Former Giants manager dies
Skipper spent parts of 3 seasons in San Francisco
Former Giants manager Joe Altobelli, who won the National League Manager of the Year award in San Francisco and a World Series title in Baltimore, died Wednesday of natural causes. He was 88.
Altobelli’s three-year stay as the Giants manager in the late 1970s produced optimism in San Francisco, albeit without any real rise in the standings. His Giants teams from 1977-79 went 225-239 and finished no higher than third in the NL West.
Altobelli became the eighth manager in San Francisco history when general manager Spec Richardson hired him to replace Bill Rigney on Oct. 7, 1976. After a lackluster beginning, when San Francisco finished 12 games under .500 in ’77, Altobelli oversaw an energetic season in 1978.
Invigorated by acquiring Vida Blue from the A’s in a blockbuster deal at the end of spring training, the Giants used a strong Blueled pitching staff and an offense featuring Jack Clark, Darrell Evans and Bill Madlock to finish 1978 at 89-73, their best record in seven years. Altobelli’s team surprisingly occupied first place for most of the summer, before faltering down the stretch and finishing in third place in the West, six games behind the division-champion Dodgers.
The Giants’ surprising ’78 resurgence also enabled the team to more than double its attendance at Candlestick Park. The Giants set a then-franchise record by drawing 1.7 million fans that year — just 700,000 fans came to games in San Francisco in 1977.
Altobelli’s greatest achievement during his nearly six decades in baseball came in 1983, four years after his was fired by the Giants with 22 games left in the 1979 season. That’s when Altobelli led the Orioles to a World Series victory over the Philadel
phia Phillies to culminate his first season as their manager.
“Winning a World Series is the pinnacle you reach as a manager,” Altobelli said in 2003. “It’s a rocking chair memory.”
Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. said Altobelli’s calm demeanor was a huge benefit to the Orioles during their 1983 championship season.
“Joe, with his easygoing leadership style, was very helpful to that team,” Ripken said. “There wasn’t any angst, any pressure. ... He was a calm, confident leader, and one who knew the ups and downs of the season and pushed through them without overreacting or underreacting.”
Altobelli spent most of his adult life in Rochester, N.Y., the longtime home of the Orioles’ Triple-A team. He played and managed there, leading the Red Wings to one of
their greatest runs in franchise history from 1971-74 while winning two championships with future major league stars Don Baylor and Bobby Grich leading the way.
In parts of seven seasons as a big league manager, Altobelli had a 437-407 record (.518 winning percentage). After parts of three seasons in both San Francisco and Baltimore, Altobelli served as the Cubs’ interim manager for one game in 1991.
Altobelli had a short major league career as a backup first baseman, playing 166 games for the Indians and Twins from 195561.
After suffering a stroke in 2017, Altobelli had been in poor health and spent most of his time living at a rehabilitation center in Rochester, which is where he died.
He is survived by six children and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren, according to reports. Altobelli was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Pat, who passed away in 2003.
DEAR AMY >> Our house is about 20 feet, wall-towall, from the next house.
Pre-pandemic, we only knew our next-door neighbors by name and exchanged occasional greetings.
The neighbors are an elderly gentleman, being cared for by his elderly daughter.
She had mentioned that her father suffers from dementia. Her father is physically impaired and dependent on a walker.
Since reducing our world to the confines of our house and backyard, we hear the daughter screaming at her father at the top of her lungs, almost daily, very early in the morning.
While we can’t hear every word, she uses epithets and sounds verbally abusive.
He is visited by a home health care aide several times a week. Despite the health care visits, we think we may be the only people who know about this behavior, other than father and daughter.
Is there anything you would recommend that we can do to help them?
We fear anything we say could make it worse.
— Worried Neighbors
Every state has a mandated office of Adult Protective Services (APS). APS a social service program authorized by law to receive and investigate reports of elder or vulnerable adult maltreatment, and to intervene to protect the victims.
Your county or town should have an affiliated agency that handles cases such as you describe. Please call and report exactly what you know. A social worker will follow up.
The elderly caregiver in this situation is no doubt very stressed. Her father might be hard of hearing (which might necessitate that she raise her voice). But no amount of stress or deafness justifies disrespect and verbal abuse.
You are witnesses to this abuse, and you must make the call. A case worker will assess the situation, and if they need more help or respite care, they might be able to receive it.
An internet search will reveal the APS office closest to you.
DEAR AMY >> “Worried Sister” reported that her elderly brother physically attacked her, before he was moved to a nursing facility. Thank you for suggesting that she contact the social worker at her brother’s home before contemplating a visit.
Medical Social Workers can be found in nearly every medical setting, from hospitals, to nursing facilities, to home health and hospice agencies, and in some doctor’s offices, as well.
They are an excellent resource for dealing with family matters, locating appropriate community resources, understanding psychosocial effects of health issues, and knowing about available financial resources.
And yes, they are a part of the team of health heroes facing increased risk during this pandemic.
— Retired Medical Social
Worker in Nebraska