Baseball community mourns death of coach John Altobelli

Members of the Orange Coast community gathered outside the Pirates baseball field to pay their respects. LUCA EVANS Sports Editor

Behind home-plate in the stands of the Orange Coast College (OCC) Pirates baseball field, there was a small bottle of Captain Morgan. It could be found in the middle of a shrine to Coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa, who were killed in a Jan 26. helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. The rum stood proud in the midst of a sea of pictures, candles, flowers, baseball caps and sunflower seeds.

It was a symbol of love for a man who meant so much to so many: a husband to Keri, father to Alyssa, JJ and Alexis, friend, teacher and coach. Yet to someone who didn’t fully know “Alto” – a moniker that caught on so well that his own wife referred to him by it – the inclusion of a bottle of rum in a memorial might seem confusing.

Tony Altobelli, John’s brother and OCC sports information director, laughed when asked about it. It was a brief moment of levity, after Tony had been swarmed by a storm of media after the Pirates’ first game of the season Jan. 28. After the crowd dispersed, I walked up to him and asked about the bottle at his brother’s memorial. He told me Captain Morgan was John’s favorite postgame drink. It reminded Tony of a story. Coach Altobelli enjoyed holding Halloween practice days in which players could dress up in whatever costume they’d like for batting practice. On one of these occasions, players were told to arrive at 1 p.m. Mysteriously, as the clock ticked 30 then 45 minutes past the scheduled practice time, their coach was nowhere to be found.

“All of a sudden, out of nowhere, this swashbuckling pirate guy just starts walking around the outside of the fence and we didn’t know who he was because he was so well-disguised,” Tony said. “(John) had a whistle – a very famous pfft whistle that you can actually hear from space. And he went over there and went, pfft, and they were like ‘Alto? That was Alto?’”

That was Alto.

The coach who would put his leg up like the picture of the pirate on the Captain Morgan label after every victory? That was Alto. The coach who would arrive three hours early to practice to work on the field, gradually transforming a stomping ground of grass and dirt into a pristine turf masterpiece? That was Alto. The coach who raised his players, transforming them from fresh high school graduates into men? That was Alto.

Robert Longtree, former OCC outfielder, recalled those memories while standing in front of Altobelli’s memorial at the Jan. 28 game against Southwestern University. He sported two large, gem-encrusted rings on his hand – visual reminders of the championships he won with Altobelli’s 2014-15 Pirates teams. OCC was down by a few runs, but Longtree was confident in his former team’s ability to rally.

“We may be down now,” Longtree said, gesturing towards the scoreboard, “but our thing was coming back – our thing was staying focused, trusting what our abilities are, trusting in our coaching staff.”

In the bottom of the sixth inning, OCC scored another run, then another, then two more, then another the next inning. Yelling nonstop in a gravelling baritone from behind the fence next to the Pirates’ dugout, dubbed “Section Anarchy,’’ was a man with hair that rivaled Rapunzel’s in length. After every big play, he’d climb up on the fence using the padded pole in front of him, yelling in support for Pirates players like outfielder Andrew Cromwell, who he’d dubbed “the Crommunist.” The fan, Keith Franklin, sported a skirt, boots, gloves with metal spikes – and a no. 14 shirt in honor of Altobelli’s number.

Franklin first met John Altobelli in 2006, when he was taking journalism classes at Orange Coast College and interviewed the coach for a story on his efforts to raise money for a snack bar and bathroom at the Pirates’ field. Over the years, the two developed a friendly, joking relationship as Franklin, a welder, would frequent Pirates games and Altobelli would poke fun at his oft-greasy appearance. Altobelli would never hesitate to come over and say hello, Franklin recalled. He even gave Franklin his very own championship ring.

“It’s hard for me to put in words how he made me feel: a king, like a champion, like not the vagabond that I am,” Franklin said with a grin. “He made me feel like a real man and part of something special.”

Brenden Argomaniz, sophomore pitcher, said Altobelli treated his players like they were his own sons. Tony Altobelli told reporters that his family and players had all been “kind of adopted” into a larger Pirates family.

It became apparent that this stadium, this program and this community wouldn’t have been nearly the same without the guidance of John Altobelli. It was because of his guidance that the program was prepared to move forward.

“He founded this thing around family, so – one of us gone, we’re still here,” Longtree said. “He’s still going to be looking over us.”

That was Alto.