T&A San Marino and Rimini will face off to represent Europe in the 2014 Asia Series. T&A San Marino GM Mauro Mazzotti also serves as the manager for the Spanish national team.
Three-time defending Italian Baseball League champion T&A San Marino is loaded with seasoned MLB players and prospects selected by Orioles’ scout and San Marino GM Mauro Mazzotti, who was named 2012 Coach of the Year by the European Baseball Coaches Association and was instrumental in leading underdog Team Spain to its first-ever appearance at the World Baseball Classic. T&A San Marino features an international all-star cast including starting pitcher Júnior Guerra–a former catcher in the Braves and Mets organizations–and relief pitcher/closer Jesus Delgado–who made his MLB debut for the 2008 Marlins–both of whom are veteran Venezuelan hurlers who bolster the dominant San Marino pitching staff.
T&A San Marino lefty Chris Cooper has pitched for Team Italia since leaving the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate in 2009.
Adding pitching depth to San Marino’s roster is 35-year-old Italian American Chris Cooper, who was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 35th round of the 2001 MLB amateur draft. Cooper, who hails from Pittsburgh, explained that his original family name was Cocchiararo. “It’s alphabet soup,” Cooper said, smiling as he elaborated on the scenario. “They changed my last name when my great-grandfather came over in 1911. They misspelled his name about three times, and the story was, supposedly, he pointed at somebody’s nametag when he was getting his papers here in the U.S. They just said, ‘Okay, we have Cooper.’” Cooper is joined by fellow Italian national team member Lorenzo Avagnina as well as Canadian-born Paul Macaluso. Both San Marino outfielders Avagnina and Macaluso are the unsung heroes of the squad as they emulate general manager Mazzotti’s true grit style of play and “Never Say Die” approach to the Italian Baseball League.
Mike Ekstrom of the Rimini Pirates
Standing in the path of T&A San Marino’s path to the European Cup is a very dangerous Rimini Pirates baseball team. Their pitching arsenal is led by MLB veteran/Oregon native Mike Ekstrom and Cuban-born southpaw Enorbel Márquez-Ramírez along with former Mariners’ minor leaguer Jose Escalona serving as Rimini’s closer. Should the Rimini Pirates defeat T&A San Marino in the upcoming Euro Cup, they will be the European representative in the 2014 Asia Series–an international competition featuring the champions of the Australian Baseball League, Korea Baseball Organization, Nippon Pro Baseball in Japan, Chinese Professional Baseball League and the European Cup. Having already earned himself a ticket to the Asia Series as the pitching ace for the 2014 Australian Baseball League (ABL) Champion Perth Heat (5-1, 0.72 ERA, 50.1 IP, 10 BB and 57 K), Ekstrom could potentially have a difficult decision to make on whether to play for the Aussie or Euro Cup Champs. Team Italia pitcher Nick Pugliese was faced with similar circumstances when he played for last year’s European Cup Champion Unipol Bologna and the 2013 ABL Champion Canberra Cavalry. Because Pugliese was committed to the Italian team, it opened up a roster spot on the Cavalry pitching staff for Ekstrom. Despite being a member of the Perth Heat, Ekstrom was granted temporary pitching privileges for rival Canberra Cavalry so that Australia could put their league’s best players out on the field in the international spotlight. The strategy paid off big as Ekstrom led the longshot Cavalry to the 2013 Asia Series Championship, and the ABL was subsequently awarded the winner’s $500,000 prize money. Should Rimini win the Euro Cup, let’s hope that Ekstrom chooses to share some amore by bringing home the loot to benefit Italian baseball.
Jack Santora has played for Team Italia since 2006. Team Italia captain Mario Chairini accepts the 2012 Euro Championship trophy after Italy beat Holland.Based on what he has been written in his blog “Baseball Round The World”, Ekstrom has nothing but love for Italia. How could he not when Italian American teammate Jack Santora, a 19th round Arizona Diamondbacks draft pick in 1999, has shown him the ropes after having spent the last eight years playing the infields of the Italian Baseball League. The Monterey, California native Santora, along with Rimini hometown hero and Italian national team captain Mario Chiarini–who played for the 2000 Arizona League Mariners and competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics–are the elder statesmen of the squad. These veterans have been both critical to Rimini’s success and inspirational to newcomers to the team like Ekstrom. However, nothing means more to the players right now than the EU Champions Cup and the right to represent European baseball in the 2014 Asia Series.
