Back With The Amazin's: Bobby Valentine Hired As Mets Studio Analyst For SNY
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Bobby Valentine was fired by the Red Sox on October 4, 2012, after one disastrous season as the manager in Boston.
But the former Mets manager has been keeping busy since his dismissal in Beantown. Last last month, Valentine was named the athletic director at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut.
And now, the 62-year-old has a new gig with ties to the franchise that he took to the National League Championship Series in 1999 and the World Series in 2000.
SportsNet New York, better known as SNY, announced on Thursday that it has hired Valentine as an analyst for the Mets' pre- and postgame shows before and after game telecasts.
He will make his debut on Monday -- Opening Day -- at 11:30 a.m., appearing on "Mets First Pitch." Valentine will be teamed with former Met and lead analyst Bob Ojeda and host Chris Carlin.
"We are extremely pleased to add Bobby Valentine as the newest member of our Mets broadcast team," Curt Gowdy, Jr., the senior vice president and executive producer of SNY, said in a statement. "As a former Mets Manager, Bobby brings an insightful and contemporary perspective to our studio coverage. In addition, his in-depth knowledge, candor and passion for the game of baseball will be a perfect complement to our award-winning Mets coverage."
Valentine will appear roughly 12-15 times throughout the 2013 season, SNY announced in a press release.
"I'm excited to join SNY's Mets coverage, which is regarded as one of the best in all of baseball," Valentine said in a statement. "After spending the better part of four decades with the team, I am looking forward to working with Bobby, Keith (Hernandez), Ronnie (Darling) and the rest of the Mets' on-air team starting with Opening Day."
Valentine brings a fair amount of on-air experience to his new position. He was an analyst on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball in 2011 and is presently a radio analyst with NBC Sports Radio .
Known affectionately around the league as "Bobby V," Valentine managed the Mets from 1996-2002 and played for the Amazin's in 1977 and 1978.
Happy to have Bobby V back with the franchise in some capacity, Mets fans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below...
