NakamuraTalkin' Baseball with Bobby Valentine: Part 2
Bobby's First Surgery
During Bobby's playing days, Valentine was a star. His high school numbers were beyong astronomical and his minor league statistics weren't far behind. "I was the best on my team", said Bobby, "I played everyday, every inning". But then, a fatal accident happened. While playing for the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Hawaii, Bobby was hit by a pitch. First pitch of the game. Accidents happen, so no big deal, right? Well, usually. But this time, the hitter was hit in the cheek.
Like anybody who is hit in the face with an object traveling at 95mph, he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. But what information the doctors found out was not pretty. His cheek bone was highly disfigured, dropping about 3 inches below what a healthy human would have. It was clear that he needed surgery. Doctors formulated a rather routine plan (for routine situations like this). They would remove the cheek skin and muscles, move the bone, re-adjust it, re-mold it, and place some sort of cover over the work. That's it. Sound simple? In english, it would mean that Bobby would look like a freak because there would be a big hold in the side of his mouth. Beautiful.
But Bobby didn't go through with that procedure (which you may have figured out by the fact that his face is still somewhat intact). Why? Because he found an alternative. Or more like the alternative found him. During the game in which he was hit, there was a certain fan in the stands. A special, unique and important fan. A fan who just happened to be a world renowned plastic surgeon. "He followed me outside, rode inside the ambulance with me and went all the
way to the hospital with me".
The surgeon said he wanted to help. So what did he do? He got in contact with the team, who approved the procedure. So with the green light, the surgeon cut a hole in Valentine's head, used a tool to hook and pull the bone back up into place and cut a hole under his eye to secure everything in place. After sealing everything back up again, Bobby was back to normal. So who was that surgeon? Valentine doesn't know. "I never got to thank him" Why? Because he left Hawaii.
Years later, Bobby went to Japan as a manager for the Chiba Lotte Marines. One day, a fan approached him and said, "You know that surgeon that you talk about? I think that it may be my dad." to which Valentine replied with, "Really? Well what makes you say that?".
"Unfortunately, he's not here with us today. But back when he was around, my dad was a world class plastic surgeon. He was in America at around the same time period as you got your surgery. And he was also a die-hard Dodgers fan"
Bobby responded, "Hmm. Well, why did your dad leave? I never got a chance to thank him"
"Because my mother didn't know he was in Hawaii at the time"
Go Back to Part 1
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura. THE ARTICLE IS CREDITED TO BOBBY VALENTINE. THIS IS HIS STORY AND ALL RIGHTS GO TO HIM
During Bobby's playing days, Valentine was a star. His high school numbers were beyong astronomical and his minor league statistics weren't far behind. "I was the best on my team", said Bobby, "I played everyday, every inning". But then, a fatal accident happened. While playing for the AAA affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Hawaii, Bobby was hit by a pitch. First pitch of the game. Accidents happen, so no big deal, right? Well, usually. But this time, the hitter was hit in the cheek.
Like anybody who is hit in the face with an object traveling at 95mph, he was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. But what information the doctors found out was not pretty. His cheek bone was highly disfigured, dropping about 3 inches below what a healthy human would have. It was clear that he needed surgery. Doctors formulated a rather routine plan (for routine situations like this). They would remove the cheek skin and muscles, move the bone, re-adjust it, re-mold it, and place some sort of cover over the work. That's it. Sound simple? In english, it would mean that Bobby would look like a freak because there would be a big hold in the side of his mouth. Beautiful.
But Bobby didn't go through with that procedure (which you may have figured out by the fact that his face is still somewhat intact). Why? Because he found an alternative. Or more like the alternative found him. During the game in which he was hit, there was a certain fan in the stands. A special, unique and important fan. A fan who just happened to be a world renowned plastic surgeon. "He followed me outside, rode inside the ambulance with me and went all the
Bobby Valentine
The surgeon said he wanted to help. So what did he do? He got in contact with the team, who approved the procedure. So with the green light, the surgeon cut a hole in Valentine's head, used a tool to hook and pull the bone back up into place and cut a hole under his eye to secure everything in place. After sealing everything back up again, Bobby was back to normal. So who was that surgeon? Valentine doesn't know. "I never got to thank him" Why? Because he left Hawaii.
Years later, Bobby went to Japan as a manager for the Chiba Lotte Marines. One day, a fan approached him and said, "You know that surgeon that you talk about? I think that it may be my dad." to which Valentine replied with, "Really? Well what makes you say that?".
"Unfortunately, he's not here with us today. But back when he was around, my dad was a world class plastic surgeon. He was in America at around the same time period as you got your surgery. And he was also a die-hard Dodgers fan"
Bobby responded, "Hmm. Well, why did your dad leave? I never got a chance to thank him"
"Because my mother didn't know he was in Hawaii at the time"
Go Back to Part 1
-Written by: Nakamura. This article is copyrighted © by Nakamura. THE ARTICLE IS CREDITED TO BOBBY VALENTINE. THIS IS HIS STORY AND ALL RIGHTS GO TO HIM
