In 2024, Samuel Aldegheri became the first pitcher born and raised in Italy to reach Major League Baseball, and on Saturday, he made his first appearance for Italy in the World Baseball Classic.
Aldegheri has already made his country proud by reaching the big leagues, but what he did on Saturday was truly special. He got emotional in his postgame interview with MLB Network after his phenomenal start.
“To be here today, all the sacrifice that it took – it’s just amazing,” Aldegheri said. “To wear these colors means everything to me.”
Aldegheri threw 4 2/3 innings, striking out eight batters against Brazil. He left the game in a scoreless tie, but the 63 pitches he threw were crucial in Italy picking up its first win of this World Baseball Classic. Aldegheri relied heavily on his four-seam fastball and changeup against Brazil. He threw 29 four-seamers and 26 changeups. His fastball sat at 91.8 mph, but got 19 inches of induced vertical break.
He got 16 swings on his fastball and six whiffs. He got 13 swings on his changeup and got 10 whiffs. He got 12 inches of induced vertical break and 13 inches of horizontal break on his changeup in the game.
He gave up no hard hits. In fact, he allowed just one hit in his entire outing.
Italy’s offense ended up putting eight runs on the board and will look to stay hot in pool play. With matchups against Mexico, Great Britain and the United States remaining, Italy will need plenty of offense to advance into the second round.
Photo: Italy starting pitcher Sam Aldegheri throws during the first inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Brazil, Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