Rimini and San Marino are merely minutes apart. San Marino and “Monte Titano” were added to the exclusive UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.
Although the battlegrounds for the European Champions Cup Finals will take place nearby, Rimini and San Marino had to travel great distances to play the other EU Championship teams and win their respective Qualifier Champions Cup bracket to get here. Rimini defeated the best from the Netherlands, Germany, France, Ukraine and host Brno, Czech Republic, while T&A San Marino beat a similar group of international squads which included Italy’s Nettuno and home team Vaessen in the Netherlands. Italian Baseball League favorite T&A San Marino may have the edge over Rimini, but the Pirates are not to be underestimated. Rimini outfielder Leonardo Zileri‘s hitting frenzy in the European Champions Cup Qualifier garnered him a .591 batting average (13-for-22) and awards for MVP and Best Hitter in the tourney. T&A San Marino will counteract with Venezuelan slugger Jairo Ramos, whose performance in the European Champions Cup Qualifier (.500 BA, 2-2B, 2-HR, 9 RBI) yielded similar MVP and Best Hitter accolades in the competition.
With the much anticipated best of three-game series between T&A San Marino and Rimini for the 2014 European Champions Cup taking place beginning August 7th, baseball fever is at its all-time high in Italy. The Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS)website will provide up-to-date details and links to the live internet streaming broadcasts. More than a local rivalry between San Marino and Rimini, the ramifications of winning the European Champions Cup extend internationally as the EU representative in the 2014 Asia Series. May the best team win and go on to turn heads in Taiwan. Lord knows an injection of winners’ prize money earned abroad would help nurture the growth of the game in Europe.
After agreeing to take Manny Ramirez’s roster spot midseason on the EDA Rhinos, 2005 Arizona Diamondbacks #1 draft pick Matt Torra embarked on an overseas baseball journey he will never forget. After pitching for Team Italia in 2013 World Baseball Classic, it appeared the right-handed hurler’s curiosity and appetite for international competition and world-class cuisine had peaked. With wife Jessica and daughters Isabel and Mia in tow, the young Torra family flew from Boston to Tokyo before landing in Taiwan to begin their adventure in Kaohsiung City, where the EDA Rhinos played their home games. In his 12 starts in the Chinese Professional Baseball League, Torra was one of the league’s finest best control pitchers–allowing just five walks in 78 innings of work. In his final start for the EDA Rhinos in the 2013 Asia Series against the Canberra Cavalry, he once again demonstrated his control of the strike zone by issuing only one walk in 8.2 innings pitched. Canberra slugger Michael Wells spoke of Torra and said, “The guy throwing up there threw some very good pitches, it was tough at times.” Yet the toughest walk for Torra was the one back to the airport, where Torra and his family had time to organize their thoughts before heading back to America. Facing an uncertain future ahead with the season now over, Torra’s agent Jim Masteralexis still aspires to get his once highly-prized client to join the game’s elite and make it to MLB. With over 578 innings pitched in Triple-A ball under his wing while playing in the Diamondbacks, Rays and Nationals organizations, Torra has been on the cusp of the big leagues. With his recent success on the EDA Rhinos, this 29-year-old Italian American is poised to follow the footsteps of Team Italia teammate Chris Colabello in getting to the show. After speaking with current free agent Matt Torra, it is apparent that he is more than ready.Matt Torra and his family spent the last part of 2013 in Taiwan with the EDA Rhinos.Matt Torra was a 2005 first-round pick by the Arizona Diamondbacks.Roberto: You were a 2005 MLB first-round draft pick alongside Ryan Braun and Jacoby Ellsbury. You must have felt pretty good knowing you were the Diamondbacks #1 selection. Matt Torra: That day was a great experience. It was a day I will never forget. The only thing close to that was pitching for Team Italia in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Roberto: You pitched at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where you led the Atlantic 10 Conference with 111 strikeouts and the entire country with the nation’s lowest 1.14 ERA in 2005. What was the transition like from college ball to professional baseball? Matt Torra: For me it was a big transition. I went from college ball, only got 10 innings of pro ball before I got hurt and had to have surgery on my shoulder. And then coming back not only was I trying to adjust from college ball to pro ball, but I also had to try to figure out and learn how to pitch again after surgery. For me it took me about half
of a season in 2007 to try to start getting a feel again
for the ball. Once I started to do that, I found success
again, and every year I have just continued to build
on it. Just take stuff that I have learned every year
and try to apply it into my pitching repertoire.
