Altobelli

Rejection. Frustration. Hurt. A reason to ponder and to wonder. Yet never a word of protest. Don Baylor carried the disappointment within. No crying, cheap alibis or denunciations. He had become conditioned to being interviewed for major-league managing vacancies, but the result always came back the same.Prospective employers would call to tell him they were impressed with his credentials, had enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him but, no, they had decided to go in a different direction.

The box score remains confounding 25 years later. Some parts - the game-tying homer by Cal Ripken Jr., Tippy Martinez entering at a tense juncture - fit. Others - utility infielder Lenn Sakata playing catcher, left fielder John Lowenstein at second base, the other left fielder, Gary Roenicke, at third - look like puzzle pieces jammed into the wrong slots by a hasty child. Yet somehow, this mishmash produced the signature game of the Orioles' 1983 regular season. That team wasn't a super-talented juggernaut.

Within minutes of the conclusion of the 1983 World Series, Joe Altobelli had a brief, semi-private conversation with Cal Ripken.In the middle of a boisterous clubhouse, the Orioles' manager put his arm around his shortstop's shoulders and made the worst prediction of his life."

If Opening Day were any indication, the 1983 Orioles were due to be blown away - like the parachutist the club hired to land on the pitcher's mound before the game. Winds whisked him onto the stadium parking lot instead. On the field, Joe Altobelli watched the descent in horror. "I looked up and I saw him going by and I thought, `Oh, God!' " the Orioles' first-year manager said. "[Broadcaster] Chuck Thompson thought the guy landed on his car." The rest of the day went just as well. Shortstop Cal Ripken made a costly error, as did Dan Ford, who dropped a routine fly. The crowd roundly booed the club's new theme song, "That Magic Feeling."

NEW YORK -- Don Zimmer, who had given the Chicago Cubs a July 1 deadline for making a decision about his future, was fired as manager yesterday.Cubs president Don Grenesko said the decision to fire Zimmer, who took over the team in 1988, was completed Monday.The Cubs named hitting coach Joe Altobelli, who managed the Baltimore Orioles to the 1983 World Series championship, as interim manager, but there were indications that a permanent hire could come as early as today. Jim Essian, the Cubs' Class AAA Iowa manager, took an evening flight to New York to meet with Grenesko, general manager Jim Frey and Tribune Co. attorney Dennis Homerin, who handles the club's major contracts.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Joe Altobelli, one of the most successful managers the Rochester Red Wings have had, will serve as a part-time instructor for new manager Bob Miscik this season.Altobelli, 60, continues to be the Red Wings general manager. He will assist Miscik during batting practice at home games.The move brings Altobelli back into the Orioles family, from which he was banished in May 1985 when then-owner Edward Bennett Williams called him a "cement head" upon firing him. Two seasons earlier, Altobelli had led the Orioles to the World Series championship.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Joe Altobelli fulfilled a promise he made to himself more than 10 years ago when he returned to the Rochester Red Wings as their general manager.Altobelli, who managed the Baltimore Orioles to their 1983 World Series title, came back to what he calls his hometown team yesterday. The Red Wings are the Orioles' Class AAA affiliate in the International League."When I first left here in 1977 when I got the job in San Francisco to manage . . . the thought occurred to me way back then that someday I would be back in Rochester," Altobelli said at a news conference at Silver Stadium.

If Opening Day were any indication, the 1983 Orioles were due to be blown away - like the parachutist the club hired to land on the pitcher's mound before the game. Winds whisked him onto the stadium parking lot instead. On the field, Joe Altobelli watched the descent in horror. "I looked up and I saw him going by and I thought, `Oh, God!' " the Orioles' first-year manager said. "[Broadcaster] Chuck Thompson thought the guy landed on his car." The rest of the day went just as well. Shortstop Cal Ripken made a costly error, as did Dan Ford, who dropped a routine fly. The crowd roundly booed the club's new theme song, "That Magic Feeling."

In Montgomery County Man dies after ATV hits wire cable in Damascus DAMASCUS - An 18-year-old man died Friday night after he drove an all-terrain vehicle into a wire cable stretched across a dirt lane, police said. Matthew John Altobelli, 18, of Olney was thrown from his four-wheeler and died, Montgomery County police said. He was driving the ATV about 9 p.m. near the 5000 block of Damascus Road.

