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15
Apr 2022

Larry Baldassaro Wins 2022 SABR Research Award for Tony Lazzeri Book

Italian American baseball writer and researcher Larry Baldassaro has won the 2022 Society of American Baseball Research Award for his book about the life and career of Tony Lazzeri.

Josh Chetwynd, Lyle Spatz and Steve Steinberg will also be recognized for their baseball research.

Baldassaro is a professor emeritus of Italian at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, and a frequent contributor to SABR publications.

Before there was Joe DiMaggio, there was Lazzeri. A decade before the “Yankee Clipper” began his legendary career in 1936, Lazzeri paved the way for the man who would become the patron saint of Italian American fans and players. He did so by forging his own Hall of Fame career as a key member of the Yankees’ legendary Murderers’ Row lineup between 1926 and 1937, in the process becoming the first major baseball star of Italian descent.

Baldassaro has been chronicling Italian American baseball history for decades. His books Beyond DiMaggio and Baseball Italian Style are both pinnacle works in capturing the spirit of the game and culture.

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