Bobby Valentine was not merely a manager in Japan. He became a cultural phenomenon during his time as the manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004-09. That notion is highlighted by his presence in the video below, which evidently vaulted the song “Diamond” by Deen to No. 5 on the Japanese pop charts.

In addition to offering a forum for Valentine to highlight his dancing talents, the video is also noteworthy since the staged “press conference” in the video does bear some resemblance to the one in which Valentine was introduced as Red Sox manager, particularly the photo op moment in which Valentine, Sox GM Ben Cherington, principal owner John Henry and CEO Larry Lucchino piled their hands in a show of unity.

Thanks to Dr. Ted Gilman and Prof. Andrew Gordon of Harvard’s Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies for passing this along.