The left-handed pitcher Michael Zambelli leaves REGGIO EMILIA to join MONTEPASCHI GROSSETO. The club announced the acquisition in a press conference on Thursday. Zambelli was born on September 14, 1975 in the United States, but is playing in Italy since 1998, when he joined FORTITUDO BOLOGNA. He later also pitched for MODENA, REGGIO and ANZIO in the Italian Baseball League.
In 2005, his last year in the IBL, he had a 6-10 record with an ERA of 5.09 and 32 strikeouts (55 walks) in 106 innings. He has a career ERA of 5.32 in Italy. In 2008, Zambelli pitched for REGGIO EMILIA in the Serie A2, going 8-3 with an ERA of 2.19 in 123 1/3 innings. GROSSETO also officially confirmed in the press conference that Chris Cooper is coming back for the 2009 season. He is expected to arrive next week.
Photo: © Ratti/FIBS (Chris Cooper at the WBC)