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Joe Altobelli
Joseph Salvatore Altobelli (May 26, 1932 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He was also a manager for the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. He batted and threw left-handed.
Altobelli succeeded Earl Weaver as manager of the Orioles in 1983 and led the team to their sixth American League pennant and their third (and most recent) World Series championship. He ended his involvement in professional baseball in 2009, retiring after over a decade as a color commentator for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.
Altobelli was born in Detroit on May 26, 1932. He earned All-City recognition in baseball, football, and basketball while attending Eastern High School. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians before the 1951 season.
Although Altobelli's playing career included three brief stints in the Major Leagues, his greatest success came in the minors. After being signed by the Indians, he was assigned to their Florida State League affiliate in Daytona Beach for the 1951 campaign. On April 26, Altobelli singled to begin a 36-game hitting streak which stood as the Florida State League record for 59 years until it was surpassed in 2010. In 140 games with the Islanders that season, he notched 204 hits while posting a .341 batting average.
He earned a promotion to the Eastern League the following year, posting two solid seasons with the Reading Indians, as he helped lead them to 101 wins and the Eastern League pennant in 1953. Another pennant followed in 1954, this time as a member of the AAA American Association's Indianapolis Indians. His .297 average and 79 RBI that season were enough to earn him a callup to the Majors the following year.
Altobelli made his big league debut in his hometown of Detroit on April 14, 1955, when he was inserted into the lineup in the eighth inning as a pinch runner for three-time All-Star Vic Wertz. His first hit and RBI came a week later when singled to left with the bases loaded to score Larry Doby. He played in 20 games with the Tribe before being returned to Indianapolis on May 9, where the Indians felt he could get more playing time as an everyday player. He was recalled to Cleveland in late June, and played in 13 games before being returned to AAA, where he hit .271 with 7 HRs and 53 RBI in 98 games that season with Indianapolis. With a September callup, Altobelli played in a total of 42 games for the big league club that season, hitting .200 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI.
Joe remained with Indianapolis in 1956, as the club posted one of the most successful seasons in franchise history. The AAA Indians won the American Association pennant with a 92-62 record, including a 24-0 win over the Louisville Colonels on May 18. They swept the Denver Bears in the American Association finals, then swept the International League's Rochester Red Wings in the Junior World Series. In 145 games that year, Joe displayed a newfound power by slugging 19 home runs and ten triples while driving in 81 runs to go along with a .254 batting average.
Alto spent most of the 1957 season with the Cleveland Indians, playing in 83 games while filling a prime pinch hitter role and spotting Wertz at first base and Rocky Colavito in right field.
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Joe Altobelli
Joseph Salvatore Altobelli (May 26, 1932 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He was also a manager for the San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago Cubs. He batted and threw left-handed.
Altobelli succeeded Earl Weaver as manager of the Orioles in 1983 and led the team to their sixth American League pennant and their third (and most recent) World Series championship. He ended his involvement in professional baseball in 2009, retiring after over a decade as a color commentator for the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.
Altobelli was born in Detroit on May 26, 1932. He earned All-City recognition in baseball, football, and basketball while attending Eastern High School. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cleveland Indians before the 1951 season.
Although Altobelli's playing career included three brief stints in the Major Leagues, his greatest success came in the minors. After being signed by the Indians, he was assigned to their Florida State League affiliate in Daytona Beach for the 1951 campaign. On April 26, Altobelli singled to begin a 36-game hitting streak which stood as the Florida State League record for 59 years until it was surpassed in 2010. In 140 games with the Islanders that season, he notched 204 hits while posting a .341 batting average.
He earned a promotion to the Eastern League the following year, posting two solid seasons with the Reading Indians, as he helped lead them to 101 wins and the Eastern League pennant in 1953. Another pennant followed in 1954, this time as a member of the AAA American Association's Indianapolis Indians. His .297 average and 79 RBI that season were enough to earn him a callup to the Majors the following year.
Altobelli made his big league debut in his hometown of Detroit on April 14, 1955, when he was inserted into the lineup in the eighth inning as a pinch runner for three-time All-Star Vic Wertz. His first hit and RBI came a week later when singled to left with the bases loaded to score Larry Doby. He played in 20 games with the Tribe before being returned to Indianapolis on May 9, where the Indians felt he could get more playing time as an everyday player. He was recalled to Cleveland in late June, and played in 13 games before being returned to AAA, where he hit .271 with 7 HRs and 53 RBI in 98 games that season with Indianapolis. With a September callup, Altobelli played in a total of 42 games for the big league club that season, hitting .200 BA, 2 HR, 5 RBI.
Joe remained with Indianapolis in 1956, as the club posted one of the most successful seasons in franchise history. The AAA Indians won the American Association pennant with a 92-62 record, including a 24-0 win over the Louisville Colonels on May 18. They swept the Denver Bears in the American Association finals, then swept the International League's Rochester Red Wings in the Junior World Series. In 145 games that year, Joe displayed a newfound power by slugging 19 home runs and ten triples while driving in 81 runs to go along with a .254 batting average.
Alto spent most of the 1957 season with the Cleveland Indians, playing in 83 games while filling a prime pinch hitter role and spotting Wertz at first base and Rocky Colavito in right field.