Rome dreaming about happier future

by Pim Van Nes

It is Easter in the Olympic year 2008. While the eight Olympic participants prepare for the Beijing tournament, Italy’s national team seems to remain unemployed during the entire Olympic year. Not only is it missing the Beijing Olympic Games, but also the chance to be present in the Haarlem Honkbalweek. The Italian president FRACCARI did not answer the repeated invitations. Now even the timely construction of a baseball stadium in Rome, needed for the World Cup of 2009, appears to be uncertain.

“Three times I have sent an invitation to the Italian federation to participate in our tournament,” Frits MULDER, president of the Haarlem Honkbalweek, said to the Nederlandse Honkbalsite this week. “In addition, I requested Jan ESSELMAN, Chairman of the CEB Technical Commission, to check with the Italian president about those outstanding invitations. But never have I received any sign of life from the Italian side. We had liked to have the Azzurri players around in our tournament, because they always produce a competitive team for most of their opponents here (Cuba, USA, Japan, Taiwan and Holland) and they usually look good to the Haarlem public. Before the games the baseball fans sing except the Wilhelmus, our own national anthem, also the Italian anthem though without words. I really felt sorry, but meanwhile we have found an excellent solution in our countrymen from the Antillean Islands. They are happy and we look forward to their coming. ”

The Haarlem invitations to FRACCARI were sent in December and January and later this year the Italians still adjusted their initial competition schedule, but the option of ten days international games in the Pim Mulier stadium has never been mentioned on the FIBS website.

World Cup

Saturday, March 29, the European baseball federation CEB will be meeting in Malta for the annual congress. Representing the Netherlands, KNBSB president Ruud VAN ZETTEN will fly to the small island state between Italy and Africa. “For the first time Europe continental wide will discuss the possibility of hosting the 2009 World Cup,” VAN ZETTEN yesterday told the Nederlandse Honkbalsite. “The five countries, having been approached to organising each a small qualifying round, already met once with CEB, but for unclear reasons so far the Netherlands was not there. How Italy advanced with their plans, is still unknown to me, although FRACCARI is the only one bidding with IBAF for the World Cup organisation with a complex design in collaboration with us and the other five countries. So far we have not reached progress, but fortunately the Australian IBAF Secretary General OSTERMAYER will attend the CEB meeting. Hopefully that will turn out effective “, VAN ZETTEN summarized when recovering from an illness.

The Italian pretensions to become the European flagship in order to make a convincing impression with the wealthy Major League Baseball, focused on the construction of a large baseball stadium in the capital Rome. That stadium will be required next year for Major League games in Italy, like these are being played these days in China and Japan. Furthermore this stadium is supposed to produce the apotheosis of the Italian World Cup of 2009 for the sake of glory for baseball in general (with a smile to IOC chairman Jacques ROGGE), but especially glory of baseball in Italy (with a smile to the MLB Chairman).

However, there is one problem, as there is no local baseball club in Rome qualifying for proper management ensuring security, maintenance and economic consumption of the 20,000 seats stadium. Another problem is that a generally competent authority in the Roman municipality this week stated to be unaware of a request from FIBS for the construction of a new baseball stadium.

Dreams

Probably, if FRACCARI – seducing a la Sophia Loren instead of with her eyes with his baseball stadium – might succeed in IBAF falling in love with the Eternal City because of the irresistible temptation, we all together may end up with playing knock-out games in the nearest alternative baseball stadium: namely in the sympathetic fishers village Nettuno at 100 km south from Rome. There is a narrow winding road leading from the village along three kilometers to a long-existing stadium, which is good enough for the current notions of European baseball. Sixty years ago founded by and named after the Prince Steno Borghese. The local club won for the first time in 1951 and most recently in 2001 a total of sixteen national baseball titles. To Netherlands concepts Nettuno has a beautiful stadium, but much too small for the current MLB and World Cup aspirations of the Italian federation.

But in Rome FRACCARI keeps on dreaming of the resurrection of Italy as leading nation of European baseball. A week ago in Tirrenia, the Azzurri selection of academies defeated twice their opponents from the Netherlands by 3-0 and 4-1. “Fraccari raggiante!” his website exclaimed referring to the beautiful outcome, but nothing was mentioned about the Dutch boys aging 15, 16 and 17 years though the Italians were 17, 18, 19 and even 20 years old.

American coaches and scouts had a closer look and selected as the tournament’s All Stars four Dutch, two Italians, two Germans, one French and one Swede: right-handed pitcher Oscar CARLSTEDT (Sweden, 1991), left-handed pitcher Scott RONNENBERGH (Netherlands, 1992), catcher Ashwin ROX (Netherlands, 1990), infielders Norbert JONGERIUS (Netherlands, 1991), Francesco COZZOLINO (Italy, 1991), Maxime LEFEVRE (France, 1991), Alex SAMBUCCI (Italy, 1989) and outfielders Max ROZICKY KEPLER (Germany, 1993) , Larry SHAWN (Germany, 1991) and Carlos TAVAREY CASTRO (Netherlands, 1991). The talented Dutch player Robin VAN EUS of Kinheim also received a personal prize as the best pitcher of the tournament.

by Pim van Nes
Baseball writer for
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