PARMA, ITALY—A contingent of leaders from the Italian American Baseball Foundation traveled to Italy for several youth baseball clinics and transformational meetings, further extending the organization’s impact, growth, and potential abroad.
As a board trustee of IABF, I chronicled the journey with video and images on social media throughout the week. This is a narrative recap of the highlights from the ground. IABF President Joe Quagliano, IABF Vice President Carmine Gangone, IABF Secretary and former Italian Baseball League player Mark Cardillo, and past IABF advisory board member Jon Paul Manzolillo joined me.
Transformation and Global Impact
Those are two big words. After the week IABF spent in Italy working with like-minded leaders who want to grow the game as much as we do, the outcome of several meetings and baseball development clinics will be seen in the months and years ahead. As an organization, we plan on doubling our commitment to baseball infrastructure and growth opportunities for young and hungry players looking for opportunities to grow with the game.
What does that mean? We are investing in more camps, clinics, baseball travel, and partnerships with cross-cultural appeal. We have much more to share as we communicate with several regional partners. Our plan has always been to “grow the game,” and we will continue doing that with a clear vision.
Grazie, Marco Mazzieri and Gibo Gerali
This week would not have been possible without the leadership and planning of Marco Mazzieri and Gibo Gerali. They are two of the most respected names in Italian baseball history. Each served as manager of the Italian National Baseball Team, and both played professionally in Italy for decades. Mazzieri was also the manager of Team Italy for three World Baseball Classics.
From our first meal with Marco in his hometown of Roselle, just outside of Grosseto, we were welcomed with open arms, and we continued to share baseball philosophy and ideology throughout the rest of the week. Fun fact: Did you know his famed No. 5 – retired by Grosseto of the Italian Baseball League – is worn because of Joe DiMaggio?
You will not find a nicer man on the planet than Gibo Gerali. He was a humble, kind, and sharp baseball manager with us throughout the trip, making our stay rewarding. When you are with Gibo, you feel at home. My Italian ancestors are from Sicily, but I will forever know that we have a home in Parma, too.
Two Youth Clinics: Castiglione della Pescaia and Parma
IABF aims to foster development opportunities for the next generation of Italian players. We do that through scholarships, our college pipeline, and youth clinics. A mixture of initiatives throughout the year allows us to connect with young Italian players. The best moments are when we can see them play and aid in the instruction to grow their interests and skills.
Combine that with a thriving program like the Francisco Cervelli Baseball Academy in Castiglione della Pescaia, and you will have a recipe for underscoring exactly what we want to achieve as an impactful sports non-profit. Over 60 players between 15 and 19 years old from various regions across Italy joined us for the clinics. More than one dozen coaches were split between the two events who ran instruction and were a true pleasure to work with. Special thank you to former Team Italy pitcher and Cubs prospect Alessandro Maestri for joining us in Castiglione della Pescaia.
Located in a beautiful coastal town between a beach resort and camping grounds, the field where we held our first clinic is not unlike most across Italy—stuck in a different era. Worn down but active and evolving, the facility was perfect for the needs of our development event and perhaps many more.
Likewise, the Junior Parma field, about 205 miles north of Castiglione della Pescaia, was ideal for the logistics of a camp and scrimmage. Both events involved roughly four hours of workshops—infield, outfield, catching, pitching, and situational hitting—followed by one scrimmage. As IABF officials, we floated between drills, caught balls, threw batting practice, and cheered on the players throughout the day.
After one player hustled around the bases to score from second during the scrimmage in Castiglione della Pescaia, I gave him an IABF hat and said, “Great job, nice hustle.” I was not prepared for his reaction. He broke down and hugged me. He traveled several hours to be at that clinic, and between running high on adrenaline from scoring in the 90-degree heat at the end of a busy day, his emotions were overcome with gratitude and excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he said. No, pal, thank you for reminding us why we do this.
Brainstorming with Riccardo Fraccari
Riccardo Fraccari is a busy man. As the President of the World Baseball Softball Confederation, he’s the brains and leadership behind international baseball. Under his guidance, WBSC has undoubtedly grown the game. Thanks to initiatives like the advancement of the Premier 12 and Baseball5, he has found ways to light a fire for baseball fans of all ages year-round.
We met with Fraccari in Livorno, his hometown, 25 miles north of Castiglione della Pescaia, where we talked about growing the game and IABF’s involvement as cross-cultural ambassadors. We also informed him that he will be honored at the 2024 IABF Gala as one of our IABF Ambassador Award honorees for his service to the game. Aside from his current position with WBSC, and being a native of Italy, he was also the longtime president of the Federation of Italian Baseball and Softball.
Visiting Fields in Grosseto and Massa Carrara
While we hosted clinics at the other locations, we also visited fields in Grosetto and Massa Carrara. One visit was planned; the other was a fluke. We love seeing as many baseball locations as possible in Italy. In America, we take for granted the thousands and thousands of locations where people play ball, but in Italy, there are few. You will naturally see more soccer – sorry, football – fields.
Grosseto is a big stadium and arguably one of the best in the Italian Baseball League. Still, from the faded seats and worn paint, the stadium hasn’t felt “new” in half a century. That’s the usual case for most ballparks in the country. It’s not bad since an old ballpark is better than no ballpark, and there is a familiar romantic feel to being in that setting. When we visit these parks, some key indicators make them better than others: the quality of the grass, dugouts, stands, and lights. The bigger ones may have locker rooms, electric scoreboards, and advertisements.
Others are not parks or stadiums but a piece of land with some grass, rickety dugouts, and chain-link fences. That’s Massa-Carrara. The town is doing massive renovations, and the field may not exist if they bulldoze the rest of the land soon.
We consider every location a possibility for future camps and clinics. They are all diamonds in the rough for IABF.
What’s next?
IABF has some announcements coming soon. We are grateful to Marco and Gibo for all they did to plan this important trip. We hope the players enjoyed their experience on the field at both camps. Most importantly, we are bullish on baseball in Italy—Forza Italia, Forza Baseball.
Chris R. Vaccaro is a board trustee who manages communication, operations, and international relations for the Italian American Baseball Foundation.