Baseball in Italy got its first break in the late 19th century when two American naval ships, the USS Lancaster and the USS Guinnebaug, arrived in the Tuscan port of Livorno. The American servicemen held their first baseball game on January 23, 1884 at the Campo d’Osservazione AKA Observation Field. Enthusiastic crowds cheered on the players, and the games garnered enough interest in the media to include coverage by Livorno’s newspaper, La Gazzetta Livornese. With an eager international following in Italy, early baseball pioneer Albert Goodwill Spalding served as a ‘Goodwill’ ambassador of the sport and held tournaments in Florence, Naples, and Rome in 1889. In an effort to unite forces with the allied Italian Army during World War I, the American Army taught Italian soldiers the sport and held baseball games between the two armies.
Any inter-war following was soon decimated upon the rise of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, which banned baseball for its American influence. Baseball experienced an Italian Renaissance post-World War II under the leadership of Ottino and Graziani, when the Lega Italiana Softball and the Lega Italiana Baseball leagues were created. The first professional baseball game between two Italian teams was held on June 27, 1948 in front of 2000 fans at Giurati stadium in Milan. These two leagues would eventually evolve into what is known today as the Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS), the governing body of baseball in Italy.
The Italian Baseball League (IBL) was founded in 1948 and is comprised of teams from Bologna, Parma, Nettuno, Rimini, Godo, Novara and Grosseto as well as the culturally Italian yet independent country San Marino. These eight teams compete in a 42-game season. Each team is allowed to have up to four non-Italian citizens, and each team must have at least six Italian citizen baseball players on the field at any given time. Former American players have found a second home in the IBL, including Jay Palma–the 1980 sixth-round draft pick of the New York Mets and current coach for the Novara United team.
Michael Anthony Smith was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 5th round of the 2000 amateur draft at the end of his college career at the University of Richmond. He pitched in 14 games for the Blue Jays in 2002 including six starts. The Minnesota Twins acquired Smith from the Philadelphia Phillies during the 2005-2006 offseason, but he was not called up to the Major Leagues until August 2, 2006. Smith played for the 2009 Brother Elephants team in Taiwan’s Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).
He led the 2010 Brockton Rox of the Can-Am League in wins (12) and ERA (2.87) in 125.1 innings. He was also named to the 2010 Cam-Am All-Star Team, along with Rox teammate and newly signed Grosseto catcher Chris Grossman. Smith went 8-5 with a 3.99 ERA in 94.2 innings during his 2011 Brockton Rox pitching campaign. The 34-year-old MLB veteran will prove to be a valuable asset for the Tuscan squad both as regular starting pitcher as well as mentor and pitching coach for the talented roster of Grosseto hurlers.
35-year-old switch-hitting shortstop Jay Pecci has wanted to play in Italy for nearly a decade when he tried out in January of 2005 for the Italian national team that played in the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Although he had hit a home run and a single
in his final scrimmage game, Pecci was cut from the Italian team before the international competition.
Pecci recalled, “It was real close. I felt like I was on
the bubble.” The versatile athlete has always had a knack for high drama going back to college when
Pecci walked on to the Stanford baseball team and impressed enough to become a everyday starter.
A 1998 All-Conference player, Pecci led Stanford to
the 1995 and 1997 College World Series and boasted one of the all-time best College World Series batting averages after going 10-for-17 (.588). At Stanford
he played with MLB success stories Jody Gerut,
Joe Borchard, Chad Hutchinson and eventual Gary SouthShore RailCats teammate Tony Cogan.
All-Star Game MVP and ranks in the top five in nearly every offensive category in Northern League history.
Pecci came close to early retirement in 2004 when he fractured his skull and broke his jaw colliding with a Norwich teammate while chasing a flyball in Trenton, New Jersey. Having his jaw wired shut for a month, Pecci was determined in making a comeback. He remarked, “I thought at that point, I wouldn’t let that be my last game in baseball.” In his 15-year pro career, nothing came close to his personal best 2008 campaign with the Indy League Gary SouthSide RailCats. Pecci set the RailCats single-season hits record (115) that season and hit a career-best .317 batting average and .474 slugging percentage along with 26 doubles and nine home runs. He homered in the Northern League All-Star Game in 2008 and earned Most Valuable Player honors after hitting the game-winning home run in the ninth inning of the decisive Game Four of the Northern League Semifinals. Following the 2008 season, Pecci earned his first Post-Season All-Star commendation from the league as the circuit’s top shortstop. An agile and seasoned veteran ballplayer with well over 1000 games of experience, Jay Pecci will give Grosseto a competitive edge in the IBL.
With over 10 years of baseball instructional experience, Infante has been sought after to serve as personal training coach for some of New York’s finest. While offering private baseball instruction for the Cooperstown Athletics Sports Performance Training Facility in Manhattan, five of Jeff’s private alums have gone onto playing professional baseball within the last few years. Coupled with the injection of manager Mike Hartley and pitching coach Mike Smith, Infante and the new blood on Grosseto’s coaching staff now have the ability to positively impact the team’s bright future ahead. Finishing 13 games behind 2011 IBL Champion San Marino last season, the newly revamped and much improved Grosseto squad will be a top contender in Europe as a result of the 2012 MLB Italian Renaissance in Tuscany.