Most of the problems that have beset the Baltimore Orioles, once the epitome of stability, can be traced to the ownership regime of the late Edward Bennett Williams, who allowed his fervor as a fan to determine on-the-field decisions. It's at times like this, with the club showing the worst record in the major leagues, that the genesis of decline comes into focus.A once-prideful franchise began to come apart at the seams, much the way one of those old "nickel rockets" unraveled after it skipped off a skinned infield.

In Montgomery County Man dies after ATV hits wire cable in Damascus DAMASCUS - An 18-year-old man died Friday night after he drove an all-terrain vehicle into a wire cable stretched across a dirt lane, police said. Matthew John Altobelli, 18, of Olney was thrown from his four-wheeler and died, Montgomery County police said. He was driving the ATV about 9 p.m. near the 5000 block of Damascus Road.

The curtain to the 1983 season lowered on the careers of three future Hall of Famers: catcher Johnny Bench, pitcher Gaylord Perry and outfielder Carl Yastrzemski. It opened wide for Cal Ripken, revealing a player who made history long before Lou Gehrig's name became so closely joined with his. Ripken emerged as the first player to win the American League's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in consecutive seasons. Also the first Oriole to play every inning of every game, he batted .318 with 47 doubles, 27 homers and 102 RBIs.

Within minutes of the conclusion of the 1983 World Series, Joe Altobelli had a brief, semi-private conversation with Cal Ripken.In the middle of a boisterous clubhouse, the Orioles' manager put his arm around his shortstop's shoulders and made the worst prediction of his life."

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Joe Altobelli, one of the most successful managers the Rochester Red Wings have had, will serve as a part-time instructor for new manager Bob Miscik this season.Altobelli, 60, continues to be the Red Wings general manager. He will assist Miscik during batting practice at home games.The move brings Altobelli back into the Orioles family, from which he was banished in May 1985 when then-owner Edward Bennett Williams called him a "cement head" upon firing him. Two seasons earlier, Altobelli had led the Orioles to the World Series championship.

Rejection. Frustration. Hurt. A reason to ponder and to wonder. Yet never a word of protest. Don Baylor carried the disappointment within. No crying, cheap alibis or denunciations. He had become conditioned to being interviewed for major-league managing vacancies, but the result always came back the same.Prospective employers would call to tell him they were impressed with his credentials, had enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him but, no, they had decided to go in a different direction.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Joe Altobelli fulfilled a promise he made to himself more than 10 years ago when he returned to the Rochester Red Wings as their general manager.Altobelli, who managed the Baltimore Orioles to their 1983 World Series title, came back to what he calls his hometown team yesterday. The Red Wings are the Orioles' Class AAA affiliate in the International League."When I first left here in 1977 when I got the job in San Francisco to manage . . . the thought occurred to me way back then that someday I would be back in Rochester," Altobelli said at a news conference at Silver Stadium.

The box score remains confounding 25 years later. Some parts - the game-tying homer by Cal Ripken Jr., Tippy Martinez entering at a tense juncture - fit. Others - utility infielder Lenn Sakata playing catcher, left fielder John Lowenstein at second base, the other left fielder, Gary Roenicke, at third - look like puzzle pieces jammed into the wrong slots by a hasty child. Yet somehow, this mishmash produced the signature game of the Orioles' 1983 regular season. That team wasn't a super-talented juggernaut.

The curtain to the 1983 season lowered on the careers of three future Hall of Famers: catcher Johnny Bench, pitcher Gaylord Perry and outfielder Carl Yastrzemski. It opened wide for Cal Ripken, revealing a player who made history long before Lou Gehrig's name became so closely joined with his. Ripken emerged as the first player to win the American League's Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in consecutive seasons. Also the first Oriole to play every inning of every game, he batted .318 with 47 doubles, 27 homers and 102 RBIs.

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Joe Altobelli fulfilled a promise he made to himself more than 10 years ago when he returned to the Rochester Red Wings as their general manager.Altobelli, who managed the Baltimore Orioles to their 1983 World Series title, came back to what he calls his hometown team yesterday. The Red Wings are the Orioles' Class AAA affiliate in the International League."When I first left here in 1977 when I got the job in San Francisco to manage . . . the thought occurred to me way back then that someday I would be back in Rochester," Altobelli said at a news conference at Silver Stadium.

Most of the problems that have beset the Baltimore Orioles, once the epitome of stability, can be traced to the ownership regime of the late Edward Bennett Williams, who allowed his fervor as a fan to determine on-the-field decisions. It's at times like this, with the club showing the worst record in the major leagues, that the genesis of decline comes into focus.A once-prideful franchise began to come apart at the seams, much the way one of those old "nickel rockets" unraveled after it skipped off a skinned infield.