Sports
Bobby Valentine, Orel Hershiser, the Mets and a hilarious disguise 25 years ago
At a recent Q&A session, Bobby Valentine fielded a question that discussed his antics during his days as manager of the New York Mets. Valentine was reminded of a time where he wore — and was caught wearing — a fake mustache and sunglasses in the dugout. That happened 25 years ago.
The person who asked the question? A 9-year-old fan.
“His father and mother probably hadn’t even met, yet he wanted to know,” Valentine joked. “I’ve been amazed at the legs of that minute and a half of my life.”
There are a bunch of baseball fans who weren’t alive on June 9, 1999, yet somehow they are familiar with one of Valentine’s most infamous (or famous, depending on the person) moments. He was ejected during the 12th inning of what would be a 14-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays — but he would return to the Shea Stadium dugout wearing a disguise.
That disguise is now a fun topic for Valentine and Orel Hershiser, who played a key role in the attempt to hide Valentine. And 25 years later, it’s still something that many laugh at — young and old — and something that has helped to make Valentine a fan favorite.
The mustache? Valentine said he found eye black stickers from the training room and put them on upside down under his nose.
“I looked in the mirror, and it looked pretty good,” Valentine said. “And then Orel said, ‘They’ll never know,’ when he saw me. The rest is history.”
June 9, 1999: @Mets manager Bobby Valentine is ejected in the 12th inning. He sneaks back into the dugout Shea Stadium wearing dark sunglasses and a fake mustache. #LGM pic.twitter.com/fMgSiyJ5yu
— MetsRewind (@metsrewind) June 9, 2024
The Mets were tied 3-3 with Toronto in the top of the 12th on that June night, and Blue Jays infielder Craig Grebeck was at the plate with outfielder Shannon Stewart on first base. In Stewart’s attempt to steal second, the Mets called a pitchout. Catcher Mike Piazza took the pitch wide from Pat Mahomes and tried to throw out Stewart. Piazza, however, was called for a catcher’s balk for going too far in front of the plate on the throw.
Valentine left the dugout to question umpire Randy Marsh and was ejected. Following the ejection, Valentine thought about ways to get messages from the clubhouse to the dugout. A common practice for a disqualified manager was to watch the game on television and have a “runner” relay messages to the acting manager. Hershiser volunteered to be the runner, Valentine said, but the setup at Shea included running up and down stairs, making Hershiser’s offer to relay timely messages unrealistic.
“Then Hershiser says, ‘Why don’t you come out to the dugout?’” Valentine said. “That’s when he threw me glasses and the hat.”
Hershiser said he’s unsure who came up with the disguise as a solution, but he’s not about arguing the call, so to speak.
“I don’t know what his version (of the story) is,” Hershiser said. “It was like, if you’re going to do that, (you) better cover up as much as possible. If he said I gave him the hat, I believe him.”
Hershiser was tasked with blocking the umpire’s view of Valentine, with Mahomes assisting. Valentine said a camera used to capture players in the dugout “busted” him.
Hershiser, who now works as an analyst for the Los Angeles Dodgers, was familiar with the relay system. It was something he’d seen as a pitcher for the Dodgers when manager Tommy Lasorda was tossed from games.
It’s a funny story now for Valentine, particularly with the Mets ultimately winning that game on a Rey Ordóñez walk-off hit in the 14th. But the ejection wasn’t funny at the time, Valentine said. He was fined $5,000 and suspended two games for the stunt.
“And (Hershiser) never wanted to pay half the fine — and he was making more money than me,” Valentine said with a laugh. “Go figure that out.”
“No one was forcing him to do this,” Hershiser responded. “We were just helping our manager with his idea, or adding to the idea.”
To add, there wasn’t a lot of laughing around the Mets in late May and early June of 1999. General manager Steve Phillips had fired pitching coach Bob Apodaca, hitting coach Tom Robson and bullpen coach Randy Niemann after eight consecutive losses, leaving Valentine with a revamped coaching staff and worrying about his own job security.
The Mets, however, managed to turn things around, winning six of seven after that June 9 win, which actually was a fourth consecutive for the team. The Mets went 17-10 for the month and finished the regular season with a 97-66 record. They beat the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLDS before falling to the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS.
Twenty-five years later, Valentine said he hasn’t heard much embellishment of the story. But he has heard tales of him having a disguise ready at every stadium, which was not true.
