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FirstCuts: The Zen Of Bobby V, Without Mustaches and Glasses

May 14, 2008, 2:50 PM UTC

When I heard ESPN2 was airing a film titled The Zen of Bobby V, a film about former Mets and Rangers manager Bobby Valentine, I assumed that the Harold Reynolds Hug flick was only a week or two away.â†µ

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â†µâ†µAfter all, Valentine had spent some time on the ESPN set, and so often these ESPN movies are absolutely atrocious. Further diminishing my interest was the fact that I’m not a huge baseball fan.â†µ

â†µâ†µWith all that said, The Zen of Bobby V is completely worth your time because it not only focuses on Valentine’s cult status in Japan, but it takes an interesting look at Japanese baseball as a whole. Plenty of fun spoilers after the jump.â†µ

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â†µThree documentary film makers followed Valentine over a seven-month span as he managed the Chiba Lotte Marines through the 2007 season. The open of the film shows a montage that gives you an idea of what kind of star he is in Japan.â†µ

â†µâ†µAnd really, as mentioned before this jump, the movie is about two things: Valentine and Japanese baseball. In a short period of time, Valentine has become a rock star. He has his own beer (BoBeer) and even had a street named after him when his team won a championship in 2005.â†µ

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â†µâ†µWhen Valentine took over the Marines, the team was in bad shape. But the crew captured Valentine’s enthusiasm for baseball not only at the games in the form of some amazing promotions (pre-game dancing and a host of promotions you’d expect to see a minor league venues to draw out crowds), but also in the way he interacts with fans in Japan.â†µ

â†µâ†µFor much of the film, Valentine is biking around the city and in one instance, he actually stops to play baseball with a group of kids, offering them six tickets to that night’s game.â†µ

â†µâ†µFrom that simple gesture to Valentine’s wish to establish a minor league system in Japan, his passion to keep baseball as a nation’s No. 1 sport is clear.â†µ

â†µâ†µSo while the name of the film goes to Valentine, the real stars might be the Japanese fans. To quote Marines infielder Jose Ortiz, “No matter how much the fans in the States love baseball, I think here they love it more.”â†µ

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â†µâ†µThe combination of singing and coordination is remarkable and the only thing I can compare it to is maybe the most raucous SEC football crowd. At times, the crowd looks like a combination of crunk dancing and moshing. I’m not sure I could hang.â†µ

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â†µâ†µRather than spoiling the entire film, I’ll give you a quick list of important names you’ll see throughout the documentary.â†µ

â†µâ†µJulio Zuleta: The Marines’ big power hitter who actually does a home run dance as he returns to the dugout.â†µ

â†µâ†µPaul Pupo, Benny Agbayani, Frank Ramppen: Three people Valentine surrounded himself with after previous experience in the bigs.â†µ

â†µâ†µCrazy, shirtless sunglasses guy: See picture above. Also, crazy.â†µ

â†µâ†µTrey Hillman: Nippon Ham Fighters manager in 2007, went on to manage the Royals.â†µ

â†µâ†µSadaharu Oh: Legendary home run hitter (868 in his career); also manages the SoftBank Hawks.â†µ

â†µâ†µMasa Kobayashi: Reliever for the Marines who goes on to sign with the Indians.â†µ

â†µâ†µYasuhiko Yabuta: Reliever for the Marines who goes on to sign with Hillman’s Royals.â†µ

â†µâ†µIt’s an ESPN production, so you know it’s bound to re-air more than a few times. Keep your eyes open for this one in repeats this week.
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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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