All in the baseball family

"Mr. Baseball" in Rochester, Joe Altobelli, has his retired number 26 hanging on the outfield fence at Frontier Field in Rochester. Two generations later, now in Spencerport High School is Sarah Altobelli, granddaughter of Joe and the first year head coach of the Rangers' varsity softball team.

"I can remember when she was young begging me to take her to the ballpark whenever the Silver Bullets softball team was in town," said Joe Altobelli prior to a recent Red Wings game where he now is on the radio for all home games. "She was always asking questions and wanting to learn about the game."

Now, just two seasons removed from a four-year playing career at Division I St. Bonaventure University and one year after joining the Rangers as an assistant coach, Sarah Altobelli is getting her first chance at being a head coach.

"I played here for Deb Milner for four years and came back last year as her assistant," said Altobelli. "Then the call came this summer, I was interviewed, offered the job and I jumped at the chance."

Altobelli played second base, shortstop and outfield at St. Bonaventure and has her team off to a 5-4 start including a fifth place finish at the Batters Box Invitational during their spring break to South Carolina.

Her grandfather played first base from 1963 through 1966 and later managed the Red Wings including winning Governor's Cup titles in 1971 and 1974 with a Junior World Series title in 1971 before embarking on a major league managing career where he was named Manager of the Year with the San Francisco Giants in 1978 and taking Baltimore to a World Series title in 1983.

The mother of eight-month-old Joelle certainly understands her grandfather's legacy. "He is just so full of information and stories and not too many other people have that," said Altobelli. "Whenever I walk into that park and see his number among just a few, it is an honor to share the same last name."

April 30, 2006