The Boston skipper made up his mind, and even though it took some time for him to reveal his decision to everyone, he finally informed the media on Saturday that alcohol will no longer be permitted in the Boston clubhouse.
"The rules are not to embarrass themselves or the team, the community, their teammates," Valentine said of the decision. "That's a long-standing rule of life. It's just what I've already done, except for when I was in Texas I guess. I'm comfortable with it that way."
Players will also be prohibited from drinking alcohol on flights back to Boston. The decision was met with "probably somewhere right in between a standing [ovation] and a standing boo," according to Valentine.
David Ortiz, the longest tenured player on the club, is one player who isn't concerned with Valentine's decision saying, "We're not here to drink, we're here to play baseball."
Josh Beckett, who took a lot of heat during last season's fallout, said the decision doesn't matter to him, as it's a decision that's out of his hands.
So all in all, no big deal, right?
Well, Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon apparently doesn't think so, as he reportedly stated back in October that alcohol would still be allowed in his clubhouse and that banning it is "asinine." He expressed a similar sentiment in the wake of Valentine's ban.
"For me at the end of the day, I'd much prefer our players making good decisions, and if you're of legal age, and the game is over, and you've sweated and lost a bunch of pounds and you want to sit down and have a beer, I see nothing wrong with that," Maddon said, according to WEEI.com.
So whose side are you on in this debate?
