For a kid from Long Island who just wanted to be a sportswriter, my journey into international baseball has been gratifying and more than I could imagine.
Earlier in my career, I had the unique role of editor-in-chief and head of digital at The Topps Company. Yes, baseball cards. If that were the only involvement with baseball I mustered in my life, I’d be satisfied. I was living a dream every time I could spend time with MLB players and coaches, doing autograph signings or gathering content for our many products. There was never a dull moment, from A-Rod and Reggie Jackson to Mike Trout and hundreds more.
I have also covered hundreds of MLB games for newspapers and news websites over the years, and it’s always an honor to have access to press boxes and clubhouses, but there’s something more raw and organic about having a conversation with a player while he’s admiring his own baseball cards. Imagine the guy on the card talking to the guy who helps make the cards.
For years, this was my connection to the game. Baseball, I thought, was America’s pastime—our game. Not really. It’s the world’s game, and over the last few years, I have seen firsthand the power of baseball on a global scale.
Enter Joe Quagliano. I was in Chicago at the annual National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame induction, where I had custom trading cards made at the request of George Randazzo, the Hall’s founder. This is where I met Joe, the president and co-founder of the Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF). Our interests are identical. We love our Italian heritage and Italians in the game. This is why he founded IABF with Carmine Gangone in 2016.
A year after our encounter in Chicago, he reached out for help with IABF’s social media, which lasted a couple of months before I found myself fully engaged in daily operations, international relations, and all communications and marketing in the United States and Italy. Seeing and feeling our impact on scholarships and the IABF-FIBS College Pipeline that has helped Italians play college baseball has been life-changing for the student-athletes and our IABF board. It matters to us, and I’m thankful for the collaboration.
This year, we hosted baseball clinics in Tuscany and Parma. There is nothing better than being on a baseball field in Italy. I was wandering around the outfield in Parma when I saw a Barilla pasta truck stuffed behind a centerfield scoreboard (see photo above). I thought it was the most Italian baseball artifact ever. Those moments are like Thanksgiving and Christmas in one. I’m thankful for the conversations, opportunities we provide kids, and relationships we make.
After this trip, we formed the Francisco Cervelli-IABF Academy in Castiglione della Pescaia, about an hour north of Rome in Tuscany. This was because of the partnership and vision of Marco Mazzieri, who was recently elected president of the Federation of Italian Baseball and Softball. We’re also thankful for his leadership and know he will progress Italian baseball and make the necessary evolutionary changes so Italy returns to being the top European baseball country.
Could you imagine that this group of Italian Americans who love baseball was inducted into the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame for our work in Italy? It happened this year, and we’re thankful.
Riding high from the launch of our academy, Samuel Aldegheri made history as the first Italian-born, raised, and developed pitcher in the Major Leagues when he debuted for the Angels one month later. He got the proper international media welcome, and they’re still talking about him in Italy on websites and social media. He’s made his way through multiple cities for Q&As and showcases. He is the face of baseball in Italy, and I’m thankful to witness this in our lifetime. It was also special to connect with Samuel for an interview we did on World Baseball Network, and we’re looking forward to recognizing him at the IABF Gala in December as our Future Star Award honoree.
While this great expansion happened in Italy, baseball was also exploding worldwide. We wrapped up a successful Premier 12 following last year’s World Baseball Classic. The winter leagues are operating in full force. Countless international players are fighting for their opportunity to be seen and sign a contract. So. Much. Baseball.
If not for IABF, I would not have met Lou Tallarini – the chairman of WBN. With World Baseball Network, we have made this one of the few international baseball media platforms on the planet, covering dozens of leagues and thousands of players while listening to the pulse of fans worldwide. At the height of baseball in July and October, when we had 15 or more staffers creating content from several countries, it was another reminder that baseball is the world’s game and WBN serves a purpose. In many countries, baseball is the connective tissue for families and social-economic growth. Baseball is a game that could change someone’s life. It’s also a game that connects us to different generations and reminds us of pivotal childhood moments or a special time. At WBN, we live at the intersection of educating, informing, reminiscing, and innovating. For that, I am thankful.
And, yes, I’m endlessly thankful for my wife and children, but this is a baseball column for a baseball company, and I am always thankful for the game and my unique place in it.
Chris R. Vaccaro is the senior editorial advisor of World Baseball Network and a trustee of the Italian American Baseball Foundation. He is also a professor, author, and Emmy Award-winning film producer and lives on Long Island with his family.