#Rays acquire RHP Matt Torra from Arizona for cash considerations, send him to Triple-A Durham
Pitcher Matt Torra was acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays organization in 2011.
Roberto: You were dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011 and worked under the guidance of Italian American manager Joe Madden. How was that experience? Matt Torra: I got to meet him for the first time at 2012 Rays Spring Training. He was a great person to be around. He’s polite to everybody. You know, he said hello to everybody. He never singled-out anybody. So to be around him and to be around that organization at the time was great. Everybody welcomed you from the top to the bottom of the organization. And they treated you very well. It was definitely a good experience for me. They treated everyone with respect. Obviously someone in my position as a non-roster invitee coming into camp, you definitely show respect to the more veteran guys and everything. But everyone said hello to you. It was nice just being in there. They all wanted you around the guys. It was a good experience.
The #Nats have signed RHP Matt Torra and 3B Mike Costanzo to Minor League deals. #MLB
Roberto: How was your experience with the Washington Nationals? Matt Torra: I was really excited to getting back on with Mike Rizzo, who drafted me with the Diamondbacks as the scouting director. And jumping on with Mark Scialabba, who is the head of the minor leagues there. I thought it was going to be a great opportunity with a great organization. I was in the best shape of my career coming out of the World Baseball Classic. But it was frustrating because I got hurt with an oblique strain coming off the WBC. I missed the first couple of months. By the time I reached Triple-A Syracuse, I was more than a month behind the other pitchers in the Chiefs’ rotation. I jumped into the season quickly, without much prep.
Roberto: When you finally got healthy and got into stride, it looked like you had turned the corner and were on the rebound. But all of a sudden you were let go when least expected. Matt Torra: To get released after I think I finally got my groove going was unexpected. In the long run, it was for the best and it allowed for the Taiwan opportunity to come up. Roberto: Coming off the heels of paying tribute to your Italian heritage by playing for Team Italia in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, it doesn’t get better than that. Matt Torra: Yeah, that was a great experience. I began working with the team on February 20th to prepare for the WBC, which began in early March. Everybody was very welcoming. Manager, pitching coach, players, everybody–they were all polite and energetic about the game. It was a great experience. Roberto: Do want to pinch yourself to make sure that you are not dreaming as you make an imprint in the Italian baseball history books as a contributer to Team Italia in the WBC? Matt Torra: You try to take it all in and experience it. But you also don’t want to get overcome by it. You need to stay focused when you get a chance to pitch in a game. You don’t want it to overwhelm you, but at the same time you want to remember every single second of it. And know that it was a blessing to come and do this. I started two years ago tracking my ancestry to obtain dual citizenship and everything. For some reason, I just happen to start that and the fact that I could jump on the team was great. Everything just came together for a reason. It was just an amazing trip.
