Major League Baseball

Happy 15th anniversary to Bobby Valentine's mustache disguise

Published Jun. 9, 2014 7:19 p.m. ET

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June 9, 1999. An otherwise normal day on the MLB calendar turned historically significant when New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine found the most creative of ways to respond to an ejection.

In the 12th inning of what would be a 14-inning game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Mets catcher Mike Piazza was called for catcher's interference. Valentine argued and was tossed.

An ejected manager is supposed to leave the field and catch the rest of the game from the clubhouse, but Valentine had other ideas. He returned to the dugout wearing sunglasses and a fake mustache in a humorous attempt to elude detection.

Major League Baseball didn't enjoy the ruse so much. The league fined Valentine $5,000 and suspended two games for the antics.

MLB Network's Bob Costas recaps the incident in this video:

Happy anniversary, Bobby V's mustache. You are missed.

In case you're wondering, the Mets won the game 4-3. Rey Ordonez singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 14th. Pat Mahomes got the win. The loss went to Tom Davey, who walked eventual winning run Luis Lopez to start the inning.