Results tagged ‘ Roberto Angotti ’

Team Italy’s Chris Colabello is ready to join the Twins and kiss Minor League Baseball goodbye

It's MiLB graduation time for Team Italia's DH/1B Chris Colabello

It’s Minor League Baseball graduation time for Team Italia/Minnesota Twins’ Chris Colabello.

Italy's clean-up hitter Chris Colabello came up big in WBC.

Italy’s clean-up hitter Chris Colabello came up big in the 2013 WBC tourney.

As the old adage goes: “If you first don’t succeed,
try, try again…” Perhaps appropriate to sum up the life story of 29-year-old Italian American MLB hopeful Chris Colabello, the best is yet to come for this Massachusetts native. The slugger is poised to make his presence felt on the big league level this year when the Twins call him up from AAA Rochester. Colabello’s strong performance in the World Baseball Classic catapulted Team Italy into the second round of play this year. At Chase Field in Phoenix, he went 4-for-5 with a home run, four RBI and three runs scored against Canada to help Italy clinch a spot to move on to Miami and become the Chevrolet Player of the Game. While at Marlins Park, the Italians nearly posted an upset over 2013 WBC Champion Dominican Republic when Colabello clubbed a three-run bomb that rivaled any one of Giancarlo Stanton’s many web gems. The Team Italy clean-up hitter lived up to his title by finishing the WBC with a .333 BA, seven RBI and a 1.035 OPS in 18 at-bats.
Team Italia's Anthony Rizzo, Chris Colabello and Chris Denorfia

Team Italia’s #2 hitter Chris Denorfia (R), #3 hitter Anthony Rizzo (L) and Chris Colabello

italy-wbc-kiss
Chris Colabello at Twins Spring Training in Ft. Myers, FL

Chris Colabello at Twins 2013 Spring Training in Ft. Myers, FL

Colabello made a strong case to be on the 2013 Twins Opening Day Roster after hitting .294 with three RBI in
nine spring games for Minnesota. He received words of encouragement from Twins stars Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau despite being sent down to Triple-A ball to begin the season. Manager Ron Gardenhire had nothing but
praise for Colabello. “He did fine,” said the Twins skipper.
“He played great for Team Italy and really well for us. First base is a place where we don’t have a ton of depth. We have Morneau and then ad-libbing from there. So if he’s down there (AAA) swing the bat good, he could go right into the big leagues after all that time (seven years) in Independent ball. So it’s a good story.” After spending seven seasons in the Can-Am Independent League, Chris Colabello was signed by the Twins and spent last season at Double-A New Britain, where he put together a .284 BA with 19 home runs and 98 RBI. In 44 games this season at Triple-A Rochester, Colabello commands a .361 BA and leads the Red Wings in hits (61), doubles (17), runs (27), home runs (11) and RBI (34).
Chris Colabello gets creamed after being named Chevrolet Player of the Game against Canada.

Italia’s Chris Colabello got creamed
in the Canada post-game celebration.

Team Italy pitching coach Bill Holmberg has known how special of player Chris Colabello is for nearly two decades. The former Chicago Cubs European scout and current Italian MLB Academy director Holmberg said, “I’ve known Chris for maybe 20 years because he used to come over to Italy with his dad. His dad pitched in the Italian Baseball League. His mom is Italian. Chris is just a great kid. He loves to come over and play for us. We enjoy having him. We like him. He’s a very energetic, tremendous kid.” A star player in Italy for eight years who also pitched for the Italian national team in the 1984 Olympics at Dodger Stadium, Lou Colabello brought along his family during his international baseball career while playing and managing abroad. As a result, Chris spent several of his formative years overseas and even played with Team Italia teammate Alessandro Maestri as a youth. Like a fine Italian wine, Chris Colabello gets better with age. Let’s hear his story:

Roberto: Having shadowed Justin Morneau in Twins Spring Training and having torn the leather off the ball with your hot bat, you really made a statement playing against your Canadian colleague in a Team Italia uniform during the World Baseball Classic by beating Team Canada 14-4 in a mercy rule victory.

Chris Colabello: Yeah. It’s been a pretty interesting journey to get where we are right now. Especially for me personally coming from independent ball and all that stuff. But it’s been great. I’ve been trying to take everything one moment at a time and just try to embrace it to the best of my ability. I think that when I was younger I would probably let moments that this speed up on me, and it would have been a little overwhelming. But I think with maturity comes the ability to just kind of embrace it. It’s great. I got to talk with Justin a bunch when we played him. I don’t think he’s too happy with us because of the final score that day. But it’s pretty neat and obviously a great experience for the Italian team.

Roberto: Showing up to Twins camp and finding out you would be rubbing shoulders with former American League MVPs Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer as a result of being assigned
a locker next to two Minnesota baseball icons must have given you goosebumps?

Chris Colabello: Yeah, for sure. I really did think my locker was in the wrong place (laughter) or they had forgotten me or something like that. It’s been really neat and obviously I’m so thankful for the organization for giving me the opportunity to get in the door last year, to be in big league camp this year and the opportunity to play up here in the WBC. In terms of stars in the Minnesota Twins for the past 15 years, you can’t really think of a guy or two that are bigger than Joe and Justin. They are just tremendous people, tremendous players. They’ve made it an easy transition for me and kind of made it a little
bit less nerve-racking than I thought it would be.

Roberto: You also have Twins’ Drew Butera watching your back. He was outstanding in
the WBC with his two-run homer against Team Mexico. The chemistry in the Team Italia clubhouse was uncharted because at the end of the day the other team’s big league names on a lineup card didn’t translate in the game-ending box scores. Team Italia’s spirit, desire, passion, drive, and commitment to win games day-by-day under the leadership of manager Marco Mazzieri along with the coaching staff of Tom Trebelhorn, Bill Holmberg, Mike Piazza, Frank Catalanotto, Alberto D’Auria, Gilberto Gerali and Claudio Vecchi.

Chris Colabello: Yeah. It’s a testament to the staff and the organization. You know, being able to put together a group of guys that first and foremost would mesh well together. There was not a single ego in that clubhouse. It’s pretty unbelievable. We kind of embraced the role of underdog that everybody pinned on us. We certainly didn’t believe we were the underdog coming in. I think we obviously proved that to people playing strong baseball games in a row against some really good teams. Drew and I started talking when camp just opened. Every day we’d see each other at spring training. ‘Paisans’, you know, it’s kind of like that comradery came with it. Having played the European Cup last year, I saw what a great group of guys it was. It’s truly amazing to bring a guys from a big league camp and have them join with IBL (Italian Baseball League) guys and some guys from other walks of life and to have us all feel like we’ve been playing together for years is pretty amazing.