Italian Coaches Convention
Italian coaching, cuisine, and culture make Italy world-class for MLB hopefuls and European scouts
Baseball in Italy received a Major League surprise last month when an unannounced MLB manager graced the 436 registered attendees with his presence at the Italian Coaches Convention Dinner at Castelnuovo de Garda (Verona). Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon, a first-generation Italian-American whose father was born in Italy, was overjoyed by the warm reception received at the gala dinner which pays tribute to the coaches that make a difference in the internationalization of baseball in Italy. Madden exclaimed, “I feel at home here, because in the small city in Pennsylvania where I live there is a big Italian community.”
His grandparents original surname was Madonnini, but after emigrating from the Region of Abruzzo to America
their last name was shortened. Maddon continued, “It is always a pleasure for me to visit Italy. I am proud of my heritage.” The Rays were very well represented in Italy as Maddon brought along members of his coaching staff to lead instructional clinics for the delegation of Europe’s best coaches.
Riccardo Fraccari, president of the Federation of Italian Baseball and Softball (FIBS), spoke of Alex Liddi becoming the first Italian-born and developed player to play Major League Baseball and its great significance to baseball in Italy. He said, “Alex’s story is really the tip of the iceberg, and we really need to take into account the daily work of the coaches in Italy who are the base of the movement.” Liddi was signed by the Seattle Mariners after being selected to attend the inaugural MLB International European Academy in 2005 and in September 2011 became the first graduate of the MLB International European Academy to play in the Major Leagues.
Bill Holmberg is one such coach that FIBS President Fraccari was referring to in his compelling speech. Holmberg has been living under the radar since 1989, when he came to Italy to serve as manager and technical director of the Godo baseball club for 12 years. He later became the pitching coach for San Marino as well as the Italian Junior and Senior National teams. Coach Holmberg was named Director and Field Coordinator of the MLB Italian Academy nearly a decade ago and has been instrumental in signing the best homegrown talent as a former international scout for the Chicago Cubs. Everyday he tirelessly trains the cream of the crop at an elite sports academy in the quaint beach community of Tirrenia near the Italian cultural iconic city of Pisa. Alessandro Maestri, the former Chicago Cub minor leaguer and recent Brisbane Bandit / 2012 Australian Baseball League (ABL) Fan Favorite Award recipient, was signed by Holmerg in 2006, when he became the first Italian-born pitcher ever signed by a Major League Baseball team.
the first Italian-born pitcher signed to a MLB contract. (Scott Powick / SMP Images / ABL)
Chicago Cub scout Holmberg knew early on that Alessandro was something special when he saw the young Italian play baseball for the first time. Holmberg said, “Alex can do whatever he wants to. He’s got the temperament and composure. He’s hit 95 mph, and his slider is at 86 or 87. He competes as hard as anyone out there.” Maestri still to this day works under the guidance and direction of Coach Holmberg. The Cesena, Italy
native made World Baseball Classic headlines in 2006 when his first offering to the Dominican Republic’s Moises Alou was rocketed out of the park for a home run. Despite the rocky start, he would not allow another earned run in his 4.2 combined innings in both the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classics.
Maestri demonstrated great promise in the Midwest and Florida State leagues as a two-time All-Star. As as starter and relief pitcher in the Chicago Cubs minor league system for five seasons, he racked up a 24-17 record with a 3.75 ERA and 19 saves. The right hand throwing pitcher put away hitters with his evasive slider–which was once voted as the best slider thrown by anyone in the entire franchise. Maestri made his preseason MLB debut against the Oakland A’s during Cubs Spring Training in Phoenix on April 1, 2009 when Cub manager Lou Pinella summoned him out of the bullpen. Maestri struck out Orlando Cabrera and then he sized up against slugger Jason Giambi–who was lucky to squeak out a single through the hole. MLB All-Star
Matt Holliday was caught looking at a third strike slider for the second out, and Eric Chavez went down swinging at his Italian slider in the dirt to end Maestri’s almost perfect outing. Nearly three years later, Alessandro is still as dominant as ever as witnessed by his numbers in the most recent 2011-12 ABL season. As the workhorse and ace of the Brisbane Bandit pitching staff, Maestri led his team in wins (4) and proved to be one of the best pitchers in the league. He finished third in the ABL in innings pitched (63.2) and in strikeouts (53), fourth in the ABL in WHIP (1.16) and sixth in the ABL in ERA (3.25). In Round Eight of the regular season, he earned the Pitcher of the Week award after pitching a stellar complete game two-hitter against the Canberra Cavalry. Based on his most recent form, Maestri is worthy of a second look by international scouts to make his long-awaited MLB debut. He will always be a competitor who lives on the edge to bail his team out of pressure situations.
Bill Holmberg is committed to producing Italy’s finest athletes.
