THE SHU FITS: Bobby Valentine poses with members of the Sacred Heart women’s lacrosse team after he’s introduced as the Fairfield college’s new athletic director by James Barquinero, the school’s VP of athletics and student affairs. (Tracy Deer/ SHU; AP)
Bobby Valentine doesn’t think it mattered who managed the Red Sox last year. They wouldn’t have been any better.
“I thought I did a hell of a job in Boston,” Valentine said yesterday at his introductory press conference at Sacred Heart University. “I thought what had to be done there was done, except for winning a pennant — but Connie Mack wasn’t going to win with that team.”
Neither was Valentine.
His miserable year at the helm of the Red Sox resulted in Valentine’s dismissal shortly after the 69-93 season ended.
And that made him available to take over as the athletic director at Sacred Heart, the small Catholic school in Fairfield, Conn.
Despite the losses and the messy ending, Valentine is confident his time at Fenway hasn’t tarnished his legacy.
“It’s six months of a 62-year life,” Valentine said. “It’s six months of a 42-year career in baseball. It’s a blip, a little spot on the radar, as far as I’m concerned.”
Valentine takes over his new role at the Division I school on July 1, but he wouldn’t rule out managing again.
“If some team calls, I’ll always answer the phone,” Valentine said. “It doesn’t mean I’m going to rush to judgment and run away from a situation I think is a very good situation.”
Valentine bristled at the idea his new role at Sacred Heart, which is not far from his hometown of Stamford, Conn., was “a joke” when he was asked about it during a press conference.
“Ouch,” Valentine said. “If it’s a joke, it’s an inside joke. I’m very serious about everything I do in my life.”
School president Dr. John Petillo called it an “unconventional” hire and Valentine refused to look too far ahead about what his future may hold.
“I’m a guy who loves challenges,” said Valentine, adding he can make up for a lack of familiarity with the NCAA and its many rules and regulations. “One thing you can’t teach is experience and I’ve got boatloads of experience.”
That includes the failure in Boston. Just a year ago, Valentine was the toast of New England, biking to the Red Sox spring training complex in Fort Myers, Fla., every day, talking about competing in the AL East.
The honeymoon didn’t last long and despite the disappointment, Valentine insisted he didn’t have too hard a time getting over what happened.
“I don’t look back,” said Valentine, who was replaced in Boston by former Blue Jays manager John Farrell. “Maybe there was one bike ride [after the firing] when I said, ‘Oh darn.’ It’s one of those things.”