Italia pitching coach Bill Holmberg and hitting coach Mike Piazza (MG-Oldmanagency / FIBS)

Italia pitching coach Bill Holmberg and hitting coach Mike Piazza (MG-Oldmanagency / FIBS)

Roberto: You could not have had a better guidance than Italian MLB Academy Director and Team Italia pitching coach Bill Holmberg as well as Team Italia hitting coach Mike Piazza.

Chris Colabello: Yeah, for sure. Even on that end, you’ve got a guy who in my opinion
is a Hall of Famer in Mike Piazza, and a guy like Bill Holmberg–who is probably more prepared than any coach I have ever met in my entire life in terms of being able to scout, gather information and help guys out. Obviously, Marco is the leader of that group. It’s pretty amazing stuff because I think a line I remember hearing is ‘Attitude reflects leadership’ so it’s obviously a testament to them and the ability they go about teaching the game and helping guide us who we are.

Roberto: How did you make the transition from Independent baseball to MLB-affiliated ball and what were the expectations that went along with it?

Chris Colabello: It was all new to me at that point. Obviously not being drafted initially kind of hurt a little bit, and I really didn’t know where the road was going to lead. Baseball is a big part of my life. Worcester was probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my career. The manager I played for, Rich Gedman and the people I was around, some of my best friends for the rest of my life are some of the guys I played with in Worcester. After that 2005 season, we had a great experience. It was our first year. The city was really excited about it. I got a real taste of how the best minor league places are run because we were certainly treated like royalty. I had the opportunity to sign with Detroit (in 2006).
I really didn’t know what to expect. It was all new to me. I had never been to Spring Training camp. I was really excited. I didn’t know how many guys there would be. Coming in as a free agent signing, I think at some point you have got to stand out. Again, I had mentioned before, when I was younger I used to let things speed up on me a little bit.
I think that was probably part of what happened in camp unfortunately. I thought I had done a pretty good job performance wise and in terms of work ethic. And I think I had some good reviews from coaches before I had left, but things didn’t work out for whatever reason it was and back to Worcester it was.

Roberto: At age 27 during your 2011 season with the Worcester Tornadoes, you put up impressive offensive numbers which earned you Can-Am League Most Valuable Player and Baseball America magazine’s Independent Baseball Player of the Year honors. How could the Minnesota Twins not take notice? They saw something special in you and shortly thereafter offered a minor league contract.

Chris Colabello: Yeah. It was kind of a whirlwind. I finished the 2010 season on a tough note. I broke my hand. I got hit with a fastball and missed the final two weeks of the season. I think I was really, really hungry at that point. So I started working a lot earlier than I normally would, especially in the cage with a good friend of mine, Bobby Tewksbary–
who is one of my best friends in the world. We‘d start getting after it in the cage…talking about timing and rhythm things, swing stuff that really changed my life (laughter). It allowed me to free myself up as a hitter a little bit which turned things around in my 2011 season. It was pretty magical in terms of finish. And of course all those nice accolades I was able to receive…I think helped me kind of break into affiliated baseball. I couldn’t be more thankful to the Twins organization for giving me that chance.

Roberto: The accolades continued to mount as you were a 2012 Eastern League All-Star team selection in addition to being chosen as the Eastern League’s Most Valuable Player runner-up. You must have broken some hearts when your 98 RBI single-season club
record for Double-A New Britain in 2012 surpassed the previous 1998 record set by Doug Mientkiewicz (88). Quite an accomplishment in consideration MLB veterans and former
Rock Cats Justin Morneau, Michael Cuddyer and Jacque Jones could not reach the prior plateau during their minor league careers.

Chris Colabello: Yeah (laughter). It was a lot of fun. I think 2012 turned out to be,
I couldn’t have imagined it, just as good if not a better year than 2011. I was on a little bit of a different stage. There was little more riding on it, but it was awesome. I reminded myself about having fun and the game doesn’t change no matter where you are. Once I started having fun, things began to free up for me. In both places early, I ran into some trouble. Again that mental maturity…aging has kind of helped me along the way. It reminded me how to battle back from situations like that so the numbers turned out to be what they were. It was a lot of fun.

Roberto: You have trying to beat the odds in breaking in the big leagues your entire career with the same conviction to succeed despite getting older everyday. What keeps you moving forward in achieving your life-long dream?

Chris Colabello: Ultimately, I think if you are passionate enough about something in life it would be irresponsible not to pursue it to the fullest extent. Baseball is such a big part of my life for so long and obviously a huge part of my family, huge part of my childhood. It’s a part of me. People say baseball doesn’t define who I am. Well in a lot of ways I feel like it does for me. Obviously it doesn’t define the type of person I am, but there’s always a huge part of me that will be in love with this game for the rest of my life. I think I just got really good at not taking ‘no’ for an answer. Every time I heard someone say ‘no’, it kind of made me want it much more and maybe work for it that much more. It allowed me to do things that I could take to that next level. Here we are today. Persistence and not taking ‘no’ for an answer are the way to do it.

Team Italia pitcher Dan Serafini

Team Italia/MLB veteran pitcher Dan Serafini is a kindred spirit to Twins slugger Chris Colabello.

Roberto: You have a lot in common with Team Italia teammate and former Twins 1992 first-round draft pick Dan Serafini, another player who has seen the inside of more bus terminals than clubhouses. How are you so alike yet different ballplayers?

Chris Colabello: He’s about passion, persistence, desire. Ultimately, I don’t know what makes us different. I think
we all just have a deep-rooted love for
the game. I can’t imagine my life without the game of baseball. It’s nice to be around someone who has gone through the
same things and thinks the same way.

Team Italia pitcher Alex Maestri has been a close friend to Colabello since their youth baseball days together in Italy.

Team Italia pitcher Alex Maestri

Roberto: You also have a very strong connection
with Team Italia pitcher Alex Maestri and his father,
Dr. Paolo Maestri. Let me get this straight. You were 14 and playing baseball in Italy when Dr. Maestri was
at the right place at the right time to save your life. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you were lounging on the back of your baseball coach’s car when your coach took off down a hill at 30 mph without seeing you in the rear. You jumped off and landed face-first, resulting in a deep gash near your mouth and severe bleeding to the point where you were choking on your own blood. Dr. Maestri helped you get the blood out so you could breathe again. What a nightmare! Thank God there was a doctor nearby to render first aid and save you.

Chris Colabello: Yeah, it was a pretty unbelievable experience. I’m very, very fortunate to (have) the Maestri family. Without them, I firmly believe that
I would not be here today.

Chris Colabello crushed the ball against Team Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Chris Colabello crushed the ball against Team Canada in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.


The future home of MLB rookie Chris Colabello

The Twins’ faithful await Chris Colabello’s arrival.

