New York Mets: Remembering Bobby Valentine’s 1999 ejection and hilarious return to the dugout
New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine was ejected 19 years ago to the day and returned to his dugout with a fake mustache and sunglasses.
June 9, 1999. The New York Mets were trailing the Atlanta Braves by six games for the NL East lead. The Toronto Blue Jays countered them on the field in a 3-3 top of the 12th.
Shannon Stewart was on first and Craig Grebeck was hitting during the play that lead to Valentine’s ejection. Pitcher Pat Mahomes threw a pitch out to catcher Mike Piazza, who then tried to catch Stewart stealing second. Seems routine, right? It was ruled catcher interference.
Piazza had stood up and caught the ball before it crossed the plate, which resulted in the interference call. The call resulted in the hitter being awarded first and the runner second. Valentine subsequently took the field to make his case, ultimately leading to his ejection.
But 12 innings wasn’t enough baseball for Bobby Valentine on that day in 1999. He was later spotted in the back of the dugout with sunglasses, a new hat and a fake mustache; a disguise rivaled only by Clark Kent’s. The Mets would go on to win the game 3-2 on a walk-off hit from Rey Ordonez. It was the Mets’ longest game of the year.
However, for the Mets and Bobby Valentine, it wasn’t just a fun, quirky baseball story. Valentine was fined $5,000 and suspended for two games as a result of his stunt. The Mets went 1-1 during Valentine’s suspension.
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The Mets ended up having themselves a pretty good year in 1999. Their 97-66 record was good for an NL Wild Card appearance, in which they defeated the Cincinnati Reds. They went on to lose the NLCS to the Atlanta Braves in six games.