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With the World Series concluding this past week, our thoughts turn to the 1983 Series and the man known as Rochester’s “Mr. Baseball” who skippered the championship team that year.
Joe Altobelli, who still lives in the Rochester area, was the manager of the Baltimore Orioles when the team beat the Philadelphia Phillies. That remains the last time that the Orioles, the longtime affiliate of the Rochester Red Wings, won the Series.
“It was my first year managing the Orioles. It was my big season, absolutely,” the 83-year-old Altobelli said in late October.
Altobelli got the “Mr. Baseball” title for his long involvement with the Red Wings. He’s the only person who was a player, manager, general manager and announcer for the team. Altobelli is the all-time winningest manager of the Wings, with 502 victories. He led the famed 1971 team to a Junior World Series championship and the 1974 team to a Governors’ Cup win.
The man known affectionately as “Alto” has certainly made an impression on Rochester. The Red Wings inducted him as a charter member of the team’s Hall of Fame and dedicated a statue to him in 2010. The team celebrated his 80th birthday with a postgame party at Frontier Field. Altobelli’s number 26 is one of two uniform numbers retired by the team. (He chose the number because his birthday is May 26.)
During the statue dedication in 2010, the ceremony included tributes from colleagues and fellow baseball lifers like Don Zimmer and Jim Frey. In a video tribute, Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. said, “You were always a good baseball man, Joe. But most importantly, you were always a good man.”
Altobelli appropriately was the final speaker that day. “I hope they remember a guy who played in a city he loved, and played the game with honesty, dedication and respect for all,” he said.
He didn’t mention World Series-winning manager. But local fans can’t forget.
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