Now that Chris Colabello is with us,
it is time for the call-up to Minnesota and his long-awaited MLB debut at Target Field. Looking ahead at their schedule, it would be ideal to bring Colabello up on May 29th when the Brewers visit the Twin Cities. That way the Italian American slugger will have the chance to share with Milwaukee’s Jeff Bianchi all the special moments that he missed. Unfortunately, the Brewers feared their infielder–who recently returned from the 15-day DL–would be injured if he played for Italia in the World Baseball Classic.
The time is NOW for Minnesota Twins 29-year-old rookie Chris Colabello!

The time is now for Minnesota Twins 29-year-old rookie Chris Colabello to begin raking in MLB.

Italy calls on pitcher Alex Maestri in 2013 World Baseball Classic win-or-go-home showdown

Pitcher Alex Maestri is representing Team Italy for the fourth time in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Starting pitcher Alex Maestri is representing Italy
for the fourth time in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

The first Italian-born pitcher signed
by MLB is experiencing a renaissance. The two-time MiLB All-Star spent five seasons in the Chicago Cubs system. Alex Maestri later ventured Down Under, where he would be named 2011 Australian Baseball League (ABL) Team World All-Star and given the inaugural ABL Fan Choice Award. When I first met the 27-year-old right-hander at the Italian MLB Academy near Pisa last year, he told me that the Kagawa Olive Guyners wanted him to pitch in Japan. He took on the the role of the team’s closer and was a knock out from day one. In each of the two months he played for Kagawa in 2012, he was named the indy league’s pitcher of the month.

Closer Alessandro Maestri was not afraid to show his winning Italian spirit by striking out Jayson Nix to beat Team U.S.A. for the first time in 21 years during the 2007 Baseball World Cup on November 9, 2007.

Closer Alessandro Maestri was not afraid to show his Italian winning spirit by striking out Jayson Nix to beat Team USA for the first time in 21 years during the 2007 Baseball World Cup hosted by Chinese Taipei.

On July 9, 2012, Maestri’s contract was purchased by the Orix Buffaloes of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) League. He worked diligently to advance from the farm team to the top-ranked league in Japan. In his NPB debut for the Orix Buffaloes, the international baseball ambassador from Italy pitched 6.1 innings to earn his first victory while allowing just one run with four hits and striking out five. He went on to dominate in the NPB and made seven more starts for the 2012 Orix Buffaloes. Posting a 4-3 record with a 2.17 ERA,
Alex Maestri averaged nearly one strikeout per inning
(49.2 innings/40 K). He was equally impressive during his 2011/12 ABL campaign. The Brisbane Bandits pitcher finished third in the ABL in innings pitched (63.2) and strikeouts (53), fourth in WHIP (1.16) and sixth in ERA (3.25). In Round Eight of the regular season, he earned Australian Baseball League Pitcher of the Week honors after throwing a stellar complete game two-hitter against the Canberra Cavalry.
Alex Maestri pitched for the Brisbane Bandits during the 2011/12 ABL season.

Alex Maestri pitched for the Brisbane Bandits during the 2011/12 ABL season.

wbc_logo Team Italy starting pitcher Alex Maestri faces Team Puerto Rico today at 7pm (EST) in a win-or-go-home showdown televised live on the MLB Network from Marlins Park in Miami. He and his fellow Italian teammates are ready to show the world that the defending European Champions are loaded with talent ready to lock and load in the competitive 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Roberto: Welcome back to the USA!
Alex Maestri: How are doing Roberto? It’s nice to talk to you. I’m feeling good. It’s been a long journey coming here. Everything is good. I’m glad to be with the Italian national team now. I’m looking forward to this WBC tournament and this year coming up.

Roberto: After your successful campaign for the Japan Professional League’s Orix Buffaloes, the team has really stepped up its efforts in recruiting players from overseas.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, you know, every year the team signs foreign players. This year we got seven so we’re probably going to have to rotate. That’s stuff that I can’t control, but it’s going to be fun. The team looks very good. We have a lot of Japanese players that are pretty good and young so I think it’s going to be an exciting year.

Roberto: Did you enjoy the food in Japan?
Alex Maestri: The food there is great. It’s so good. I heard good things about Japanese food before I went there, and when I got there I really appreciated it. Their cuisine is not all about sushi like we think. That’s what I thought too before I went there, but they actually have a huge variety of good food. It’s all very, very good.

Roberto: Did you find a good plate of pasta there?
Alex Maestri: Actually, you know what, they are very good at cooking pasta too. They can reproduce everything very well. They are very good at learning about other cultures and making it theirs.

Roberto: The Japanese have the longest life span. So they must be doing something right.
Alex Maestri: They are doing a lot of things right.

Roberto: Your Japanese YouTube video is amazing. Have you ever been in the spotlight like that before?
Alex Maestri: Not at all. That was like the first time. After the game, the player of the game gets interviewed in front of the fans in the stadium and put on the big screen. My debut was actually a great game. I got to do that right on the field. It was cool. This fan had this Italian flag with him, and he came all the way close to the dugout. He passed the flag to one of the reporters who gave it to me. So it was good, it was good seeing the colors of Italy in Japan.
I was very proud too to represent those colors in a good way.

Roberto: It almost had an Olympic feel to it.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, you see those gold medal runners walking around the track with their flags. I was just standing around though. It was a really a weird day. I really didn’t feel uncomfortable. I really didn’t know what was going on.

Roberto: It must have been an adrenalin rush.
Alex Maestri: It was during the game. Afterwards, I was just relaxed and happy. I was done pitching, and we won the game.milbRoberto: Tell me about what you remember most about playing Minor League Baseball.
Alex Maestri: I was here in the states for six years, and five of those six years were with the Cubs. I have a lot of great memories with that team. The game that I remember the most was a Cubs Spring Training game, and I was with the big league team against the A’s. They gave me one inning, and it was pretty good.
Roberto: And you got to face Italian American Jason “Giambino” Giambi.
Alex Maestri: Actually Giambi is the only one who actually got a hit off me. I faced four guys, and three (Orlando Cabrera, Matt Holliday and Eric Chavez) of the four were strikeouts.
Roberto: Since he is Italian, were you giving him a free pass to first base?
Alex Maestri: (Laughing) Yeah, I guess so.

Italian American Jason "Giambino" Giambi was the only A's hitter to get on base versus Alex Maestri.

Italian American Jason “Giambino” Giambi was the only A’s hitter to get on base against pitcher Alex Maestri in a 2009 Chicago Cubs Spring Training game under Cubbie manager Lou Pinella.

