Where Are They Now? The 2009 Italian World Baseball Classic Team

With KJ and I headed to Italy for our belated honeymoon, I got to thinking about how the Italians rate in terms of this blog's three major subjects: baseball, music and beer.

Well, it's pretty safe to say that Italy is not known for its craft beer—I believe there's another alcoholic beverage it's considered famous for—and successful musicians from there are not really my cup of tea. Certainly no offense intended to Italian composers, but it really can't be said that I love the way Puccini lays down a tune, nor is Verdi always creeping from my room.

So, I decided that baseball is the realm of the three mentioned that Italy is best at. After all, it is the second best European country at the sport, with the Netherlands being the best, of course.

I got to see the 2009 Italian World Baseball Classic team in action when I traveled to Toronto back in March of 2009, so I thought I'd write a few entries about the post-WBC success of a few of those players. Of course, many of the players on that team were actually Americans of Italian descent, but there were a select few who captured my interest and who have gone on to achieve modest success in American professional baseball.

Unfortunately, I had intended to write more, but only completed two entries before leaving on my trip. I've scheduled them to appear in this blog over the next couple of weeks. I'll have to continue the series after I return, as time permits.