Orange Coast College baseball players took the field on Tuesday with extremely heavy hearts, and New York Yankees star pitcher Gerrit Cole wanted to be in attendance to show his support for the team.
John Altobelli, one of the nine people who died in the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant on Sunday, was entering his 24th season as the head baseball coach at Orange Coast College. Cole, who is from Newport Beach, did not know Altobelli personally, but the right-hander played in the Pac-12 with UCLA at the same time Altobelli’s son J.J. played at Oregon. Cole told Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic that he wanted to show respect for Orange Coast College by being at their season-opener on Tuesday.
Gerrit Cole didn’t know John Altobelli. Never played for him. He’d crossed paths with John’s oldest son, J.J., when both played in the Pac-12 (Cole at UCLA, Altobelli at Oregon), and just wanted to show his support in the best way he knew how.
— Fabian Ardaya (@FabianArdaya) January 29, 2020
Altobelli’s daughter, Alyssa, and wife, Keri, also died in the crash. She was teammates with Kobe’s daughter Gianna at the Mamba Academy, and John and Alyssa were flying in the helicopter along with Kobe, Gianna and five others to attend a basketball tournament.
J.J. Altobelli currently works as a scout for the Boston Red Sox.
John Altobelli led Orange Coast College to two state titles and a national No. 1 ranking for much of the 2012 season. He also coached the Cape Cod League’s Brewster Whitecaps from 2012-2014. Many people paid tribute to Altobelli on social media following Sunday’s tragedy.