Roberto: Let’s talk about the development of baseball in Italy. Is playing on Team Italia like serving in the Italian military and serving your country?
Alex Maestri: Yeah, I mean in Italy we have a lot of good players. It’s a shame that there is not much money supporting baseball so it’s not easy to develop guys. But we have the Italian MLB Academy now, and you know it’s doing very good. There are some young players that are doing some really nice work. And there’s more and more scouts going down there to look at them. It’s a pleasure for me to represent the country all over the world. And even if I just play for myself on the team that I play with, I always play for my colors, I’m always proud of that.
Alessandro Maestri with Italian teammates Pat Venditte, Luca Panerati and Alessandro Vaglio. (Photo by Michele Gallerani/FIBS)

Alessandro Maestri with Italian teammates Pat Venditte, Luca Panerati and Alessandro Vaglio during a break while at Oakland A’s Minor League facility. (Photo by MG-Oldmanagency / FIBS)

Roberto: Forza Italia! Forza Azzurri!
Alex Maestri: Yeah, per sempre Forza Azzurri!

Roberto: You don’t take any prisoners when you pitch, and you proudly wear your colors on your sleeve. It shows that you pour your heart and soul every time you step on the mount to throw.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, I think that’s what you have to do on the mound. You’re not always going to succeed. But that’s the attitude you’ve got to have to pitch.

Roberto: Italy pitching coach Bill Holmberg has changed the mindsets of many on this staff for the better.
Alex Maestri: Bill has been my pitching coach forever. He has known me since I was a kid And you know I started working with him when I was 18-year-old and started to go to the Italian MLB Academy. But even before that he was working with me. He’s my main pitching coach. I always try to go the Academy during the offseason and have a few workouts with him. I really like the way he teaches pitching. I think everybody, all the pitchers that get to work with him, they appreciate his work.

Roberto: He was the one who wrote your name on a scouting report for the Chicago Cubs, and the next thing you know you were signed to MLB.
Alex Maestri: At the time he was an international scout for the Chicago Cubs, and you know I was doing pretty good. I was young and I was doing good for my team. And he said that he was going to take a chance and sign me. He said that I could make the Big Leagues. He really believed in me. He gave me a great opportunity to come over and gave me a chance to play in the states.

Pitching coach Bill Holmber and hitting coach Mike Piazza (Michele Gallerani / FIBS)

Italia pitching coach Bill Holmberg and hitting coach Mike Piazza (MG-Oldmanagency / FIBS)

Roberto: Mike Piazza could be doing else, but instead he chooses to with you as the hitting coach for Team Italy.
Alex Maestri: We really love that. It’s great to have him around in the dugout. He’s like doing this for fun. He enjoys working with us… That’s why we appreciate it so much. I think he is positively influencing the program that we have. The fact that the team is winning and improving proves it. So that’s why he keeps coming back.

Roberto: Coach Piazza helps pitchers as well, right?
Alex Maestri: Oh definitely. We always have meetings in the morning.. He comes in with Bill and always says his opinion on our pitching. He was one of the best catchers in the game so he obviously knows a lot about pitching too. It’s just great having him around.

Roberto: Being the underdog, Team Italy plays like there is no tomorrow.
Alex Maestri: I guess it’s kind of normal since baseball is not so developed in Italy. People don’t really respect Italian baseball, but you know it’s kind of like the fun part of playing. Nobody really thinks that we are strong. But I think we are a very good team actually, and we should again surprise a lot of people around the world.

Roberto: It this also an opportunity to play on the world’s stage to show MLB what they missed out on?
Alex Maestri: I don’t think I have to have any sort of revenge, I just want to play good for myself and my country. I was here in the states, and they gave me a great opportunity to play here. I had a lot of great experiences here so it’s not like I’m mad at anybody. Things just went that way. I had a tough year in 2010 so it’s normal that I got released. You know I’m still playing baseball. I’ve got a great opportunity now in Japan. I just love what I do so like I said before I am just going to play for my country and not for anybody else.

Roberto: You look healthy and happy. With this Italian team playing to win, I know you are going to give it your all.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, I think a few years back, the Italian national team just went out playing a few tournaments to kind of like participate. But now with manager Marco Mazzieri, you have a very good attitude and it rubs off on all the players. Now you have a very strong group that won two European Championships back-to-back. And now everybody is starting to feel confident about themselves. And in baseball that’s what is about—confidence. You know we got ability so we need to be confident and just go out there and play baseball.

Team Italy pitcher Alex Maestri was once regarded as having the best slider in the Cubs organization.

Alex Maestri had some serious movement on his arsenal of pitches in the 2009 WBC.

Roberto: You have a wicked slider which was once regarded as one of the best in the entire Chicago Cubs organization.
Alex: I’ve got my pitches like everybody else. I just got to keep working on them and make them as confusing as I can for hitters.

Roberto: In prior in WBC competitions, you have been stellar. I hope that you will continue to shine in the upcoming 2013 WBC.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, you know, that’s the plan. We always try to do our best. And that’s what I’m trying to do this time around. Right now I’m getting ready and going day-by-day. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and I’ll definitely give my best effort.

Roberto: Are there any players in the WBC that you know from you days in MiLB?
Alex Maestri: The only guys that I remember is catcher Chris Robinson from Canada. We were in the same organization. We never really played together. I have played against many of the USA players like Mike (Giancarlo) Stanton and Jonathan Lucroy. It’s cool facing them again in the World Baseball Classic.

Roberto: Every pitch has to count with the WBC pitch limits in place.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, that’s kind of like the plan every time you go out. You know it’s a team sport so everybody is going to have do his own thing. I know that I will do my part with my pitching, but once I’m done with my pitches then there is someone else coming in to take over. We just all have to do this together, and it’s going to be touch. We’re playing the best teams in the world, and it’s going to be hard work. So we’re going to have to be really focused.

Roberto: You have to execute.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, you’ve got to be able to execute and if you don’t you just lose games. That’s why we play this game. You know, we enjoy that part of it.

Italia pitcher Alessandro Maestri will face Team Canada in the WBC. (Michele Gallerani / FIBS)

Italia pitcher Alessandro Maestri beat Canada in the 2013 WBC. (MG-Oldmanagency / FIBS)

Roberto: What does it mean to be an Italian playing baseball?
Alex Maestri: I just started to play baseball because of my brother. At the time I wasn’t really watching any baseball on TV. I started doing that later on, but it was cool seeing all those guys with Italian names written on the back of their jerseys. I just grew up hoping that one day that I would be able to take their place.

Roberto: With the influx of MLB players now joining Team Italy, how will it change the personality of La Squadra Azzurri.
Alex Maestri: I think it’s going to be the same. We have a good personality now. Those players are going to definitely improve the level. Because obviously they are Big League players and they have more experience than we do. It’s going to make the team better, but I don’t think it will change the personality of the team.

Roberto: You are representing Italy on all corners of the earth wherever you compete.
Alex Maestri: I feel like it. I always travel the world and play baseball in different countries. But my roots are always with me so I feel very proud of that. I’m sure all the other guys feel proud of that too—even the Big League players that are going to play for us. We already had a bunch of them in the World Baseball Classic, and they play as hard as we do. They want to win, and it’s just going to be great to do it all together.

