The Rochester Red Wings play host to the Toledo Mud Hens that night.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Joe Altobelli and Johnny Antonelli will throw first pitches on ROC the ROC Night at Frontier Field on Wednesday, Aug. 8 before the Red Wings host the Toledo Mud Hens at 7:05 pm.
Altobelli, 86, managed the Red Wings to two Governors’ Cup Championships in 1971 and 1974 and guided the Baltimore Orioles to a World Series title in 1983. He also played for the Wings from 1963-66 and helped Rochester win the Governors’ Cup in 1964. The first baseman and outfielder moved to his adopted hometown in the 1960s and has called Rochester home ever since. The Red Wings and International League Hall of Famer is the only man in the storied history of the Red Wings to serve as a player, coach, manager, general manager and radio analyst.
Antonelli, 88, attended Jefferson High School in Rochester and was signed by the Boston Braves as an amateur free agent on June 29, 1948. He debuted in the majors just a few days later on July 4 as an 18-year-old. The left-handed pitcher won the World Series with the New York Giants in 1954 and was named a National League All-Star five times including four straight seasons from 1956-1959.
ROC the ROC Night presented by the City of Rochester, ESL Federal Credit Union, Castle, C.P. Ward, Airport Transmission, The Exchange and Brickwood Grill will celebrate all things Rochester. Below are details that have already been announced.
Flower City Fest: One of the great things about summertime in Rochester is the plethora of festivals. Flower City Fest will run from Wednesday, August 8-Thursday, August 9 when the gates open until the end of each game. The fest will include local artisans, live music, $2 beers, inflatables for kids, an Abbott’s Food Truck (August 8 only) and, of course, a baseball game. The Fest will take place in the in the Red Wings Walk of Fame.
Monorail Car: One of the monorail cars from the old Midtown Plaza will be staged for fans to take photos with.
National Anthem: Olympic Gold Medalist and Rochester-native Cathy Turner will perform the National Anthem.
Pregame Concert: The Skycoasters, one of Rochester’s premier party bands, will play on field from 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Uniforms: Rochester will be wearing special caps and jerseys. The caps are blue with a red bill featuring a combination of the City of Rochester Flower logo and the iconic Red Wings logo made famous by the teams in the 1960s and 70s. The jersey features Flower City across the chest with Spikes holding a lilac in his beak in the lower left front of the jersey. There is also a variation of the 585 area code logo on the sleeve with red feathers as the parentheses. The jerseys will be auctioned off using the Live Source mobile app.
Giveaway: The first 2,000 fans will receive a Mt. ROCmore mini statue which will feature four legendary Rochesterians wearing a different style Wings cap: Susan B. Anthony, Frederick Douglass, George Eastman and Morrie Silver.
Food/Happy Hour: All Zweigle’s hot dogs will be $1 and one stand will be dedicated to serving white hot dogs. A Chicken French sandwich with meat hot sauce and a new dish, a white hot dog French, will be available at the French Fusion stand on the third base concourse. Country Sweet boneless wings will also be available at Batter Up. Salvatore’s Pizza is available at every Red Wings home game at Mama Mittsy’s Pizza Kitchen. There will be a pregame happy hour in the 10th Inning Bar from 5:30-7 pm featuring $2 Genesee and Genesee Light drafts. Abbott’s Frozen Custard will also have a truck in the Walk of Fame area.
More: In-game music will be exclusively from Rochester-area artists with a couple members from Joywave leading the 7th inning stretch. All in-game promotions will have a Rochester theme as well including a Bobbing for White Hots in Genesee River Water contest, a windshield scrape contest, a Zweigle’s hot dog launch, a Wegmans Shopping spree contest, and a Flour City vs. Flower City trivia contest. Flower City merchandise is available now at the Team Store or at RedWingsBaseball.com.