OCC’s Altobelli to appeal suspension for rest of ’09

Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli has been suspended for the season after being charged with a second ejection in Tuesday’s conference home game against Irvine Valley.

Barring a successful appeal, Altobelli, who has three ejections this season, one of which was not counted against him after an appeal to conference officials, can not be seen or heard by umpires at OCC games for the rest of the season, including the postseason.

Altobelli said Thursday that he plans to exhaust all means of appeal.

“It’s bogus, it really is,” said Altobelli, in his 17th season at the Pirates’ helm. “Not only do I pay the price, but my team [26-9, 14-3 in conference and ranked No. 1 in the state] pays the price.”

Altobelli said umpires did not follow protocol that requires a warning to precede an ejection, all three times he was tossed this season. It was, in fact, behavior that followed the ejections (demonstrative protests that included throwing his batting helmet) that ultimately led to the suspension.

“I’ve had three ejections with no warnings,” Altobelli said. “The frustrating thing is, the umpires did not follow protocol. Then, I react after I get ejected.”

Altobelli said Orange Empire Conference Commissioner John Keever ruled to invoke the suspension. Altobelli said he will now appeal to the conference, first, then the community college board of presidents. He said he will hire a lawyer to assist him in the appeals process.

Altobelli said his first ejection this season came when one of his players, jokingly, Altobelli said, suggested an OCC player hit a line drive off the opposing pitcher’s forehead in an early season game against College of the Desert.

“I was trying to explain to [the umpire] that we didn’t mean any harm,” Altobelli said. “Then, I turned around and was walking to the dugout and said, ‘This is ridiculous.’ And he said ‘You’re gone.’ ”

The second ejection was automatic when the home-plate umpire ruled that pitcher Brett Wallach intentionally hit a Cypress batter on Feb. 26.

“It was a slider that got away,” Altobelli said. “Wallach had struck out four of the first six batters he faced and we were leading, 2-1, at the time, in the second inning. It was a ridiculous, brutal call. It could be one of the worst all-time calls ever. But because of the way I acted after I got ejected, I got another strike against me.”

Altobelli said the final strike came Tuesday, after an OCC runner was doubled off third on a line drive to shortstop. Altobelli said the third baseman was more than one foot from tagging the bag, as required on a force play.

After a brief argument, Altobelli said he was headed off the field, with his back to the umpire, when he uttered an expletive. Altobelli said the umpire threw him out.

“Then, I said, ‘I’m gone for the year,’ ” Altobelli said. “Then, he said something like ‘That’s too bad.’ And that’s why I lost it [slamming his helmet to the ground and continuing to argue].

“Again, there was no warning issued. I was already heading back to the dugout. He just had to let me go and that would have been the end of it.”

Altobelli can run practices and he pitches batting practice and oversees pregame preparation until umpires arrive. He is also permitted to address the team after a game.

— Barry Faulkner