Italians Taking to Baseball, but Americans Still Play Major Role

Forty years after U.S. troops introduced “la dritta” (the fastball) and “il fuori campo” (the home run), baseball is beginning to make a hit in Italy but American players still lead the way.

It remains far from Italy’s national pastime, and the talent is nowhere near that of the U.S. major leaguers, the Japanese or Latin Americans.

But with the recent addition of former major league pitcher Rick Waits (Texas Rangers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers), who joins several former American minor league players and a growing crop of homegrown Italian stars, Italy’s 12-team baseball league is drawing fans.

On a recent full-moon Saturday night in Nettuno, a seaside resort south of Rome, the scene at the local baseball field was much like that at a minor league park in the United States.

It is the fifth inning and the visiting Grosseto team, defending league champion, is leading Nettuno 3-0. The home plate umpire calls a strike and shouts of “ciccione” (fatso) and “maiale” (pig) come from among the 1,000 or so fans.

Grosseto’s ace American “lanciatore” (pitcher), Richard Olsen, peers in at the sign from his American “ricevitore” (catcher), Keith Komeiji. In the “boxe di battuta” (batter’s box) stands another American, Tim Wallace.

Olsen delivers a belt-high “dritta.” Wallace strokes a line drive over the Acquamatic Swimming Pools sign in center field for a solo homer. Wallace is greeted at “casa base” (home plate) by high-fives from his entire team and cheers of “Bravo Americano.”

But Wallace’s American battery mate, pitcher Chris Willsher, has an off night and Grosseto goes on to win 7-1. The teams form a line at the “monte di lancio” (pitcher’s mound) after the final out to shake hands.

Meanwhile, across the Italian peninsula in Rimini, former major leaguer Waits is giving up just one earned run but dropping a 3-0 decision to Milan.

The 66-game regular season is nearly over. The playoffs begin soon, and Grosseto and Rimini are the favorites to win the “scudetto” (pennant).

Italy and the Netherlands are considered to have the strongest baseball programs in Europe. There are rudimentary club-level programs in France and Britain, and small organized leagues in Sweden, West Germany, Switzerland and Spain.

Even the Soviets have begun to take interest in the sport, holding several national tournaments this year in hopes of developing a world class team. They are getting much of their training from Cubans and Nicaraguans.

Still, even in Italy, baseball is largely ignored by the media and general public. It will never compete in popularity with soccer, cycling and auto racing, or basketball, which draws top-flight American talent such as former NBA superstar Bob McAdoo.

But for the first time commercial TV stations are showing games and highlights, and a slick magazine devoted to baseball is published monthly.

Each baseball club is allowed to have two Americans. The American pitchers pitch only on Saturday nights to prevent them from dominating the league and to give Italian hurlers a chance to develop.

“The biggest weakness of the Italians is their pitching,” said Wallace, a 26-year-old catcher from Atlanta, who played in the St. Louis and Montreal minor league organizations. “The overall talent is not that good. Some teams could play in Double A but a lot of teams would struggle against American high school teams.”

Wallace, who hit only 10 home runs in his five-year minor league career, has slugged 17 homers in 25 games and is hitting .470.

Waits, a 35-year-old lefthander, is the biggest-name American in Italy. The Atlanta native, who came up with the Texas Rangers, played 8 1/2 years with the Cleveland Indians and 2 1/2 years with the Milwaukee Brewers before finishing his career last season with the Brewers’ farm club in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada.

Waits’ major league record was 79-92, with a career earned run average of 4.25. With the Rimini club, he has wracked up a 10-3 record and a 1.51 ERA. Olsen, a 30-year-old righthander from Honolulu who played in the Brewers farm system and in Japan, leads the league with a 1.38 ERA.

“They’ve never had anyone as experienced as me,” Waits said in a telephone interview. “I enjoy it because I’m able to teach things to the kids, even the infielders and outfielders. They have a lot of good hitters, but the weakness in the league is pitching and defense.”

The top Italian star is Roberto Bianchi, who had a mid-August batting average of .479, with 26 homers and 70 RBIs, on his way to winning the “tripla corona.”

“I think the sport is catching on,” said Waits. “I’ve even seen kids playing stickball in the streets of Rimini. But the loyalty of the fans will always be soccer.”

Waits, who is trying to learn Italian, said language can be the biggest adjustment for Americans.

“In a really crucial game against Parma, it was 1-1 in the 7th innning and they bunted to the first baseman. I yelled ‘tag him, tag him,’ but he didn’t know what I meant. He threw the ball wildly to second for an error. It cost me the ballgame. It taught me if I learn anything, learn the language of the field.”

Like most American players, Waits, who brought along his wife Annie and three young children, is provided with an apartment and a car. He won’t disclose the terms of his one-year contract but says it’s not the money that brought him to Italy. (Wallace says he’s paid $2,000 a month, better than his minor league salary).

After the season, Waits plans to stay in Italy and work at his club president’s vineyard, “getting up at 5 or 6 in the morning, getting out in the fields, snipping grapes, making wine.”