2004 Olympic gold medalist Frank Montieth has rejoined the Athletics Bologna of Serie A, the club announced over the weekend. The 36-year-old right-handed pitcher rejoins the Italian club with whom he enjoyed considerable success between 2016 and 2018. Montieth pitched played 16 seasons for the Industriales in Cuba’s Serie Nacional, the competition’s most successful club, and he has extensive experience representing Cuba on the international stage.
He was the 2003-04 Rookie of the Year in the Serie Nacional, beating out two-time MLB All-Star Yoenis Cespedes for the accolade, and he added to his trophy case later in 2004 when he helped the Cuban national team claim gold at the Athens Olympics. Montieth contributed two scoreless innings and three strikeouts in the tournament.
In subsequent years Montieth was a key cog of the Industriales rotation, winning three championships with the Havana club over the course of his 16-year career in which he won 91 regular season games on the back of a 3.34 ERA. He made his last appeared for the club in the 2018-19 season.
His Industriales teammates included, among others, the Gurriel brothers, Yunieksi, Yulieski and Lourdes Jr., the latter two of whom would go on to play in the majors following their defection in 2016.
Montieth joined Bologna for the first time later that year, adding to his 5-3 record with Industriales by dominating in Bologna’s yellow and green, winning seven games and compiling a 1.51 ERA. The following summer, Montieth improved on his numbers with Bologna, again winning seven games but with an ERA of just 0.84.
In 2021, Bologna will be competing in Group E of the newly reconfigured Serie A.