After taking a look at Germany and Spain, we will continue today with Italy’s performance at the Baseball World Cup in Taipei.
What did they right? After a disappointing European championship (EC), they did a great job at the World Cup. They started really well with victories against Spain (11-1), the USA (6-2) and South Africa (8-0). Of course the win versus the Americans was a milestone in the history of the Italian baseball federation. They were the only team to beat the new world champion. Their best player at the tournament was Max DI BIASE, who finished second in the batting title race. Five members with an ERA of 1.50 and better led their pitching staff.
What went wrong? The game against Chinese Taipei was the reason for the bad second half at the event. They lost due several questionable calls and the lack of clutch hitting by a marginal score of 0-1. It was a turning point for the team. They lost their momentum and the last two games. Besides DI BIASE, Jack SANTORA and Mario CHIARINI, the offense struggled to produce runs. Even with Anthony FIORE, the team missed a strong starting pitcher, who can go seven or eight innings. Obviously it was a long break since the end of the season in Italy. So this was not unexpected.
An outlook for the future: After finishing the EC in seventh place, they failed to qualify for the next World Cup in 2009 and the Olympics in 2008. So, the next big tournament is going to be the next European championship. With their new manager at the top Marco MAZZIERI, they are on the right way. They played like a unit. They now have to develop a successor for the 36-year-old FIORE as the new ace of the pitching staff. Hitting-wise they also need some young blood in the batting order.
Stats:
Pitching:
Team ERA: 4.06
Anthony FIORE (1-0), ERA 0.75, 12 IP, 10 K
Orlando OBERTO (1-0), ERA 0.00, 6 IP, 3 K
Cody CILLO (1-0), ERA 1.50, 6 IP, 7 K
Luca PANERATI, ERA 0.00, 4 IP, 2 K
Batting:
Team Batting Average: .238
Max DI BIASE .520, 13 hits, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homerun, 5 runs scored, 5 RBI
Jack SANTORA .292, 7 hits, 1 double, 4 runs scored
Mario CHIARINI .261, 2 doubles, 2 homeruns, 6 RBI
Complete Statistics at IBAF.tv
Results:
vs. Spain 11-1 box score
vs. USA 6-2 box score
vs. Panama 0-6 box score
vs. South Africa 8-0 box score
vs. Chinese Taipei 0-1 box score
vs. Japan 0-10 box score
vs. Mexico 2-11 box score
They finished in sixth place of group A. Complete Standings.
Photo: © International Baseball Federation (IBAF.tv)