Of the frequent MLB-sponsored instructional clinics throughout Europe, none has had the impact of MLB / FIBS Academy host Coach Holmberg’s annual three and a half week summer invitational Major League Baseball International European Academy at the Olympic Training Center in Tirrenia. Designed to provide promising junior teenage players with both the environment and the instruction to reach their full potential, the European Academy brings together around 50 or more of the brightest young playing talent in Europe and Africa with the best in Major League coaching and instruction. The Academy seeks to provide a path for elite players from this region to improve their skills in preparation for the rigors of professional and international baseball. In addition to helping these bright young stars develop their skills, the Academy enables MLB Clubs to scout the best future talent. Holmberg explained, “It’s a pretty good place to see all the best players in Europe at one time. We’ve had between 18 and 20 scouts that have watched the games this past year.”
The Tirrenia baseball camp, which began in 2005, has much to do with MLB’s accelerated rate of signing the European elite to professional contracts based on the fact that the numbers have more than tripled from 2005 (2.33 average) to 2011 (9.0 average). So far 49 Academy graduates from ten countries (45 players from Europe and 4 players from Africa) have signed professional contracts with 19 different Major League Baseball franchises. Holmberg commented, “We’re not the Dominican Republic yet, but I think we might be sneaking up on Australia.”
Food for thought: Pitcher Alex Maestri–Italy’s first export to MLB imported by ABL’s Brisbane Bandits
When asked about preparations for his Italian squad in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the best hitting catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) history and Team Italy hitting coach Mike Piazza replied, “We’ll have the best food.” All joking aside, Pizza commented: “You’ve got talent in Italy, think of Alex Maestri and Alex Liddi… To help talented kids you need to get them to play more games. Look at me, I didn’t really improve until I was given the possibility to play every day.”
The 26-year-old Alex Maestri made MLB history as the first Italian born pitcher to be signed by a major league club–the Chicago Cubs–in 2006. Three years later another historical milestone in baseball would take place when the Italian prospect would finally compete on the Major League level. Thinking that it was yet another day on the bench or perhaps a really good April Fools prank, April 1, 2009 would go down as a very Big League day for Alessandro Maestri. Upon reporting to a Cubs Spring Training game in Phoenix against the Oakland Athletics, Maestri was informed that he would making his first preseason Major League pitching debut, which many would consider to have been “textbook”
and as good as it could ever be.
The setting was perfect under a pleasant 71 degree warm Arizona sun for Maestri to take over for Cubs starter Carlos Zambrano and Luis Vizcaino in the fifth inning. Little did Maestri know that he would come face-to-face with some of Major League Baseball’s most feared hitters. His first strike out victim was Orlando Cabrera, who was caught looking at a fastball on the outside corner. Next up with slugger Jason Giambi, who managed to squeak out a single through the hole. Following was Matt Holliday, nicknamed “Big Daddy” for his towering six-foot-four stature and his muscular physique. Maestri dug down deep and mesmerized the intimidating Major League All-Star with a called third strike slider for out number two. The selective Eric Chavez worked the count full before swinging and faltering to Maestri’s wicked slider in the dirt for his third strikeout. Upon returning to the dugout, legendary Cubs skipper Lou Pinella congratulated the young Italian hurler.
As as starter and relief pitcher in the Chicago Cubs minor league system for five seasons, Maestri racked up a 24-17 record with a 3.75 ERA and 19 saves. A two-time minor league All-Star, the right hand throwing pitcher put away hitters with his evasive slider–which was once voted as the best slider thrown by anyone in the entire organization. Representing his native Italy in the 2006 and 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC), Maestri dominated hitters. In the 2009 WBC, Maestri held opponents scoreless in his two plus innings–during which he got Miguel Cabrera to ground out on a fielder’s choice and Magglio Ordonez to strike out.
Since joining the Brisbane Bandits in the Australian Baseball League (ABL) this month, Maestri has been brilliant. In his first two ABL victories against the Canberra Calvary and the Sydney Blue Sox, he threw over 10 innings of scoreless ball and struck out 11. Add to that total another 8 K’s he put down on his most recent indecision versus the Melbourne Aces on November 18th, and Maestri has tallied 19 strike outs in just over 17 innings pitched. With the ABL’s fifth lowest ERA (1.56), the five-foot-eleven Italian has dished out almost nothing but zeros across the box scores. Look for Maestri to battle teammate Yohei Yanagawa–Japan’s 2011 Nippon Professional Baseball League Champion Fukuoka Southbank Hawks reliever, who has struck out 20 as a Bandits starter in over 16 innings–and Canberra Cavalry’s Michael McGuire–a six-foot-seven, 240 pound 2008 First-Year Player Draftee by the Cleveland Indians from the University of Delaware and currently a Philadelphia Phillies minor league starting pitcher, who now leads the ABL with 21 strike outs in 13 plus innings of work–to battle it out until the end for the title of 2011-12 ABL Strike Out King.
When the ABL season concludes in late January, Alex Maestri is scheduled to head to O’Flallon, Missouri to pitch for the 2010 Frontier League Champion River City Rascals after being acquired in a trade last month with the Lincoln Saltdogs–2009 American Association of Independent Professional Baseball Champions. Heralded as the premier Italian born baseball champion of Major League Baseball, Maestri has fast become a favorite in the Australian Baseball League’s appetite for imports as a leader of the Brisbane Bandits.
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