RIP Joe Altobelli

[TheSportsPredictor]

Joe Altobelli dies; led Orioles to 1983 title, beloved in Rochester

Followed Earl Weaver and managed Orioles to most recent World Series title his first season.

 

[Songbird]

I seem to remember having a lot of this card.

 

[Moderator1]

I was an intern in Richmond in 1976 and sent out to cover a few Braves games. Altobelli managed Rochester at the time, treated me like a king instead of a 20-year-old college kid with no experience and lots of stupid questions.

 

[Liut]

Thanks for sharing. Neat read. RIP

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

I think it was Jim Palmer who said something like, "Joe said hi to three people and broke Earl Weaver's record."

 

[garrow]

Part of the first Topps set I ever collected. RIP.

 

[DanOregon]

Altobelli seemed to be a guy who may not have eked out 1.5 extra wins a seasons for his team, but he really seemed to be a guy you bring in when a team has been underperforming under a Type A manager and you want to get the most out of the roster.

 

[Songbird]

I think that's called the Showalter Effect™ now.

Wasn't his thing ... to be brought in and then the team made huge strides in their second year?

Rk   Year                   Tm    W    L W-L%    G Finish Wpost Lpost Ejections
1    1992     New York Yankees   76   86 .469  162      4     0     0         4
2    1993     New York Yankees   88   74 .543  162      2     0     0         2
3    1994     New York Yankees   70   43 .619  113      1     0     0         1
4    1995     New York Yankees   79   65 .549  145      2     2     3         2
                                                                              
5    1998 Arizona Diamondbacks   65   97 .401  162      5     0     0         1
6    1999 Arizona Diamondbacks  100   62 .617  162      1     1     3         1
7    2000 Arizona Diamondbacks   85   77 .525  162      3     0     0         1
                                                                              
8    2003        Texas Rangers   71   91 .438  162      4     0     0         0
9    2004        Texas Rangers   89   73 .549  162      3     0     0         0
10   2005        Texas Rangers   79   83 .488  162      3     0     0         2
11   2006        Texas Rangers   80   82 .494  162      3     0     0         4
                                                                              
12   2010    Baltimore Orioles   34   23 .596   57      5     0     0         2
13   2011    Baltimore Orioles   69   93 .426  162      5     0     0         3
14   2012    Baltimore Orioles   93   69 .574  162      2     3     3         2
15   2013    Baltimore Orioles   85   77 .525  162      3     0     0         2
16   2014    Baltimore Orioles   96   66 .593  162      1     3     4         1
17   2015    Baltimore Orioles   81   81 .500  162      3     0     0         2
18   2016    Baltimore Orioles   89   73 .549  162      2     0     1         1
19   2017    Baltimore Orioles   75   87 .463  162      5     0     0         1
20   2018    Baltimore Orioles   47  115 .290  162      5     0     0         1
              New York Yankees  313  268 .539  582    2.3     2     3         9
          Arizona Diamondbacks  250  236 .514  486    3.0     1     3         3
                 Texas Rangers  319  329 .492  648    3.3     0     0         6
             Baltimore Orioles  669  684 .494 1353    3.4     6     8        15
                               1551 1517 .506 3069    3.1     9    14        33

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 3/3/2021.

 

[HanSenSE]

He had the Giants in first place for much of the summer of 1978 before they faltered down the stretch. The first pennant race I really got into (well, hell, it had been a while since the Giants had been in one!). Was happy to see him have success with the Orioles.

 

[heyabbott]

I think it was Jim Palmer who said something like, "Joe said hi to three people and broke Earl Weaver's record."

Earl and Palmer was one of the best manager/player combos in history. I’m sure they really did hate each other with grudging respect.

not an O’s fan but was in college with a ton of them for the 1979 loss and 1983 Win. Altobelli was just what the team needed from an old cantankerous Earl. Earl was born to be 63 years old.

Altobelli and Earl have the same number of WS trophies. He didn’t manage the 66 Orioles.

RIP

 

[Splendid Splinter]

 

[micropolitan guy]

I always got him mixed up with Bob and Ken Aspromonte and Joey Amalfitano. I seemed to always get one of those guys in a pack of Topps cards. Bob and Ken Aspromonte, incidentally, were the only brothers to be selected in major league expansion drafts.

 

[User 149557]

I honest to God thought he was almost 88 in 1991.