It will be a revamped Italian Baseball League, which opens the 2013 season on Friday evening with a matchup between Telemarket Rimini and De Angelis Godo Knights. Ten teams (instead of eight) will play two games (instead of three) each week during the regular season.
T&A San Marino is the defending champion, having won the IBL in the past two seasons. Grosseto Baseball had to withdraw from the competition. Ronchi dei Legionari, Mastiff Arezzo and Reggio Emilia moved into the IBL. Arezzo will in fact playing in Grosseto, keeping the sport in the Tuscan city.
Schedule Week 1:
Friday, April 5, 2013:
20:30 Rimini – Godo
Saturday, April 6, 2013:
14:00 Reggio Emilia – San Marino (DH)
15:00 Parma – Nettuno (DH)
16:00 Grosseto – Ronchi (DH)
16:00 Bologna – Novara (DH)
20:30 Rimini – Godo
T&A San Marino
Manager Doriano Bindi and General Manager Mauro Mazzotti are leading the most successful IBL team of the last years and were able to keep the key players. Wuilliuans Vasquez is back from Japan to lead the offense, which no longer has Marco Yepez and Laidel Chapelli. Jim Magrane and Darwin Cubillan head the pitching staff, who saw Ivan Granados, Yulman Ribeiro and Rodney Rodriguez leaving.
Telemarket Rimini
Even though they lost the Coppa Italia final last weekend, the Pirates of manager Chris Castanoso seem to be the favorite on paper. Former Major Leaguer Ramon Castro and ex-Parma player Leonardo Zileri were the big name acquisitions during the winter, joined by Andrew Baldwin, Alex Romero and Riccardo Bertagnon. Germany’s southpaw Enorbel Marquez-Ramirez is back as well. Luis Maza, Francisco Cruceta and Brandon Chavez are gone among others.
Unipol Bologna
Marco Nanni is still managing Unipol Bologna, which won the European Champions Cup and the Coppa Italia last year. Their biggest loss came just a couple of days before the start of the season. Long-time ace Jesus Matos suffered an illness during winter league ball in Colombia and won’t be able to play in Italy in 2013. Raul Rivero and Victor Moreno are supposed to fill the hole. Chris Aguilas is supposed to replace Takahito Sato’s bat in the lineup. Luca Panerati, Felix Romero, Fabio Betto and Leonardo De Donno are gone as well. Luca Bischeri and Junior Oberto came from Grosseto.
Danesi Nettuno
Danesi Nettuno is managed by Ruggero Bagialemani, who signed Edwin Bellorin, Victor Mendez and Ben Harrison to bring the scudetto back to the coastal city. Other well-known newcomers are Andrea Pizziconi and Andrea Sgnaolin. Ricardo and Santos Hernandez have left, as well as William Bergolla, Ray Sadler, Remigio Leal, Leonardo Mazzanti and Juan Figueroa.
Parma Baseball
No longer sponsored by Cariparma, Parma Baseball also has a new manager with Orlando Munoz, who has taken over for Gilberto Gerali. Marcos Tabata came from Rimini to the Angels, while Osman Marval and Jose Sanchez stayed. Marco Grifantini apparently is not coming back, having found an employer in the States. Fan favorite Leonardo Zileri is gone as well. Former Minor Leaguer Andrea Pizziconi is back with Nettuno.
Novara Baseball
Novara Baseball is no longer in a franchise with Milano United, but otherwise not much has changed. Manager Mike Romano seems to have more luck with his acquisitions this year, as Rolexis Molina and Angel Calero join Franklin Tavarez as foreign players to reinforce the roster. Riccardo Suardi and Alberto Varin came as well. Meanwhile Renny Duarte, Jim Fasano, Antonio Noguera and Jose Ramos have left.
De Angelis Godo Knights
The North East Knights look to continue their development with young players, supported by a couple of veterans. Manager Daniele Fuzzi welcomes a World Baseball Classic champion on its roster, as Danilo Sanchez is back behind the plate after working as bullpen catcher for the Dominican Republic last month. Liu Rodriguez, Mirco Caradonna and Ennio Retrosi are the main signings this offseason. Juan Gonzalez and Joe Schwartz are no longer on the team, Manuel Pinango and Jose Mejias are.
Palfinger Reggio Emilia
Palfinger Reggio Emilia with manager Leonel Carrion is back in the Italian Baseball League after a couple years of absence. Erik Epifano, Jairo Marquez, Filippo Crepaldi and Alberto Bastardo are the lone acquisitions, with Josh Ramada and Gustavo Martinez being the most notable departures. Marquez, Bastardo and Tito Espinosa have the foreign player spots.
New Black Panthers Ronchi dei Legionari
The New Black Panthers from Ronchi dei Legionari will be managed by Paolo Da Re in their premier season in the IBL. Matt Litzinger and Jakob Trobec are staying and will be supported by Jesus Yepez and Jordano Collado to lead the team. They picked up a couple of players from Redipuglia, but otherwise remained calm during their offseason activities.
Toshiba Grosseto
Supposed to play in Florence, Mastiff Arezzo is now going to play its home games in Grosseto, hoping to attract as much local fan base as possible in their IBL debut. Manager Danilo Biagioli has more than a dozen new players on his roster, while just three are gone. The most notable newcomers on the team are probably Livinston Santaniello, Massimiliano Geri, Andrea Grilli and foreign players Rafael Ramon Garcia, Angel Marquez and Bernardo Encarnacion. Shortstop Rafael Lora stayed to provide some stability in the infield.