THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994 TAG: 9406090661
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940609 LENGTH: NORFOLK
Itchy school crowds. Sleepy breakfast crowds. Sports club lunch crowds. Breast-of-capon banquet crowds. Eager coaches clinic crowds. Mall promotions. Restaurant openings. Youth-league first pitches.
{REST} Most anywhere there has ever been people and a personal invitation, Valentine has worked the room.
So this recent appearance at Ruffner Middle School in Norfolk that would constrict the throats of other men was just that - another appearance for Valentine.
Dressed in a dark blue sportcoat, tie and white sneakers - a calculated, casual link to his listeners - the Norfolk Tides manager delivered a brisk, booming talk on his special three Rs - respect, responsibility and reality.
Time was critical, because middle school attention spans dissipate in a hurry. Brief hello, direct message, a few questions and answers, then thanks and farewell.
Maybe some kids were listening. Most seemed to be, but you never know. Everybody perked up towards the end, though, when Valentine mentioned that Michael Jordan was trying his ``damndest'' to succeed at baseball.
Judging from a rambunctious audience reaction, ``damn'' and its variations are not taught in Ruffner's English classes.
``You don't go out and swear, but once in a while it seems like a less-prepared text when they hear that word,'' Valentine said. ``Little impact words like damn and hell get them with kids.''
Just another attempt to connect, Valentine said, even for a moment.
``If I hit five of them, it might make a difference,'' Valentine said. ``It's a crapshoot. I have
no visions of grandeur with any of this stuff. That I can go in with some magic wand into that environment and every kid will go home and recite my three Rs to mom and dad.
``But I think there's a good chance that when the image of baseball, the image of the Tides, is flashed through their mind, that now they'll have a real-life association. And that could bring them closer.''
Drawing parts of a city closer to its baseball team has been a Valentine priority, and a specialty, since 1968. That was when Tommy Lasorda, Valentine's mentor, forced his rookie-league players in Ogden, Utah into community action.
There was no alternative, Valentine said. If you played ball there, if you asked the townspeople to pay money to watch you, you returned the favor when favors were asked.
``From signing autographs to being present when needed for a cold ham sandwich or some overcooked piece of chicken, it didn't matter,'' Valentine said. ``That was your responsibility.
``I've done it when I was a good player and when I was the 25th man on the team. When I was a coach and right through to when I was a big league manager.
``I just do it.''
So much so that the Tides have a community relations guy, Mike Dotts, who spends much of his week doing Valentine's schedule.
``When I first met him, I told him I'm the guy who's going to try to take the Tides outside of Harbor Park,'' Dotts said. ``He said, `We're going to have a busy summer.' ''
``He's always real excited about himself or the players going out into the community and spreading the good word.''
If that sounds suspiciously like actually asking to be looked upon as a role model, it's because Valentine wants it to.
``I don't think (a professional athlete) should be this cartoon character who just appears in the newspaper or on television and never presents the real person in that community,'' Valentine said.
``Obviously, some guys don't feel that way. They feel they can just go to work and leave work and not be bothered by anyone. I don't believe that. I believe a public figure is a public figure and part of the reason we're paid so handsomely is because of the position we're in in society. We're held in high esteem in society, and therefore we need to be responsible to that society.''
Somewhere in a middle school auditorium, something Valentine said about just that subject, personal responsibility, might have fallen on an open pair of ears.
He's probably never going to know. But Valentine does know that he tried his best - because it was the least he could do.
{KEYWORDS} PROFILE
by CNB