Congratulations to Bobby Valentine who just a few hours ago skippered the Chiba Lotte Marines to a 4-game sweep of the Central League champion Hanshin Tigers in the best-of-seven Japan Series!

Nine years ago, the Marines hired Valentine in a desperate attempt to jump start their baseball club out of the second division of the six-team Japanese Pacific League and into contention. Valentine was hand-picked by then-Marines General Manager Tatsuro Hirooka, who took a chance with a gaijin (foreign) manager, even though Hirooka had a reputation as a strong proponent of the Japanese samurai-style of baseball.

Valentine applied American coaching techniques that were more laid back and otherwise quite different from the traditional Japanese play-til-you-die approach. For this he was often criticized here by purists (including Hirooka, it is reported) who thought the American way would make their players fat and lazy.

Why they hired an experienced American manager when they wanted the team managed in the “Japanese style” is one of the biggest mysteries of the whole saga.

Though Valentine was second-guessed by the front office virtually every step of the way, he led his charges to a second-place finish, marking only the second time the Marines finished in the top three in the previous 20 years.

Thanks - - Pick up your stuff on the way out
Despite all of Valentine’s success with the team, despite the fact that the fans loved his “Bobby Magic,” and despite the fact that home game attendance increased by 17 percent over the previous year — the Marines showed Bobby Valentine the door.

I remember hearing at the time that one of the “rationales” for his firing was the dubious claim that the team would have finished in first place had Valentine not introduced his lazy American ways. . .

Bobby got a one-way ticket back to the States, and the Marines got a one-way ticket back into the second division. A year later, Hirooka was out, and the Marines started dreaming about what might have been.

Valentine spent the next seven seasons managing the New York Mets, and when his contract with them was up in 2003, the Marines called on him again to rescue their team from the second division of the Pacific League, where they had been languishing since Valentine left.

Bobby agreed, and at his first press conference after returning he said, “I am very anxious to get to know the players of the Lotte team and the Pacific League once again, and I really believe when I left last time, I left my work incomplete, so I’m very excited.”

Last night, Bobby Valentine completed his work.

A series filled with exciting firsts
During the Japan Series, the Marines outscored the Tigers 33-4 and captured their first title in 31 years, becoming only the sixth Japanese team to win the series in a four-game sweep.

The MVP went to Marine Toshiaki Imae, who turned in an amazing 10-for-16, four-RBI performance and set a new Japan Series record for consecutive hits, going 8-for-8 for the first two games.

Valentine also entered the Japanese record books by becoming the first gaijin manager to win a Japan Series in the 70-year history of Japanese baseball.

“I would like to thank everyone in the Lotte organization,” Valentine said, “including (team owner) Mr. Shigemitsu, who had the faith to bring me back for a second time.”

——————- UPDATE 10/29/05

Both the Daily Yomiuri and the Japan Times carried an Associated Press report this morning that the Chiba Lotte Marines are “desperate to persuade Bobby Valentine to stay on next year, following their triumph in the Japan Series.”

The Marines reportedly are prepared to offer Valentine a new contract that is worth 1 billion yen (about $8.7 million) over three years to remain at the helm. The new offer apparently is because management knows what’s good for business, as both visitor and advertising numbers have been up for the team since Bobby arrived back on the scene.

Even Chiba Prefecture, home of the Marines is getting into the effort to keep Valentine onboard.

Akiko Domoto, governor of Chiba Prefecture anounce Thursday she would consider giving the [Valentine] a special citizen’s prize — usually an honor reserved for Japan’s Olympic medalists.