Goodbye Earl, hello Joe … for a while anyway

Joe Altobelli

With Earl Weaver retiring after coming within one game of winning the American League East title in 1982, the Baltimore Orioles 41 years ago today name New York Yankees coach Joe Altobelli as their next manager.

Good timing, too, for Altobelli, Baltimore’s longtime Orioles’ Class AAA manager who returns to the Orioles just in time to lead them to the 1983 World Series title.

The amiable Altobelli is the opposite of the oft-cantankerous Weaver, who at 51 is just a year older than Altobelli.

Altobelli is not nearly as interested in the comparison with Weaver as he is with the talented roster Weaver leaves for him.

Earl Weaver with umpire Ken Kaiser

“When you have a ballclub that is capable of contending, that is all a manager can really ask for,” Altobelli says when he takes over for Weaver.

“I will take my chances with this club.”

And what of the specter of replacing a fan favorite, not to mention a future Hall of Famer, in Weaver?

“There are,” Altobelli says, “tougher situations.”

Alas for Altobelli, he lasts as Baltimore’s manager only for a couple of seasons, following the Orioles’ World Series victory in 1983 with an 85-77 record.

The Orioles then replace Altobelli after a pedestrian 29-26 start in 1985.

His replacement?

That would be the suddenly unretiring and still cantankerous Earl Weaver, who finishes the 1985 season with a 53-52 record before going 73-89 in 1986 and retiring once again.

“Sometimes players just need a swift kick in the pants,” Orioles third baseman Wayne Gross tells Sports Illustrated upon Weaver’s return in 1985. “Earl’s pretty good at that.”

Altobelli, though, is not thrilled about being succeeded by his predecessor.

He especially does not like how the Orioles’ management let him dangle before announcing his firing.

“I thought this was a class organization,” Altobelli tells Sports Illustrated in 1985, “but I guess I was sadly mistaken.”