Three inducted at Red Wings Hall of Fame night

By: Victor Menendez

Chris Colabello (left) and Dyar Miller (right) at their Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame induction on Sep. 6, 2024. Photo Credit: Ethan Bissinger / Rochester Red Wings

ROCHESTER, NY-- It was Hall of Fame night at Innovative Field on Friday. Chris Colabello, Dyar Miller and Fred Valentine were honored with a ceremony pregame. Miller and Valentine played for Rochester in the 1960s and 70s while Colabello played in parts of 2013 and 2014.

Miller, a right-handed pitcher, was a part of the Red Wings team that won the Governor's Cup Title in 1974. He was a member of the rotation going 12-8 with a 2.70 ERA across 190 innings pitched. Miller was the winning pitcher in three postseason that games that year including the decisive Game 7.

"My favorite moment is starting that final seventh game and coming out with a 7-1 win," Miller said.

He transitioned from a starter to a reliever after that year.

"I was kind of a two-pitch pitcher, so I was probably more suited for relief," Miller said. "Plus, my arm recovered real well".

Colabello, who after seven years of playing in Independent Leagues after College, got an opportunity in professional baseball in 2012 when he was signed by the Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate. After making the Red Wings team in 2013, Colabello hit .352 with 24 home runs across 89 games that year. He split time between Rochester and the big league club in 2014 before being picked up by the Blue Jays organization in 2015.

Colabello's journey to the big leagues was a long one all.

"Stubbornness, I think," Colabello said. "I don't like taking no for an answer."

Colabello was with Toronto in 2015 when Jose Bautista hit the iconic ALDS Game 5 home run.

"I've probably watched the video 1,000 times," Colabello said. "Every time I talk to him I throw the bat into orbit".

Valentine played parts of four seasons in Rochester in the 1960s. A member of the 1961 squad that went to the Governor's Cup Semi-Finals, the switch-hitting outfielder hit .267 with 17 home runs across 154 games that year. He returned to Rochester in 1969 for his final Triple-A season, hitting .287 with 18 home runs.

The three new inductees join 104 members already in the Red Wings Hall of Fame.