Roberto: You must be a proud Italian American ballplayer. Matt Torra: I felt like everybody on the Italian team was definitely playing for the team on the front of the jersey. They were playing for Italia. I think that is why we had success in the first two games (defeating Mexico and Canada) and why Italia will continue to have success in the future. But at the same time for a lot of guys it was a great opportunity to showcase what they had. To come out and compete I want to help this team as best I can–whether it’s one batter or three innings–whatever they need me for. I want to go out there and do that. As you know, there are some of us that have not been in the big leagues that don’t get that much exposure on TV. So to have a tournament like the WBC is great for a lot of people. We just got to go out there and stay focused. Once again, don’t let it overwhelm you and know that as you go out there and make a good pitch or as a hitter go out there and execute what you are trying to do. Try not to do too much, and you are going to be successful. Roberto: As a pitcher, you then have to wipe the slate clean after every at-bat regardless if you just gave up a home run or struck out the hitter. You must remain focused on the pitch you are about to deliver. Matt Torra: Every pitch matters, especially in a short tournament like the WBC when it matters even more. No matter what happens you can’t change what has already happened. You need to bear down, focus and just execute every pitch. And just worry about that next pitch you are going to throw. Have a good game plan, stick to it and trust the stuff. Trust all the hard work you’ve put into it and know you have the ability to get guys out. Roberto: So by staying in the present moment and not living in the past? Matt Torra: What has happened in the past or what will happen in the future doesn’t matter. It’s really one pitch at a time on offense and defense. The team that executes, the team that makes the least amounts of mistakes is going to come out on top. I believe with the talent that I have seen on Team Italia that we have the ability to come out on top in the very near future.
I am proud to be part of team Italia. Tough way to go down but it was an honor being part of the team. #italia.
Roberto: Having a coach like future hall-of-famer Mike Piazza on Team Italia must have been inspirational for all the ballplayers? Matt Torra: It was… When you get to be around guys like that, you pick their brain as much as you can. With Mike Piazza as a hitting coach and a catcher for all those years, as a pitcher you want to pick his brain. What did he see when he was calling a game? As a hitter, what was he looking for going up to the plate? So anytime you have the opportunity to gain some knowledge from a coach, you should definitely take it. You write it down, or you just remember it. And then it will be there and you’ll be on the mound at some point and all of a sudden you’ll remember–hey, so and so said this, let’s apply it and boom–it works! So you have got to take any time you have a chance to pull information, you have got to do it. Roberto: It’s obvious that the coaching dynamic duo of Mike Piazza and Frank Catalanotto helped Team Italia players offensively to be very productive at the plate. Matt Torra: They were outstanding. From one to nine and even guys coming off the bench, they all did an excellent job. Mike and Frank brought a lot of confidence to Team Italia. We were on a roll and had the type of energy of being aggressive to execute on both sides of the game to make something good come out of it. Roberto: So would you consider your time with Team Italia to be your most memorable moment of your baseball career to date? Matt Torra: In my career so far, participating in the World Baseball Classic with Italia was pretty amazing. Seeing a team come together in a way Team Italia did was unbelievable.
I think me getting that call up to the big leagues will be a great moment for me as well.
I haven’t experienced it yet so I can’t tell you what it feels like. But I know the feeling on the field celebrating after beating Mexico and Canada was something special. It was a special group of guys. We had the right combination of players and the heart and desire to win. Yes, we had some big league players on Team Italia, but we had a lot of guys people didn’t know about. Even myself…where there are some people who know about me, but I am not a big name guy in Major League Baseball. We left our hearts out there. It was big for us. When you’re on the field celebrating, I don’t know if you can get that feeling anywhere else. It was up there. Obviously when my kids were born, you have a great feeling. Getting married and stuff…but that feeling you have celebrating with 28 guys on the field is unbelievable.
