Matthew Cerrone:  That has to be a big difference in the game, I would think, compared to when you last managed in America.  In fact, what kind of changes have you noticed in the game since you left?

Bobby Valentine:  Well, there are a lot of new players… There’s been such a turn over, it’s unbelievable.  Basically, I left in the height of the Steroid Era, and at that time, in 2004, there was very little mention about the team concepts.  Everything was about the guy who could throw 100 mph and hit it 500 feet.  That’s all people cared about.  That and On Base Percentage, which, of course, at that time was being discussed as if it was a new concept, and most people knew it was anything but new.  Now I’m back, and I see people are actually caring about how the game of baseball is played.  They care about the composition of how a team is comprised.  They have a better understanding of the value of a bullpen, in addition to the closer.  So, I think baseball is, as we speak, it’s being re-born again and going back to the future and I kind of like that.

"He's A-plus as far as being a manager, knowing the game, and handling people," said former Marlins pitching coach Rich Donnelly, who served in the same role when Valentine arrived in Texas in 1985. "I don't know his IQ, but it's probably pretty high. He sees things clearer than a lot of people."

"I compare him a lot to Bill Parcells that way," said (Mitch) Williams, who was a rookie on Valentine's Rangers club in 1986. "They're going to do things their way. If ownership wants a guy they can put their thumb on and control what they do, Bobby's not one of those guys.

"He thinks he knows more than anybody, and rightfully so. But he has to understand that somebody else owns the club. If he rubs his owner the wrong way- well, that's the guy who's going to decide his employment status." 

SOURCE: Palm Beach Post