N.Y. Mets manager talks on the business side of sporting world

Even though his team is now fighting for a winning record, New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine was still the most popular person in the room during his question-and-answer session in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall yesterday afternoon. After being greeted by the standing-room only crowd of over 100 students -- many sporting Mets hats and jerseys -- with chants of "Let's Go Mets!" and "Bobby V.!," Valentine opened the floor to questions. Valentine is in Philadelphia this week with his team, which is playing a four-game series against the Phillies at Veterans Stadium. Though many of the students came to hear the colorful veteran skipper spin baseball anecdotes rather than spout business expertise, students posed questions ranging from what Valentine referred to as "the business of baseball" to "the monkey business of the New York Mets." For instance, when asked what business skills are required to be a general manager, Valentine said, "In the successful organization there will be more of a line between the front office suits and the guys who wear costumes on the field." Many students asked questions about the current Mets season, to which Valentine -- who has been managing the Mets since 1996 -- offered typically candid responses. Of Hall of Fame-bound lead off hitter Rickey Henderson, with whom he has a notoriously tempestuous relationship, Valentine joked: "I just ignore him." "I try to not change his personality but to get him to play as hard as he can everyday that he goes out there," he added. One of the afternoon's funnier moments came when Valentine was asked how he thought the fans will react when John Rocker -- the vilified Atlanta Braves pitcher who made racial slurs and anti-New York comments several months ago in a Sports Illustrated article-- visits Shea Stadium. Valentine predicted that the response "is going to be ridiculous" and laughed when an audience member jokingly tossed a battery to him, deeming it a "prelude" to what Rocker would be welcomed with at the stadium. Valentine's talk was sponsored by the Wharton Wide World of Sports club, and was organized by the club's co-founders Jared Prushansky and Nilloy Phukan, both Wharton freshmen. Valentine addressed a publicized incident that took place last season, in which, after being ejected from a game, he returned to the dugout in a disguise. He blamed the media for making too much of the incident. "That was stimulated and stirred by the media," he said. Following the talk, Valentine signed autographs and even offered a few pitching tips to Wharton freshman Jon Searle, who was drafted last year by the Pittsburgh Pirates. "Any time you can talk baseball with anyone who knows what they're talking about, you should try to take advantage of that situation," Searle said. The talk was well-received by most of those in attendance. Engineering freshman Evelyn Protano said she "thought he was very informative, not only about baseball, but also about the managerial and business aspect of the New York Mets." And Valentine said he enjoyed this rare chance to speak with college students."I think if they just come away with the fact that there's a guy from baseball that cares enough about what they're doing in life? that'd be great."