What to Know
- President-elect Donald Trump has allegedly placed Bobby Valentine on a short-list of candidates for the job of U.S. Ambassador to Japan
- The former Mets manager has known Trump since the early 1980s and is close with Anthony Scaramucci, a member of his transition team
- He is friendly with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe; the two attended the University of Southern California
Bobby Valentine could be saying sayonara to a career in athletics and hello to a stint in global politics.
The former Mets and Red Sox manager is on President-elect Donald Trump's short-list of candidates for United States Ambassador to Japan, WEEI reports.
It isn't an outlandish choice for Trump, given the history between the gentlemen — the two have known each other since the early 1980s. Valentine is also close to Anthony Scaramucci, a member of Trump's Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee.
Scaramucci established a scholarship fund at Sacred Heart University in 2014, where the former major league manager is currently the executive director of intercollegiate athletics.
Valentine declined to comment when contacted by NBC 4 New York on Friday, saying that he "really can't talk about this."
His connections to Japan could make him a viable candidate for the job. He managed the Chiba Lotte Marines of Nippon Professional Baseball for seven seasons, becoming the first U.S.-born manager to win the Japan Series in 2005.
U.S. & World
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could help the 66-year-old with his transition into politics: the two are friendly and both attended the University of Southern California.