Alex Liddi and Alex Maestri

Migliori Amici Alex Liddi and Alessandro Maestri

Roberto: Any favorites? Has the Dodgers’ Nick Punto lived up to his name as the shredder by tearing the jersey off walk-off heroes after Team Italy victories?
Alex Maestri: I don’t know about Punto, but another guy who had an unbelievable WBC tournament was Chris Denorfia. At the tournament, he really gave everything he had. He made some great plays defensively and had some clutch hits so it’s going to be good to see him again. Jason Grilli has been with us for the first two World Baseball Classics. He’s just a great guy. He loves to come and play for us. Alex Liddi, of course, is one of my best friends.
I haven’t seen him in a long time. I saw him the other day, and it was just great seeing him again. He’s really family. I feel like his brother. And all the other guys that are going to come are going to be very welcome.

Roberto: You will be in the capable hands of catchers Drew Butera from the Minnesota Twins and Tyler LaTorre from the San Francisco Giants. Have you ever worked with them before?
Alex Maestri: Actually not. I haven’t had the pleasure to work with them yet. It’s going to happen in the WBC.RizzoRoberto: Since you were in the same organization as the Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo, it will be sort of a Cubbie reunion with two Italians on the same team.
Alex Maestri: Yeah, I heard really a lot of good things about him. We both played for the same organization so it will be good.

Roberto: Anything else you would like to say before we sign off?
Alex Maestri: I’d like to say hi to everybody. I would like to thank the great people all over the world. I really enjoy what I’m doing now. I might not be enjoying this for the past seven years if it had not been for them. Thanks!

Roberto: I really enjoyed meeting you at the Italian MLB Academy and talking with you today here in Arizona prior to the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Thanks for your time!
Alex: Thank you very much, and thank you for the work you do for Team Italy. It’s good to have somebody who really cares about this team and tries to promote the team as much as you do. Thank you for doing that.
Roberto: Thank you. It’s my pleasure. I believe in you and Italian baseball. God bless Italia! italy colors

Perth’s Corey Adamson following Aussie Baseball Hall of Fame father’s lead excites Padres’ faithful

Perth Heat outfielder and San Diego Padres prospect Corey Adamson is currently playing for the Single-A affiliate Fort Wayne TinCaps. (Photo courtesy of the ABL / SMP Images)

Although the most prominent Australian baseball family may be the Nilsson’s, Aussie Baseball Hall of Famer Tony Adamson and his 20-year-old son, San Diego Padres prospect Corey Jon Adamson, may soon rewrite history. During his illustrious career from 1989-1995 for the Perth Heat, the elder Adamson made the most of his 279 appearances by putting up some very impressive numbers: .316 batting average, .606 slugging percentage, 252 RBI and 71 home runs. One tough act to follow as a 1988 Olympian and a Claxton Shield Helms Award Winner, Australian Baseball League star slugger Tony Adamson is undeniably one of Western Australia’s greatest baseball players ever. If anyone can surpass Tony’s huge accomplishments and break into Major League Baseball, it will be his son Corey–who is highly touted as one of the finest five-tool players with plus speed to come out of Australia.

Perth's Corey Adamson wears #1 for a reason. (Photo courtesy of Ben Southall/SMP Images)

Aussie San Diego Padres pitching prospect and rival Canberra Cavalry pitcher "The Big Dog" Hayden Beard believes he and Corey are MLB bound.

“The Big Dog” Hayden Beard, fellow Aussie Padres prospect and rival Canberra Cavalry pitcher, fetched Corey to our interview location last month during Padres Spring Training camp in Peoria, Arizona.
Seven years his senior and a starter for the Double-A affiliate San Antonio Missions, Beard has assumed a sort of mentoring role to Adamson. However, they operate together like Abbott and Costello. “Beardy”, as Adamson affectionately calls him, politely exercised good doggy manners by allowing Corey to take the mike before him because Adamson had to leave first for a minor league exhibition game against the Texas Rangers. However, there was a price to be paid for this courtesy as “The Big Dog” barked out some very witty answers to questions directed to Adamson. Corey often rifled back with even funnier responses. Although the two competed against one another in the Australian Baseball League, it was clear that they truly were MLB teammates with the same dream to make it all the way to San Diego’s PETCO Park.

20-year-old Corey Adamson is one of the Padres' finest work-in-progress.

Roberto: How are things at Padres Spring Training?
Corey Adamson: Feeling really good. This is my third spring training. I signed when I was 16. Came over for a couple weeks when I was 17. Then when
I was 18, 19, and now 20 for my third full season.
Roberto: Life in San Diego is the closest thing to West Coast living in Perth. How is it being a Padre?
Corey Adamson: It’s really good. When I signed
and I went to San Diego, I thought it was like Perth in Western Australia. I really liked the whole atmosphere of it.
Roberto: Congratulations to you and the Perth Heat for back-to-back ABL Championships. Describe your amazing catch seen by millions on TV worldwide.
Corey Adamson: It was really good winning the whole thing with Perth, which was great because we had did it the year before and made it even better. But the catch, Justin Huber, a power-hitter pulled one down the line. I saw it in the air and then I lost it. So I was kind of running blindly to the fence and then picked it up at the last minute. I had to make the slide and cut up my knee and busted it on the fence unfortunately. Other than that it looked cool on TV…I guess (laughter). The response was huge.
As soon as I caught the ball, you could hear the whole place going up and then what you didn’t see in the video is all the pitchers in the bullpen that were going crazy as well and just everyone down the line. It was really cool!

Corey Adamson (standing front and center) celebrates Perth Heat's 2012 ABL Championship victory over the Melbourne Aces. (Photo courtesy of Bohdan Warchomij / Metaphor Images)

After pitching against the Perth Heat in the ABL Championship Series, Melbource Ace pitcher Travis Blackley headed to Giants Spring Training camp in Arizona to prepare for his return to MLB with San Francisco.

Roberto: Was Perth overconfident in the ABL Championship against the Melbourne Aces?
Corey Adamson: The Perth Heat as a team…we’re not the most serious team. We go out.
We have fun and stuff. The Melbourne Aces
are a really good team. They came out and threw their best pitchers. We threw our best guys, and hit for hit we were going with each other. We just had to come through, and we took it in the end. I don’t think we came in too cocky about it, but we came in with confidence like we do with every other series.
Roberto: Did it appear that Melbourne Ace pitcher Travis Blackley was out there to make amends and stop the Heat from repeating?
Corey Adamson: He wasn’t out there just to pitch for himself. He wanted to win. You could see it when he gave up a hit. He was getting angry if he didn’t strike someone out. Or if he gave up a walk he was getting mad about it.
He was out there competing, and I guess we just came through in the end.

