The music? It's a Japanese band called DEEN. The guy in the blue dazzling us with his dance moves? That's Bobby Valentine. Yes, that Bobby Valentine. After making his name managing the Rangers and the Mets over here in the states, Valentine is currently the skipper of the Chiba Lotte Marines across the pond in Japan ... as well as a part-time dance instructor.
Chris Ballard wrote a long article about Valentine for Sports Illustrated that contains too many hilarious anecdotes and observations for me to adequately list here, but in addition to making cameos in J-pop videos, Valentine teaches a dance class at a Gold's Gym near his Chiba apartment in exchange for a free membership. (Don't infer that he's hurting for cash, though, as he's apparently pulling in $3.5 million a year, more than any baseball manager anywhere this side of Joe Torre). Valentine brings his love for dancing to the ballpark, as well:
Before Saturday-night home games Valentine, who was a ballroom dancing champion as a teenager, teaches the cha-cha to Marines fans as a way to attract women to the park. (It's worked; more women and children buy tickets to see the Marines than to see any other Japanese baseball team.)
Let's see Torre do that.