To hear people of all ages — even 9-year-olds — still talk about it means it was indeed a moment.
“I think that it’s all about making people laugh,” Valentine said. “I’m glad the levity helps today, and I guess it helped then, too.”
(Photo: John Conrad Williams, Jr. / Newsday RM via Getty Images)
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Napoleon Solo took home the 2026 Preakness Stakes on Saturday, the 151st running of the race.
The favorite in Taj Mahal, the 1 horse, was in the lead from the start until the final turn until Napoleon Solo made his move on the outside and took the lead at the top of the stretch. As Taj Mahal fell off, Iron Honor, the 9 horse, snuck up, but the effort ultimately was not enough.
Napoleon Solo opened at 8-1 and closed at 7-1. Iron Honor, at 8-1, finished second, with Chip Honcho fishing third after closing at 11-1. Ocelli, one of just three horses to run both the Kentucky Derby two weeks ago and Saturday’s Preakness, finished fourth at 8-1.
A Preakness branded starting gate is seen on track prior to the 151st Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on May 16, 2026 in Laurel, Maryland. For the first and only time, Laurel Park is hosting the Preakness Stakes which is the second race of the Triple Crown jewel due to the traditional home of the race of the Pimlico Race Course undergoing complete renovations. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
A $1 exacta paid out $53.60, while a $1 trifecta brought in $597.10. But someone out there is very lucky, as a $1 superhighfive – picking the top-five finishers in order – paid out $12,015.70.
Even moreso, a 20-cent Pick 6 – picking the winners of the six consecutive races, with the final being the Preakness, paid out $33,842.34.
The race was run without the Kentucky Derby winner for the second year in a row. After Sovereignty did not run the Preakness last year – and wound up winning the Belmont Stakes – the training team of Golden Tempo opted to skip the Maryland race.
From 1960 to 2018, only three Derby winners did not run in the Preakness. Three Derby winners have skipped the Preakness in the last five years, and for the sixth time in eight years, for various reasons, the Triple Crown had already been impossible to accomplish by the time the Preakness even rolled around.
“I understand that fans of the sport or fans of the Triple Crown are disappointed, but the horse is not a machine,” Golden Tempo’s trainer, Cherie DeVaux, told Fox News Digital earlier this week.
Paco Lopez, right, atop Napoleon Solo, edges out Iron Honor, ridden by Flavien Prat, to win the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
CHERIE DEVAUX REFLECTS ON MAKING KENTUCKY DERBY HISTORY AS FIRST FEMALE TRAINER TO WIN THE RACE
Only three horses from two weeks ago – Ocelli, Robusta, and Incredibolt, were back at the Preakness. Corona de Oro, the 11 horse on Saturday, was scratched well ahead of the Derby, and Great White, who reared up and fell on his back after becoming startled shortly before entering the Derby gate, took the 13 post on Saturday.
The Preakness went off roughly 24 hours after a horse died following the completion of his very first race.
Hit Zero, trained by Brittany Russell, came into the race as the favorite. However, he finished last in the race, which was won by another one of Russell’s horses, Bold Fact — and upon crossing the finish line, Hit Zero reportedly began coughing, dropped to his knees, then put his head down and died.
The Preakness took place at Laurel Park as Pimlico undergoes renovations. It was the first time ever that Pimlico did not host the race, moving roughly 20 miles south.
Paco Lopez, atop Napoleon Solo, wins the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, Friday, May 15, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Maryland. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
The Belmont Stakes, the final Triple Crown race, will take place on June 6. The race will return to Saratoga for a third year in a row as Belmont Park continues to be renovated.
