Bobby Valentine

AL WEST

Refusing to accept a chilling verdict on his career, California's Bobby Valentine is running on a grotesquely injured leg—and batting .300

Bottom of the fifth, nobody out. From the corner of my eye, I checked the runner on third, Steve Garvey, then stared in to get the catcher's sign. Fastball.

When he fractured his leg after crashing into a fence in Anaheim 12 years ago, Bobby Valentine, who might have been a star, became a survivor. He immediately began preparing himself for a managing job. Most recently...

When Bobby Valentine wasn't performing the spring training duties of a major league manager—i.e., evaluating talent, sounding upbeat and squinting—he was scurrying about like a minor league skipper, repairing the...