Perth Heat's Luke Hughes

Roberto: Did you think that the Perth Heat were vulnerable when Aussie MLB star Luke Hughes got hurt and was not able to play on your team in the ABL Championship?
Corey Adamson: As good as it is having Luke Hughes in the line-up, we felt like we had enough depth in the line-up that we put out there. Not that we didn’t need him, but that we could get by without him–which was good. We still hung his jersey in the dugout. A little bit of good luck so it felt like he was there.

Corey Adamson poses for a 2011 San Diego Padres publicity photo.

Corey Adamson received instruction
from legendary MLB All-Star Rod Carew at the famed MLB Australian Academy.

Roberto: You’re always smiling in a Padres uniform. What’s the secret to your happiness?
Corey Adamson: It’s a great organization, a great place to be in. Even in spring training, it’s like all the coaches care about what you’re doing. All the managers care..it’s not we’re here just for
a business. You know even though it’s a business, it’s more like a family as well. I got to keep hitting well. Wherever they put me, I will play as best I can. I just got to keep working. Go well this spring, this season. And then in the offseason again–just keep getting better. Hopefully, it will be a short trip to the Big Leagues.
Roberto: Who do you aspire to be like in Major League Baseball?
Hayden Beard (interjecting): The Big Dog! (laughter)
Corey Adamson: Definitely not like Beardy at all!!! (even more laughter)

Former Perth U.S. Consul General Ken Chern (center) with Dave Nilsson (left) and Graeme Lloyd (right).

Roberto: How about the MLB players and instructors at the MLB Australian Academy?
Corey Adamson: Through Academy and having Dave Nilsson coach and Graeme Lloyd…that was great. Dave Nilsson was a really good coach. He taught me a lot of stuff and to always aim to be an all-star. One year we
had Rod Carew as our baserunning and outfield coach. I loved the way
he played. He had 18 years of all-star appearances and a bunch of stolen bases. I just loved the way he played the game.

The intensity of Corey Adamson is much appreciated by jubilant teammate Matt Kennelly in
the ABL Championship against Melbourne. (Photo courtesy of Theron Kirkman / SMP Images)

Roberto: Do you feel coming from an emerging baseball market in Australia that you are at a disadvantage competing against players from countries which historically have had success in launching long and lucrative careers in MLB?
Corey Adamson: Coming over from Australia you can really tell that we haven’t had as many swings and reps as the Latin American or American guys. But it just means is that when we get here that we have to try extra hard to play catch up a little bit. And just really knuckle down on focusing what the coaches are telling us to do, exactly what they say.

By working out in the weight room with Padre Kyle Blanks--a six-foot-six, 270 pound muscleman--Corey Adamson hopes to fast track to MLB.

Roberto: What is your interaction with the Padres Major Leaguers like Kyle Blanks?
Corey Adamson: The locker rooms are kind of
split up, but we’re always intertwined at some point whether getting lunch or in the weight room and stuff. I always try to have a couple words with him.
I speak to Blanks a lot whenever he’s walking by or whatever.
Roberto: The guy is a giant! I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody his stature. What is he, six-foot-six
and 270 pounds?
Corey Adamson: He’s huge. As much as I would like, I don’t think that I’ll ever be able to take the BP(batting practice) that he can take.
Roberto: Are you giving way to him when he wants to use the bench press and you’re next in line?
Corey Adamson: Ah, you know, I think I might be able to push a little more weight than him.
Hayden Beard: (uncontrollable outburst of laughter)
Corey Adamson: He’s a Big Leaguer so he gets first pick of what he would like to do, and I I’ll just do something else.

After leading the Australian Baseball League in hits (67), runs (41), BB (34), BA (.409), OBP (.510), and OPS (1.187), and not being named the ABL MVP, we hereby award Brian Burgamy of the Canberra Cavalry a life-size Carmen Electra Easter bunny booby prize for his earth-shattering 2011-12.


Roberto: What inspired you @coreyadamson to tweet about Easter eggs and Easter bunnies?
Corey Adamson: (Laughter) Me and Beardy went to Walmart to do our taxes one day, and the bloke that did our taxes was just drunk, smashed out of his head. He was really below average at his job so we walked around Walmart for a little bit. Saw that Easter eggs were out, and so we got to have a
couple Easter eggs.
Roberto: If any team was going to take down
the Perth Heat, yet did not qualify for the playoffs but appeared to have shut down your offense throughout the season with their pitching, it was
the Canberra Cavalry. Did they not have the Perth Heat’s number?
Corey Adamson: Yeah, you could say that. They had a really good pitching staff. You know, being
2-for-2 off Hayden Beard was pretty good.
Hayden Beard: (Laughter) Two bloopers.
Corey Adamson: (Laughter) Two first-pitch leanies at his face.
Hayden Beard: (Laughter)
Corey Adamson: Yeah, they (Canberra) were the team to take us down if anyone could.
Roberto: What about Brian Burgamy not getting
the Australian Baseball League Most Valuable Player?

Brian Burgamy came up short in ABL MVP voting.(Photo courtesy of ABL / Ben Southall / SMP Images)

Hayden Beard: :( (Shaking his head in disbelief)
I know…
Corey Adamson: You know, a .409 batting average
obviously deserves something. But I’m not going to
be the one to take it away from Tim Kennelly. (laughter)
Roberto: Maybe an Easter bunny would be a consolation gift? (laughter)
Corey Adamson: I’ll send one over to him. (laughter)
Roberto: Anything to share with your friends, families, coaches and supporters back home that have great hopes and aspirations for you?
Corey Adamson: Just that you know I’m over here grinding out everyday doing as best as I can to try to get to the Big Leagues as soon as possible. That’s
about it.
Roberto: Thank you for your time. It has been a pleasure visiting with you, and we’ll catch up with you again soon.
Corey Adamson: Thank you very much!

From the West Coast of Australia to the West Coast of California, six-foot-two, 185 pound
Perth Heat outfielder Corey Adamson will head for the expressway leading to his MLB debut
at San Diego's legendary PETCO Park. (Photo courtesy of ABL/Theron Kirkman/SMP Images)

Radio DJ Roberto Angotti goes ‘Down Under’ with LA Dodger Shane Lindsay to drum up support for the Australian Baseball League and MLB

The LA lifestyle Dodger True Blue

When asked to special guest Friday morning at 8 am (Perth, Australia time) or Thursday afternoon at 4 pm (PST, USA time) on ABC Grandstand Strike Zone baseball radio show by host @CJColeman after completing my most comprehensive article to date
“MLB digs ‘Down Under’ and find nine Aussie stars”, I requested to include one of the featured Australian players–Pitcher Shane Lindsay of the Los Angeles Dodgers–because of a recent tweet received from @ABQTopes (LA Dodgers Triple-A affiliate Albuquerque Isotopes). I thought to myself that if anyone deserved to go directly from the Australian Baseball League straight to Major League Baseball without any pit stops it was the recently signed Dodger flamethrower. After the Isotopes were kind enough to retweet my article to its 2500 followers, I tweeted back: “Thanks for the RT (retweet) and for sending the Dodgers your best talent. Do you think Aussie Shane Lindsay will wear True Blue after ST (spring training)?”
Moments later @ABQTopes replied,
“He has the tools to impress, but new ownership will have the final say.” Time will tell who exactly will sign Lindsay’s checks, but in the meantime he is training rigorously in Arizona to prepare for the pitcher and catcher February 21st report date at Camelback Ranch in Glendale. Shane emailed me: “Hey mate, doing good…working my butt off in Phoenix and getting ready for camp at athlete performance.” Lindsay is taking this challenge very seriously.

