The first time the Texas Rangers were relevant, Bobby Valentine was in the managers’ chair. From 1985 to 1992, Valentine was making out the lineup for the team which had for many years derisively been called “The Strangers.”
In 1986 the team won 87 games with several young stars emerging. Three more winning seasons came later, but ultimately, all managers are hired to be fired. Bobby was axed on July 9, with a mediocre 45-41 record for the 1992 season. His fate was cast by none other than the man they called “Dubya,” George W. Bush, the president of the Rangers.
The 46-year old Bush was not at all taken seriously in 1992. He was the underachieving son of the president of the United States. He was an admitted alcoholic, a sort of Ivy League fuckup.
But, less than a decade later, Dubya was president himself. And Bobby? Well, he went on to manage many more teams. and in 2000, the same year Bush was elected the 43rd president, Valentine guided the Mets to the World Series.
