Italy national baseball team
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked 16th in the world as of 2022. The team is managed by Mike Piazza, a former New York Mets player and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
MLB pitcher Jason Grilli represented Italy in the 2006 & 2009 WBC
Chicago Cubs farmhand Alex Maestri was the first Italian-born pitcher to sign with a Major League team
MLB catcher Francisco Cervelli again represented Italy in the 2017 WBC
Mario Chiarini is the captain of the national team since 2010
Michael Joseph Piazza is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1992 to 2007. He currently serves as the manager of the Italian national baseball team. He played most notably for the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers, while also having brief stints with the Florida Marlins, San Diego Padres, and Oakland Athletics. A 12-time All-Star and 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner at catcher, Piazza produced strong offensive numbers at his position; in his career, he recorded 427 home runs—a record 396 of which were hit as catcher—along with a .308 batting average and 1,335 runs batted in (RBI).
Piazza in 2016
Piazza with the Mets in May 1999
Piazza in 2004
Piazza wearing No. 33 with San Diego in 2006