said the job is his to take until Nov. 15. A determining factor in his decision, he said, will be whether he has the desire and stamina to tackle all his potential tasks.
Valentine had intestinal surgery in early September and still feels those effects, he said. He would need to dive into the new job, including language courses, right away.
``I'm trying to figure out if I'm up for making the effort it takes to conquer (the language),'' Valentine said. ``I don't want to go in half-assed. I'd have an interpreter the entire time, and once you get on the field it's really just baseball-ese. But I don't want it to be just that. I'd rather try to get into the culture a little.
``Right now, I'm tired, and this is a major effort. But it's exciting as hell. When I'm in the mood, my blood gets going thinking about it.''
Mets minor league director Steve Phillips said he is ``holding out hope'' that Valentine will return to Norfolk, ``but I think it sounds like it's going to be a real opportunity for him. It's been intriguing to him all along, and nothing diminished that on his trip.''
Should Valentine leave, Phillips said Double-A manager John Tamargo, whose Binghamton, N.Y., team won the Eastern League championship, would not necessarily get the Tides' job.
``I don't think we'd just hand it to him, but he'd certainly be one that would get interviewed for the position,'' Phillips said.
The deal could be worth as much as $2 million a year, but Norfolk Tides manager Bobby Valentine says he has yet to accept an offer to manage and help operate a Japanese League baseball team.
``I very well might do it, but I'm not ready to make it official yet,'' Valentine said from his home in Fort Worth, Texas. ``There's a few T's that haven't been crossed and a few I's that aren't dotted. It's a very complex contract. The obligations and responsibilities are great. I've got to figure out if that's the bite I want to take out of the apple.''
The New York Mets have offered Valentine, former manager of the Texas Rangers, the chance to return for a second season with the Tides. He made about $65,000 managing in Norfolk and is under contract to the Mets through October.
Valentine said he is also very aware of the number of openings at the major league level in the United States. He wouldn't comment on his interest in vacancies in Boston, Kansas City and Baltimore other than to say, ``I was in with Boston, but I don't think I am anymore.''
Valentine could be a candidate in Chicago, too, if the Cubs hire Ed Lynch, a Mets' special assistant, as expected and fire manager Tom Trebelhorn.
But none of those jobs would compare in money or uniqueness to the chance to be point man in the radical effort proposed by the Chiba Lotte Marines, a perennial losing team that wants Valentine to help ``Americanize'' their game.
Valentine said the contract under discussion, two years with an option year, would be for more than $1 million per, with bonus and other considerations that could elevate that figure to $2 million.
``If pay was the determining factor, anybody would go,'' said Valentine, who owns six restaurants in Texas, Connecticut and Rhode Island. ``It's a lot of money.''
Valentine said his responsibilities would extend far beyond simply managing games. There will be a general manager, but Valentine said he would still be active in overhauling the entire organization, including minor league teams. That would include establishing a budget, signing up to three American players and hiring one to two American coaches to assist him, as well as one American minor league manager.
In addition, as part of its normal two-month spring training, Valentine has proposed that the team train a month in Japan and a month in Arizona. Valentine would be responsible for arranging the stint in this country.
Valentine, who spent 11 days last month touring Japan and watching his prospective team play, said the job is his to take until Nov. 15. A determining factor in his decision, he said, will be whether he has the desire and stamina to tackle all his potential tasks.
Valentine had intestinal surgery in early September and still feels those effects, he said. He would need to dive into the new job, including language courses, right away.
``I'm trying to figure out if I'm up for making the effort it takes to conquer (the language),'' Valentine said. ``I don't want to go in half-assed.
``Right now, I'm tired, and this is a major effort. But it's exciting as hell. When I'm in the mood, my blood gets going thinking about it.''
Mets minor league director Steve Phillips said he is ``holding out hope'' that Valentine will return to Norfolk, ``but I think it sounds like it's going to be a real opportunity for him. It's been intriguing to him all along, and nothing diminished that on his trip.''
Should Valentine leave, Phillips said Double-A manager John Tamargo, whose Binghamton, N.Y., team won the Eastern League championship, would not necessarily get the Tides' job.
``I don't think we'd just hand it to him, but he'd certainly be one that would get interviewed for the position,'' Phillips said. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Color photo
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB