The World Baseball Classic is set to begin on March 8th and will finish up on March 21st in Miami, FL. The World Baseball Classic, recognized by the WBSC as a Baseball World Championship, is entering its fifth edition. This year, for the first time, there will be 20 nations competing for first place: 10 from the Americas; four from Asia; one from Oceania; and five from Europe.
Team Italy and the Azzurri will be spearheaded by manager Mike Piazza, who has already participated in an international tourney. Under his guidance, the Azzurri won a bronze medal at the 2021 European Baseball Championship. Team Italy is made up of 30 skilled athletes, all of which have Italian origins. The roster includes a mix of young prospects and professional baseball veterans.
These are the Azzurri’s first games:
March 9: Italy vs Cuba ( 6 a.m. ET)
March 10: Italy vs Chinese Taipei ( 6 a.m. ET)
March 11: Italy vs Panama (11 p.m. ET)
March 12: Italy vs the Netherlands ( 6 a.m. ET)
Team USA is the defending World Baseball Classic champion after defeating Puerto Rico in the 2017 WBC final. The Dominican Republic won in 2013, and Japan won twice in 2006 and 2009.
Take a look below at the full Team Italy roster. Information has been sourced from the Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball.
No. | Last Name | First Name | Position | Batting (R/L/S) | Throwing (R/L) | Date of Birth (mm/dd/yyyy) | Club Affiliation |
DPP | AIELLO | VINCENZO | RHP | Right | Right | 06/08/94 | FREE AGENT |
DPP | ALBANESE | GLENN STEVEN | RHP | Right | Right | 10/22/98 | ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS (AA) |
DPP | BASSANI | ALEX | RHP | Right | Right | 11/25/90 | FORTITUDO BOLOGNA |
1 | BIAGINI | JOSEPH CARLO | RHP | Right | Right | 05/29/90 | FREE AGENT |
DPP | BOCCHI | MATTEO | RHP | Right | Right | 07/19/96 | PARMA CLIMA |
2 | CASTELLANI | RYAN MICHAEL | RHP | Right | Right | 04/01/96 | FREE AGENT |
DPP | DA SILVA | TIAGO FELIPE | RHP | Right | Right | 03/28/85 | SAN MARINO |
3 | DELUZIO | BENJAMIN AMADEO | OF | Right | Right | 08/09/94 | CHICAGO CUBS |
DPP | ERCOLANI | ALESSANDRO | RHP | Right | Right | 04/20/04 | FCL PIRATES (Rookie) |
4 | FANTI | NICHOLAS | LHP | Left | Left | 12/30/96 | FREE AGENT |
5 | FESTA | MATTHEW JOSEPH | RHP | Right | Right | 03/11/93 | SEATTLE MARINERS |
6 | FLETCHER | DAVID OWEN | IF | Right | Right | 05/31/94 | LOS ANGELES ANGELS |
7 | FLETCHER | DOMINIC PAUL | OF | Left | Right | 09/02/97 | RENO ACES (AAA) |
8 | FRELICK | SALVATORE MICHAEL | OF | Left | Right | 04/19/00 | NASHVILLE SOUNDS (AAA) |
9 | FRISCIA | VITO JOSEPH | C/OF | Right | Right | 12/19/96 | LEHIGH VALLEY IRON PIGS (AAA) |
10 | GARCIA | ROBEL ESTIWAL | IF | Switch | Right | 03/28/93 | FREE AGENT |
11 | GAVIGLIO | SAMUEL JOSEPH | RHP | Right | Right | 05/22/90 | FREE AGENT |
12 | HARVEY | MATTHEW EDWARD | RHP | Right | Right | 03/27/89 | FREE AGENT |
13 | LASORSA | JOSEPH PETER | LHP | Left | Left | 04/29/98 | MONTGOMERY BISCUITS (AA) |
14 | LOPEZ | NICHOLAS PAUL | IF | Left | Right | 03/13/95 | KANSAS CITY ROYALS |
15 | LORENZINI | BRAXTON RYAN | RHP | Right | Right | 05/04/95 | FREE AGENT |
16 | MARCIANO | JOSEPH JAMES | LHP | Left | Left | 01/11/95 | SACRAMENTO RIVER CATS (AAA) |
DPP | MARCONI | BRIAN AUSTIN | LHP | Right | Left | 05/09/97 | PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES (AAA) |
17 | MASTROBUONI | MILES JAMES | IF/OF | Left | Right | 10/31/95 | CHICAGO CUBS (AAA) |
18 | MINEO | ALBERTO | C | Left | Right | 07/23/94 | PARMA CLIMA |
19 | MIROGLIO | DOMINIC OKUN | C | Right | Right | 03/10/95 | RENO ACES (AAA) |
20 | NITTOLI | MICHAEL VINCENT | RHP | Right | Right | 11/11/90 | CHICAGO CUBS |
21 | PALLANTE | NEIL ANDRE | RHP | Right | Right | 09/18/98 | ST LOUIS CARDINALS |
22 | PASQUANTINO | VINCENT JOSEPH | IF | Left | Left | 10/10/97 | KANSAS CITY ROYALS |
DPP | PASSANTINO | JEFFREY | RHP | Right | Right | 09/24/95 | ALTOONA CURVE (AA) |
23 | PINAZZI | NICOLO' | LHP | Left | Left | 10/25/99 | DAYTONA TORTUGAS (A) |
24 | SCOTTI | CLAUDIO | RHP | Right | Right | 07/08/98 | ST LUCIE METS (A) |
25 | STUMPO | MITCHELL ANTHONY | RHP | Right | Right | 06/17/96 | RENO ACES (AAA) |
26 | SULLIVAN | BRETT CHARLES | C | Left | Right | 02/22/94 | EL PASO CHIHUAHUAS (AAA) |
27 | TIMPANELLI | VINCENT THOMAS | RHP | Right | Right | 10/02/98 | CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS (AA) |
28 | VALENTE | JOHN MARCO | IF | Switch | Right | 06/23/95 | TOLEDO MUD HENS (AAA) |
29 | VASSALOTTI | MICHELE ANTONIO | RHP | Right | Right | 02/08/00 | BILOXI SHUCKERS (AA) |
30 | WOODS | STEPHEN HUGO | RHP | Right | Right | 06/10/95 |
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura,The Christian Science Monitor and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.