JC baseball: Down and dirty

Barry Faulkner

In those inevitable off-season lulls, when taking extra ground

balls or a few extra hacks in the batting cage could be considered

overkill, Orange Coast College baseball players needn’t look far for the

inspiration to keep grinding.

Sometimes, all that is required is a glance to the side, where Coach John

Altobelli is drilling right along with them.

Altobelli, coming to the close of his eighth season at the helm of his

former community college rival, is a walking -- sometimes even running,

crouching, swinging and throwing -- example of how much one can get back

from investing in the game.

A gamer without glory at Newport Harbor High, Altobelli was thankful for

the chance to continue playing at Golden West College. It was an

opportunity not available to him at his future home.

“Orange Coast had just won a state championship in 1980 and didn’t

recruit me,” Altobelli recalled. “I had to drive by OCC every day on my

way to Golden West and I really didn’t like OCC. (Former Pirates Coach)

Mike Mayne still refutes this, but we beat Coast both times I played

them. And I had the game-winning hit in one of those games.”

Displaying the work ethic instilled in him by his father, Jim, a former

St. Louis Browns draft choice from Chicago who also rendered his son a

lifelong Cubs fan, Altobelli toiled tirelessly until his talent surfaced

at GWC.

“I had dislocated my shoulder my junior year at Harbor and when I got to

Golden West, I could barely throw the ball from the outfield to the

infield,” he said. “But I worked on my arm and by the time I was a

sophomore, I was the starting right fielder with one of the strongest

arms in the conference.”

Altobelli’s development, including being named team captain and Rustler

of the Year as a sophomore, led to a scholarship to the University of

Houston.

“I had two good years at Houston, but I didn’t get drafted, which was

very frustrating to me,” he said. “I was never all-anything, which, I

guess, summed up my career.”

He went 7 for 11 in a two-day tryout with the Salt Lake City Trappers,

but was cut.

In Chicago to try out for the White Sox organization, Altobelli got word

about a possible opportunity with the independent Miami Marlins. He

bolted to South Florida and was offered a contract by the single-A team.

“They offered me $500 and I said ‘Where do I sign,’ ” he recalled.

Though he logged some precious memories, his dream of playing

professionally ended after a half season. He returned to Orange County,

resigned to making it in the real world.

“I started working for my dad’s company in outside sales. It took me

about a month to realize I didn’t want to do that the rest of my life.

Even though I was coming from baseball, a game based on failure, going

about 1 for 20 on sales calls wasn’t sitting real well with me. I guess

coaching was a way to stay away from real life.”

Altobelli returned to Houston for one season as a graduate assistant

coach, then spent five years as an assistant at UCI.

When the Anteaters dropped baseball after the 1992 season, it was only a

month before “Alto” was named the sixth coach in OCC history at age 28.

“I’m a firm believer, things happen for a reason,” he said.

His first OCC squad won 30 games and reached the state final four,

earning him Orange Empire Conference Co-Coach of the Year honors.

Last season, Altobelli guided the Pirates to a 29-20 mark and the second

round of the regional playoffs. In between, there have been some lean

years.

“I’ve gone through both ends of the spectrum, from the top to the bottom,

and the top is a lot more fun,” he said.

“But my time at OCC has been fun and I’ve met a lot of great people. I

usually am at school at 6:30 a.m. everyday working out, whether I’m off

or not. It has never seemed like a job, which is probably why I spend

more time there than I do at home.”

Altobelli, who also teaches physical education and health education at

OCC, maintains a consistent workout regimen to enhance his teaching

ability on the diamond.

“I work out so I can throw BP to my team, hit fungoes and even run with

my players,” he said. “We were going through a little funk a few weeks

ago and I was looking for a way to spark the guys. So, one day, I put on

the uniform and practiced with them. I think I opened some young guys’

eyes that an old guy could still do it. I couldn’t walk the next two

days, but I got the point across.”

Altobelli’s primary point usually involves effort.

“Pete Rose is my guy and I’m a firm believer that it doesn’t take any

talent to hustle. The scrappy guys who don’t mind getting dirty and

diving head first are the kind of guys I want to be around. I try to

instill that work ethic in all my players.”

Altobelli said beyond wins and losses, he savors the chance to help

athletes improve, year-round, pushing them closer to the dream he held in

their shoes, more than a decade ago.

“I want to stay at OCC as long as they think I can still do a good job,”

he said. “I love the area, I love the school and working with athletes is

awesome. I still have a lot of goals in mind.”

Any time away from the diamond, Altobelli, an Irvine resident, devotes to

9-year-old son J.J.

“He plays baseball, soccer, roller hockey and golf and watching him

compete is the biggest joy I’ve ever had,” Altobelli said.