Friday, March 10, 2006

Piazza, Catalanotto, Gallo play for Italy in World Baseball Classic, reconnect with Ancestry and Roots

The ANNOTICO Report

Baseball was introduced to Italy by American GI's during WWII, but it has had a very difficult time competing with Soccer, or even Basketball.

Mike Piazza, star catcher for the Dodgers, Mets, and now Angels, hoping to encourage greater interest in Baseball in Italy, and utilizing the opportunity to further connect with his Italian Ancestry,  decided to join the Italian team in it's participation in the World Baseball Classic.

Other major leaguers on the Italian team, including Frank Catalanotto of the Blue Jays and Mike Gallo of the Astros, plus Manager Matt Galante, a former Mets coach.

Piazza said, "Matty (Galante) and I have been talking about how wonderful it is to kind of reconnect with our ancestry, with our roots over there," 

Piazza stated: "We are building a bridge here for the future." and  pledged to be part of that bridge after the tournament. Only

six native Italians have played in the major leagues, and none since 1962. Piazza said his teammates were eager to learn, and he wants

to keep helping."We're going to stay in touch and be on call anytime they need us to help further this program. Our dream one day is to have this team be a champion."

Piazza, whose grandfather, Rosario Piazza, was a welder from a small town on the southwest coast of Sicily. His grandmother was from

Naples, and they met on their way to the United States.

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Italy at St Louis: http://www.italystl.com

Italia Mia: http://www.italiamia.com  (Community)

ITALY IS PIAZZA'S WEAKNESS (IT'S AMORE)

New York Times

By Tyler Kepner

March 10, 2006

KISSIMMEE, Fla., March 9 — In his later days with the Mets, as his

skills slipped with age, Mike Piazza often seemed distant and

detached. Even in his heyday, he sometimes seemed more comfortable

talking music with a reporter than he did chatting up teammates about

baseball.

Before a game at Shea Stadium last May, Piazza seemed to have no

interest in talking about hitting. But when the conversation turned to

world travel, Piazza came alive, speaking animatedly and passionately

about his trips to Italy.

It was no surprise, then, that Piazza, at 37, enthusiastically joined

the Italian team for the World Baseball Classic. He is serious about

helping the game grow in Italy, and his brief time here gave him a

chance to embrace a new role as a spirited teacher and leader.

"The first time I saw him, he spent a couple of hours talking with me

and some of the guys from Italy," said Riccardo De Santis, a

26-year-old pitcher for Grosetto of the Italian League.

"He's just one of the nicest people I've ever met. He tries to help

you anytime. Everything he told me, I will remember for sure."

When he goes home to Italy, De Santis will also remember Thursday's

game, when he threw a sinker over the plate to a former major league

home run champion.

The hitter, Adrian Beltre of the Dominican Republic, punished the

pitch, hitting it through the wind and over the center field fence for

a three-run homer.

The Dominicans won, 8-3, clinching a berth in the second round of the

tournament. Italy lost two of its three games in this round, and was

eliminated on Thursday when Venezuela defeated Australia, 2-0, in the

night game at The Ballpark at Disney.

There are other major leaguers on the Italian team, including Frank

Catalanotto of the Blue Jays and Mike Gallo of the Astros, but Piazza

is by far the marquee name. He went 1 for 11 in three games, including

0 for 4 against the Dominican Republic on Thursday.

"I felt like I took a couple better swings later in the game, but

obviously, the sand ran out of time on us," Piazza said. "But as I

told the Italian guys, you want to play the best. I'm happy they threw

their best guns at us."

For Italy, simply showing up was a victory of sorts. Italian

professional baseball dates to 1948, but it is still in its infancy in

some ways.

"Oh, it's not very popular," said Alessandro Maestri, 21, a pitcher

from Viserba di Rimini. "It's all soccer in Italy. And everybody talks

about soccer and maybe some basketball there, too. But also, with

this, we'll start growing."

That was the point of Piazza's participation. He explained the other

night that his grandfather, Rosario Piazza, was a welder from a small

town on the southwest coast of Sicily. His grandmother was from

Naples, and they met on their way to the United States.

"Matty and I have been talking about how wonderful it is to kind of

reconnect with our ancestry, with our roots over there," Piazza said,

referring to Manager Matt Galante, a former Mets coach. "The Italian

players and staff have been so gracious to us and have welcomed us and

made us feel comfortable. We wanted this to be an important event for

us, and we think we are building a bridge here for the future."

Piazza pledged to be part of that bridge after the tournament. Only

six native Italians have played in the major leagues, and none since

1962. But Piazza said his teammates were eager to learn, and he wants

to keep helping.

"We all talked right now," he said. "We're going to stay in touch and

be on call anytime they need us to help further this program. Our

dream one day is to have this team be a champion."