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HIGH SCHOOL BOYS VOLLEYBALL
CITY SECTION FINALS
FRIDAY
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #3 Cleveland, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21
DIVISION IV
#7 Maywood CES d. #4 Math & Science College Prep, 25-17, 25-17, 25-23
At Venice
DIVISION II
#4 Marquez d. #6 Narbonne, 23-25, 25-19, 29-27, 25-16
DIVISION III
#13 Birmingham d. #2 Legacy, 25-20, 17-25, 31-33, 25-21, 15-10
SATURDAY
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 Chatsworth d. #1 Granada Hills, 24-26, 25-21, 25-14, 25-18
DIVISION V
314 Franklin d. #13 Rancho Dominguez, 25-18, 25-19, 25-16
SOUTHERN SECTION FINALS
THURSDAY
At Home Sites
DIVISION 9
Vasquez d. Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-19, 22-25, 25-21, 19-25, 15-10
FRIDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 1
#1 Mira Costa d. #3 Loyola, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22
DIVISION 4
Sunny Hills d. Royal, 24-26, 25-22, 27-25, 25-23
At Home Sites
DIVISION 5
Bishop Diego d. St. Anthony, 25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23
DIVISION 8
Temescal Canyon d. West Valley, 24-26, 25-16, 25-19, 25-23
SATURDAY
At Cerritos College
DIVISION 2
Orange Lutheran d. Edison, 3-1
DIVISION 3
Windward d. St, John Bosco, 24-26, 25–21, 25-22, 25-20
DIVISION 6
Culver City d. Garden Grove, 27-25, 25-20, 19-25, 21-25, 15-9
Sports
It’s Game 7, and we have a bet locked in as the Cavaliers and legacies are on the line against the Pistons
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The NBA takes a lot of flak for having meaningless games, and I can definitely understand it, watching on a random Wednesday in January. However, the playoffs have delivered over and over to viewers and rewarded us for putting up with garbage regular-season games.
This will be the fourth Game 7 of the playoffs. Three series have been sweeps, and the other three have been six games. That shows competitive hoops. Now, how do we bet this Game 7 in the Eastern Conference?
The Cleveland Cavaliers blew it. After not winning a road game all postseason, they took Game 5 in surprising fashion. It looked like they were going to win in six games. After all, they hadn’t lost a game at home in the postseason.
Instead, Detroit came out and blitzed the Cavs, never giving them a chance to get their footing. They lost in an ugly fashion and now have to figure out a way to win a game on the road.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden drives to the basket against the Detroit Pistons during the second half of Game 5 in the second-round NBA playoffs in Detroit on May 13, 2026. (Duane Burleson/AP)
It isn’t just the Cavs’ fate that rests in this game. It is also the legacy of James Harden and, to a lesser extent, Donovan Mitchell.
We know that Mitchell is a very good player, but he isn’t regarded as one of the best players ever. Harden is. Unfortunately, Harden has struggled in Game 7s. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 7.3 assists and 5.8 rebounds. That’s not terrible, but looking at his shooting percentages, he is at 35.3% and 22.2% in those games. He actually is 4-4 overall in the games, but in his past three, he has scored a combined 34 points over 113 minutes.
The Detroit Pistons seem to like playing with their backs against the wall. They are a gritty team, so I suppose it makes sense.
Detroit Pistons’ Jalen Duren reacts after allowing a pass to go out of bounds in the second half of Game 4 of the second-round NBA playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers in Cleveland on May 11, 2026. (Sue Ogrocki/AP)
Cade Cunningham continues to deliver for the team, and he finally got some help in Game 6 from Jalen Duren. This was never going to be an easy series for Duren, but it feels like he is taking more time to mature than others. He definitely improved this year, but the consistency they need from him just isn’t there yet.
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Now as the team goes home they will need Duren to be a beast on the glass. If he can keep the Pistons in the rebounding battle, they should win this game with ease. They won Game 6 by just three rebounds, but that takes away a big dimension of what Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley do for the Cavs. It isn’t everything, though, as the Pistons won the rebounding battle in both losses in Cleveland.
I don’t see this being a runaway game for the Pistons. Mitchell and Cunningham likely will cancel each other out with scoring. Harden needs to establish himself as the third-best player on the floor. I haven’t seen him do that in the postseason, yet.
Cleveland Cavaliers All-Stars Donovan Mitchell and James Harden talk during Game 2 in the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs vs. the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Ohio. (David Dermer/Imagn Images)
This is the second Game 7 of the playoffs for both of the clubs, so it isn’t like either will be caught off guard about what this entails.
If I look at it objectively, I think the Cavs have the better players. However, the Pistons have looked significantly better this season, and definitely in the playoffs overall. Both are prone to issues and slipping. The Cavs shouldn’t be as they are a veteran team.
This game has to be won by Cleveland, though. There is too much riding on the franchise and legacies of guys for them to not prepare properly for it. Maybe that’s weak analysis, but I’m taking the Cavs with the points and I do think they win outright. I expect a monster game from Mitchell, and Harden should get 10+ assists.
Either way, whoever wins will lose to the New York Knicks.
For more sports betting information and plays, follow David on X/Twitter: @futureprez2024
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