Donald Trump and Bobby ValentineZumapress.comPresident-elect Donald Trump reportedly is considering former Mets manager Bobby Valentine to be US ambassador to Japan.
Valentine, a former Major League Baseball player who also managed Japan’s champion Chiba Lotte Marines, is on the short list for the diplomatic post, according to WEEI Radio in Boston, where Valentine, 66, once managed the Red Sox.
Valentine, now athletic director at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., has engaged in discussions with Trump’s transition team, WEEI said. Both Valentine and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the University of Southern California.
He has also worked with Linda McMahon — the co-founder and former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment who was just tapped by Trump to run the Small Business Association.
According to WEEI, the suggestion to select Valentine was first made by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
