August 28, 2012; Anaheim, CA, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine (25) during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
Yarmouth-Dennis – Bobby Valentine, OF
Boston Red Sox, 2012 (manager)
Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, 1967
Bobby V. may be despised in Boston for his role in the circus that was the 2012 Red Sox season, but he has seen success at many levels of the game, going back to his days growing up in Stamford, CT. At 17, he was one of the youngest players on the Cape for the then-Yarmouth Indians and impressed with a .294 average, three homers, 17 runs batted in, and led the league with 31 runs scored.
Y-D is my hometown team. They play their games at the impeccably manicured Red Wilson Field on the grounds of my high school. While the Sox disappointed during my childhood (missing the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons from 1991 to 2000, they are the closest thing to a Cape League dynasty in the new century, with four league titles since 2004.
Other alums with Boston connections include bespectacled starting pitcher Joe Kelly and Ranaudo, who also pitched for Brewster but was Kelly’s teammate during the summer of 2008.