Lindsay will be Keeping Up with the Kardashians.


Without a doubt, Lindsay could very well be vintage Jonathan Broxton
with additional strength out of the bullpen. Last season wearing Chicago White Sox silks, the gutsy and often “wild” Australian hurler was not afraid to throw inside with his intimidating signature upper 90′s fastball to strike out hitters. The Dodgers believe Shane Lindsay has what it takes to become successful in MLB, and all he has to do now is figure out who to impress…the “wild” Kim Kardashian?

Located at the corner of 4th and Broadway in Manhattan, the MLB Fan Cave hosts interactive fan activities and visits from MLB players, baseball personalities and celebs.

Sublime with Rome in the 2011 MLB Fan Cave.

In order for me to impress on why you should vote for me to be in the 2012 MLB Fan Cave by clicking HERE so that I may deliver an innovative and fresh approach to the coverage of pro baseball and also report on the latest cutting-edge music and pop culture trends, it is imperative to hear from others about my positive influence on them–as I am not accustomed to being my own publicist! Let’s first connect the dots through the Skunk Records and Sublime stories as told by San Diego-based Slightly Stoopid drummer Ryan ‘RyMo’ Moran.
While on the road with Rebelution , Ryan Morgan recently spoke about my good friend, Mike ‘Miguel’ Happoldt–co-founder of Skunk Records and producer for Sublime, Slightly Stoopid, Unwritten Law, Long Beach Dub All-Stars and Long Beach Shortbus. ‘RyMo’ explained, “In a nutshell, Skunk Records was two people. It was Brad Nowell from Sublime, and Mike Happoldt. Mike Happoldt is still one of our producers to this day, we work with him all the time. Basically those two guys started that record label as an underground Long Beach record label. It was basically two friends who just put their heads together and said, ‘Hey, we’re going to start recording.’ At the time, Mike Happoldt was called ‘Miguel’. Miguel was going to Long Beach State and he was in a recording arts music program there … and so after hours there they would sneak into Long Beach State, and Sublime recorded a whole bunch of stuff there. They would basically just sneak in after hours and use the studio from like, 8 p.m. ‘till 4 in the morning and then come back in the next night and do it all again. Skunk Records really was just a grass roots movement between those two guys.

Now sadly, we all know the story that Brad Nowell passed away in ’96 from an overdose on heroin, which sucked. At that point Mike, or Miguel, basically kept the label going, but it shrunk considerably. It went from like a full-on functioning label to just basically him doing stuff out of his house on a smaller scale. Basically, Skunk Records released quite a few records from bands like The Ziggens, one of Sublime’s favorite bands from back in the day. They released a good amount of other stuff —- obviously the work they did with Long Beach Dub All-Stars. Basically, Skunk Records is just Miguel Happoldt. It’s his project.”

DJ Roberto at KROQ 106.7


When LA music industry insider executive Dana Smart interviewed Mike ‘Miguel’ Happoldt about Sublime and the influence of reggae, yours truly got some serious props.
Mike said, “Brad was a huge fan of DJ Roberto Angotti of KNAC (not metal yet) in Long Beach. He taped every show between 1985 and 1986.” You can listen to some of the songs that Brad loved by clicking on the following podcast link–The Waxcast Episode 2: Homage to Reggae Revolution–a loyal listener’s tribute to my radio show
before moving on to Los Angeles’ #1 Young Adult Radio Leader, ‘The World Famous KROQ 106.7 FM’, where I deejayed from 1986 through 1992.
I would see Brad regularly when I promoted Club Reggae at Fenders Ballroom in downtown Long Beach, where huge punk groups would perform in the larger room and Jamaica’s Wailing Souls and Eek-A-Mouse, England’s Pato Banton and Tippa Irie as well as LA’s Untouchables and Fishbone and other reggae/ska groups would play in my part of the ballroom on weekends. We would not discriminate against anyone who would enter our Punky Reggae Party. Long Beach experienced a London boomtown feeling in the early/mid-80′s. I clearly remember Brad joining me in the DJ booth when I promoted Eek-A-Mouse and Sublime together at Bogart’s in Long Beach. He came again to check me at an Andy Summers gig as well. When singer Gwen Stefani and bassist Tony Kanal from No Doubt were a couple without a contract, they would frequent my OC Club Reggae where I would test market their records on the dance floor.
After graduating early in 1980 from high school at age 17, I studied abroad in London and immersed myself in the 2 Tone movement. Borrowing elements of ska, punk rock, rocksteady, reggae and New Wave, bands like The Specials, The Selecter, The (English) Beat, Madness, Bad Manners, and The Bodysnatchers were the talk of the town. However, it was UB40′s “My Way of Thinking” that captured my imagination. Their progressive and upbeat style of British reggae was ear candy, and I could not get enough of it. I also learned of another Birmingham-based band called Steel Pulse. I collected records from London’s Aswad and Linton Kwesi Johnson as well. The artists trusted me, and I traveled with UB40 throughout America as their emcee while supporting Sting and The Police. I became the first radio deejay to interview British reggae, ska and two tone artists and break their records in America while hosting “Roberto, Rock, Reggae” on KSPC 88.7 in Claremont, California. Although a college station, the strong 3000 watt signal penetrated in Orange, LA, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Within two years in 1982, I got my first real job in commercial radio when I was hired as a new music jock.
Working overnights at ‘Rock N Rhythm KNAC’ in Long Beach, I mixed New Wave and Classic Rock from the 50′s-70′s in this unique format which allowed deejay freedom with two personal choices per hour. I would bring in my crate of records from independent and unsigned artists to customize my radio show with a healthy dose of reggae and ska. After I had created a huge buzz for the music, I was rewarded with the first reggae show–”Reggae Revolution”–on commercial radio in addition to working my KNAC new music weekend deejay shifts and serving as program director of Pomona College’s KSPC. Often I would receive acetate test press copies of songs fresh out of the studio from up-and-coming LA New Wave bands like the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo (who would later drop the long name), The Motels, X, The Blasters, The Plimsouls and Missing Persons. The groups would have listening parties while paying close attention to the audio quality of the recording on-the-air before going back in the studio to master the song.