Third only to my son's birth and yesterday's #TeamItaly's comeback win in the #WBClassic, today was one of the best days of my life. #Italia
Roberto: I couldn’t agree with you more…I remember tweeting something like: third to my son’s birth and Team Italia’s upset over Mexico, it was one of the best days of my life. Matt Torra: It was pretty amazing…to celebrate twice too on the field back-to-back. I think family events as far as marriage, birth, stuff like that…relationship with God–that’s in one category. I don’t think stuff outside of that can really surpass that. But as far as baseball stuff, what I experienced with Team Italia was unbelievable. It was a great experience, and
I think a lot of the guys on the team felt the same way. Roberto: Team Italia demonstrated their heart and soul in the WBC. Every person wearing an Italian uniform wore it proudly each game. Matt Torra: Everybody was in sync and in tune and watching every single pitch. We were focused and ready to go every game. We wanted to do something special. Roberto: You had a special chemistry and a ‘never say die’ fighting spirit on Team Italia. Matt Torra: Yeah, you could say we were the underdog. But it came down to who wanted it more. You could definitely see the heart, the will and the desire. You could see it on every single one of the Italian players. It made us persevere and confident. We were focused and determined to make something happen. Roberto: How proud are you to be an Italian American and a part of Team Italia? Matt Torra: It’s a great honor for me. It started two years ago when I began to research and find my great grandfather Giuseppe Torra’s birth certificate from Valenza, Italy and my great grandmother’s birth certificate. And find their marriage license from 1920, and then find the ships they came over on and everything. Once you start researching, you start seeing where you are from and everything. It’s an incredible feeling. It’s a great honor, and I’m very proud to have represented Italia in the WBC. Roberto: It shows and I wish you the best in your career. Rest assured I will be there when you make your MLB debut. God bless you and your family. Thank you for your time today.
I look forward to meeting up with you again soon. Matt Torra: Anytime…let me know. Thank you very much.
#CPBL Matt Torra ha oggi lasciato gli Eda Rhinos per tornare negli USA. Il suo contratto è scaduto (fine stagi… http://t.co/skmzZ2HLN8
The March 2012 results are in for the MLB.com Top 50 Fan Sites, and MLBblogger was named the number eight website. We believe this is a result of our continued coverage of baseball worldwide, and our international readers quest for accurate information on their favorite players. In the last six months, MLBblogger has produced original and engaging stories on the Asia Series, Taiwan All-Star Series, Australian Baseball League All-Star Game, Arizona Fall League, Chinese Professional Baseball League, Korea Baseball Organization, Nippon Professional Baseball League, Australian Baseball League, Italian Baseball League, Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball, Major League Baseball, MLB Italian Baseball Academy, MLB Fan Cave, Minor League Baseball, College Baseball, High School Baseball, Cactus League Spring Training and the Japan Opening Series. Thanks for the support!Milwaukee Brewers' #8 Ryan Braun was just as happy to hear of the positive MLB.com results!Melbourne Aces' #8 Brad Harman, who played for the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies, destroyed the single-season Australian Baseball League home run record in 2012 with 15 bombs.
Feeling so blessed to be associated with the great number eight and knowing that baseball is a game of numbers and statistics, we thought that it would be of great interest to dig a little deeper into the number’s historical and cultural significance. The Chinese view the number eight (ba 八) as the most auspicious number because its pronunciation, particularly in southern dialects, is very similar to “prosper” or “wealth” (fa cai 发财). Based on a #8 Hong Kong license plate fetching a handsome $640,000 recently and home street addresses containing multiple number eights still in high feng shui demand, one would believe that property with the number eight is valued greatly in China. It’s no coincidence that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics began promptly at 8:08:08 p.m. For many people, eight is the symbol of harmony and balance. The number symbolizes the ability to make decisions as well as abundance and power. The Pythagoreans called the number eight “Ogdoad” and considered it the “little holy number”. Jews consider eight symbolic of an entity that is one step above the natural order and its limitation, which is why Chanukah lasts eight days.
Aussie Brad Harman with the 2008 Phillies. Baseball Hall of Famers Yogi Berra, Bill Dickey, Cal Ripken, Jr., Carl Yastrzemski, Willie Stargell, Joe Morgan, and Gary Carter wore the number eight. It’s quite possible that a couple 2012 MLB players donning the #8 silks will soon join these legends–including: Ryan Braun (Brewers), Shane Victorino (Phillies), Jason Bartlett (Padres), Yorvit Torrealba (Rangers), Kurt Suzuki (A’s), David Ross (Braves), Kendrys Morales (Angels), Gerardo Parra (D-Backs), Chris Coghlan (Marlins), Danny Espinosa (Nationals), Desmond Jennings (Rays), Ben Francisco (Jays), Mike Moustakas (Royals), and Jamey Carroll (Twins). "The Flying Hawaiian" #8Shane Victorino joins the 2008 World Series Championship dogpile.
So who will win the 2012 Major League Baseball World Series?