Although we did not have the signal strength of LA powerhouse KROQ, Long Beach’s KNAC–lead by the innovative program director Jimmy ‘The Saint’ Christopher (who would later become the PA announcer for the Texas Rangers at the Ballpark at Arlington)–was looked upon by the music industry as an indicator station. While other stations would only play one or two tracks from an album, KNAC would dig deeper and play as many as four or five. Once research had indicated that the public liked the tracks, then only would the more conservative and bigger KROQ’s of the world would add songs to the playlist–especially if there was payola.

Reggae legend Peter Tosh granted DJ Roberto his final interview before his untimely death in Kingston.


I thought that I would never sell my soul to the corporate giants, but it took a KNAC format change to Metal in 1986 for me to take a sabbatical in the UK and come back stronger than ever at KROQ. While a Film Studies major at Claremont McKenna College, I had done a documentary of the English Beat and written my thesis on reggae based upon two interviews with legendary original Wailer, the late and great Peter Tosh. He was the Original Jamaican Rude Boy that many of the two tone characters emulated years later in England.

Original Jamaican Rude Boys Bunny Livingston (Wailer), Bob Marley and Peter Tosh

Pato Banton performs live in front of 50,000 fans and a nationally-televised audience with Los Pericos in Buenos Aires, Argentina at 2007 Pepsi Music Fest.

After graduating from college and taking some time off, I embarked on a journey to document UB40′s making of the ‘Geoffrey Morgan’ Album in their hometown of Birmingham, England. Staying at each band-member’s house a week at a time, it goes without saying that the lads were tired of my eternal smiling grin and my video camera staring at them every step of the way. Upon arriving at their DEP studios in the industrial section of Birmingham’s Digbeth, the band suggested I go down to an open audition held underground at a local pub where local talent would be performing live.

Ranking Roger, Yaz Alexander and Pato Banton


My life would change forever… At the time, a local MC by the name of Pato Banton had recorded two tracks on UB40′s ‘Baggariddim’ Double Album. One of the tracks, “Hip Hop Lyrical Robot”, was a B Side to the #1 song “I Got You Babe” featuring Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders. After the success of the Beat’s “Pato and Roger Ago Talk” off the Beat’s ‘Special Beat Service’ Album, Ranking Roger continued to produce Birmingham’s top MC while Pato was on fire.

Fergie with Tippa Irie (in red) & the Black Eyed Peas


Roger did not disappoint the local reggae massive when he produced Pato’s 12″ single called “Mash Up The Telly”, which was the song that I had videotaped at the audition and later became a big UK smash hit. Before I could stop the camera and say hello, Pato was out the door and gone… I was blown away at his amazing talent and charisma on camera. I showed the footage to UB40 back at the studio, and the next day keyboardist Mickey Virtue game me Pato’s 12″ single “The Boss” and business card.
I immediately phoned and arranged a meeting with Pato’s manager, Grantley ‘G.T.’ Haynes. I learned that he also managed another client from London’s #1 Saxon Sound named Tippa Irie, who had massive success with “Hello Darling”. I had been sending postcards to KROQ Program Director Rick Carroll so he would expect me when I arrived back in LA. Equipped with new vinyl and a vengeance to get back on the radio, I brought back “Reggae Revolution” to the Southern California airwaves with a much improved signal that reached five times the amount of listeners I had previously at KNAC. Within a few months, Pato Banton and Tippa Irie were signed to U.S. recording contracts.

I arranged for Pato to record a song at the KROQ studios with the San Diego-based rock group Private Domain. The end result was “Absolute Perfection”, and the song became an instant hit on commercial radio throughout America in addition to a staple in the KROQ Top 10 playlist. Later I took Tippa Irie to see his first Black Eyed Peas concert at the Belly Up in Solana Beach. The end result there was “Hey Mama”, a track that broke radio charts internationally and was a MTV favorite. UB40 have always respected my writing style, and they paid me the ultimate compliment when they asked me to write the liner notes for their Dancehall Album.

After they flew me to Jamaica, I was able to work out of Ali Campbell and Brian Travers’ Oracabessa Records HQ in St. Mary. There I would vibe up full stop and meet a long cast of Jamaican stars passing through including Sly & Robbie, Rappa Robert, Toots Hibbert, Jack Radics and Mr. Vegas. Once word got out that I was writing liners, the phone rang constantly. The Sublime camp always loved my articles for Mean Street Magazine and asked for to write the liner notes for ‘Sublime: Everything Under the Sun’ Box Set. Mad Professor requested that I write Macka B’s ‘Global Messenger’ CD liners as well.

Music Club U.S.A. allowed me to go through the entire Fashion Records catalogue out of South London and produce two compilation CDs: ‘Love All Night’ and ‘Essential Dancehall Classics’. Despite having my plate full between teaching English in Orange County and freelance writing nonstop, I continued working with Pato Banton as he had a long list of recording artists who to this day consider him an inspiration and a foundation artist. Sting recorded with Pato on a couple occasions and flew he and his band on his private jet to Spain. Peter Gabriel recruited Pato to join him on his international WOMAD Tour. Ali and Robin Campbell scored a #1 hit with Pato on “Baby Come Back”. I have since arranged for Pato Banton to tour with the likes of 311, Matisyahu, English Beat, and Argentina’s Los Pericos. Tippa Irie and Pato Banton are first-rate live performers and consummate professionals in the recording studio. Both constantly in demand, it won’t
be long before they each throw out the first pitch at an upcoming MLB game and perform live in the MLB Fan Cave.

A breakout year for #6 Howard and MLBblogger

#6 Ryan Howard is determined to bring home the glory of a 2012 World Series Championship to Philly.

In celebration of the current #6 ranking in the January 2012
Top 50 MLB.com Blogs, MLBblogger is pleased to announce the world premiere of the MLB Fan Cave video submission of Roberto Angotti chatting about his favorite baseball memory: Roberto Clemente’s 3000th Hit (see it now by clicking on the hyperlink above). Viewers will be surprised to catch a glimpse of UK reggae legend Pato Banton, who provides an excellent introduction and his signature token “Flash It” phrase at the beginning of this fitting tribute to the late and great Latino hero.

Only LA Angel Albert Pujols stands in between Ryan Howard and his 2012 World Series ring.

Ryan Howard is expected to join the Phillies line-up in May after rupturing his Achilles in the 2011 playoffs.

One thing that Ryan Howard has over Pujols–and even Fielder–is earning power. He will make more than Albert Pujols every year until 2016–at which time their salaries will even–and earn more than Prince Fielder until 2017–when Howard becomes a free agent. Having undergone surgery on his torn left Achilles tendon in mid-October, the Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman Ryan Howard will miss 2012 Opening Day but will return to one of MLB’s most hitter-friendly fields at Philly’s Citizens Bank Park in May.

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