If you like the number eight, then there are three possible live candidates. Last month’s Vegas.com future odds to win it all had the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at 8-to-1 odds. Then again you could spend all your money on a license plate… Good luck wherever you invest!
Not only did ESPN Draft Busts columnist David Schoenfield disrespect Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions team-leading 35-year-old starting pitcher Dan Reichert in his 2006 Page 2 article by considering him a Royal flop when ranked #22 in his list of the 100 Worst Draft Picks of All Time, but he added insult to injury when pointing out Kansas City could have opted to choose future all-star slugger Lance Berkman instead of the risky right-handed pitcher Reichert as their first-round pick of the 1997 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft.
KC Royals Dan Reichert in 1999
Analogous to the way America sends it old phones away to China to be recycled in favor of the latest bells and whistles in the world of technological wizardry, MLB literally gave up on the now aging Dan Reichert shortly after making his first start in the Major Leagues against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 16, 1999, when Reichert was yanked out of an agonizing game in which he surrendered seven earned runs and issued four walks in 1.2 innings of work. His last sighting in the MLB was a short-lived stint with the 2003 Toronto Blue Jays. In five seasons as a member of baseball’s elite, Dan Reichert compiled a 21-25 record with a 5.55 ERA and 240 K’s.
Nearly a decade later after leading his Lions to its eighth franchise CPBL Championship title, the reconditioned Chinese Professional Baseball League version of Dan Reichert is a seasoned veteran and mentor for the bright new hopefuls aspiring to attain Big League status. However, the most important task at hand is a strong showing in the 2011 Asia Series which run Friday, November 25 through Tuesday, November 29 in Taiwan’s Taichung City.
A huge underdog in comparison to the heavily favored Fukuoka Softbank Hawks–who were recently crowned champions of Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB)–the Uni Lions have an uphill battle ahead of them. Considered the second-most talented league in the world after MLB, the Nippon Professional Baseball League has produced Japanese teams that have always fared best in the international tournament. The NPB teams have won every year, and once again appear to be poised for a repeat win.
Standing in the way of Japanese winning tradition is defending Australian Baseball League (ABL) champion Perth Heat. Marking the first time Australia will be represented in the 2011 Asia Series against countries where baseball is a national obsession, the Perth Heat possess the ABL’s longest active winning streak in history (11-0) and are currently in excellent form.
One of the first teams in the history of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), the Samsung Lions played in the KBO’s first game ever in 1982. Runner-up to the inaugural Asia Series Japanese team champion in 2005, the Samsung Lions return to the games as the 2011 Korea Baseball Organization’s pride and joy. By beating defending champion SK Wyverns in five games, the Samsung Lions were proclaimed the Korean Series title champs for the fifth time since the club’s inception. Look for the Samsung Lions to come out of the dugout fighting for victory.
Team Italia pitcher Nick Pugliese was faced with similar circumstances when he played for last year’s European Cup Champion Unipol Bologna and the 2013 ABL Champion Canberra Cavalry. Because Pugliese was committed to the Italian team, it opened up a roster spot on the Cavalry pitching staff for Ekstrom. Despite being a member of the Perth Heat, Ekstrom was granted temporary pitching privileges for rival Canberra Cavalry so that Australia could put their league’s best players out on the field in the international spotlight. The strategy paid off big as Ekstrom led the longshot Cavalry to the 2013 Asia Series Championship, and the ABL was subsequently awarded the winner’s $500,000 prize money. Should Rimini win the Euro Cup, let’s hope that Ekstrom chooses to share some amore by bringing home the loot to benefit Italian baseball.
With the much anticipated best of three-game series between T&A San Marino and Rimini for the 2014 European Champions Cup taking place beginning August 7th, baseball fever is at its all-time high in Italy. The Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) website will provide up-to-date details and links to the live internet streaming broadcasts. More than a local rivalry between San Marino and Rimini, the ramifications of winning the European Champions Cup extend internationally as the EU representative in the 2014 Asia Series. May the best team win and go on to turn heads in Taiwan. Lord knows an injection of winners’ prize money earned abroad would help nurture the growth of the game in Europe. 
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