“It is a day of institutional farewell in his city, with his family and the boys of his first team – recalled the Mayor of San Martino Buon Albergo Giulio Furlani at the opening of the press meeting with Samuel Aldegheri in the Donini room – it is truly a San Martino pride to have it and to have you here. I would like to underline that I was previously Councilor for Sports and I know well how important baseball is in our country: it is part of the consortium of the six San Martino clubs, perfectly inserted in our territory.
Personally I’ve never played, but I made the first pitch on one occasion, I don’t know if that counts. Jokes aside, for Samuel this is a sporting experience in the United States, but also a human one and I hope for him and for the Federation itself that it constitutes an opportunity for growth for the entire discipline.”
Carlo Ravegnanijournalist from the Corriere di Rimini, led the conference and then stimulated the FIBS President Andrea Marcon: “Los Angeles is the number one target for the movement, it is the birthplace of baseball, it just won the World Series and Samuel plays in the city. A series of inspiring coincidences… How are you preparing to be there?”
“The work for Los Angeles began some time ago – replied the top federal executive – as you well know Mattia (Aldegheried.), who is here with us and is part of the Club Italia project and whom I thank for his total availability. Of course we hope that Samuel will be part of it too, at some point in the future.
August 31st was one of the most important moments in the history of Italian baseball and I think many easily stayed awake like me to experience that moment with him.
I assure you that the emotion that shone through in the comments on the 2023 World Baseball Classic team chat was nothing short of electrifying. It was an incredible moment to see how already established champions rejoiced at this call to the majors by a very young Italian boy, after all baseball is a sport in which you can’t help but be romantic, Brad Pitt teaches us in the role of Billy Beane.”
Coming to the protagonist, Ravegnani asked a Samuel Aldegheri what were the first phone calls after the call.
“First of all I called my agent – explained the Angels departing player – because he had to get me a plane ticket immediately, then my family and my girlfriend.
I didn’t change anything about the pre-match preparation, I followed my usual routine. I thought I’d get there next year, having never been up to Triple-A, but this unexpected opportunity came and I was very focused.
Now I’m doing preparation here at home. I will leave in mid-January for spring training camp to play my chances of remaining in the first team.
And on the relationship with his brother: “He gave me more advice throughout my life. Now maybe I can partially reciprocate.”
He confirmed Mattia: “We all experienced this thing with great pride, family and friends.”
Diego BonaminiSports Director of San Martino Junior underlined: “I am experiencing this incredible joy more as a parent than as a manager. With the family we have had hundreds of dinners and thousands of kilometers together, to accompany the boys to play. First of all we must thank Samuel, he is the one who believed in it to the end, then there are many merits: the Club, Stefano (Burato, ed.) who pushed him, the Municipality which has always supported us and, above all, the family crazy enough to believe it and support Samuel’s dream together with him.”
“And it is a dream, contagious, which we hope will lead to emulation – commented Ravegnani – when I mentioned Samuel’s name, at a youth tournament, there was spontaneous applause from all the 13-14 year olds present. A great stimulus for all of us who love this sport.”
The first coach, Stefano Burato: “The beautiful message about Samuel is that he was a normal boy, with normal characteristics. He was a lefty who threw strikes, and so it would have been a crime not to have him pitched, but you couldn’t imagine the champion. The message is that with commitment and sacrifice, we can do it. We just tried to put him in the best conditions, as San Martino has always done, for example with Mattia, before him with Corradini, Bertagnon. Prepare them and then let them go.
The key is that you shouldn’t rush to create an athlete. An athlete, then a champion, develops over time. Talent helps, but the secret to excellence is not to rush. The process is completed no earlier than 18-19 years of age. What can be glimpsed should not be forced, but supported even in time.”
The occasion was also to announce the completion of the second edition of ‘A Blue Diamond’ the book by Riccardo Schiroli on the history of Italian baseball and softball published by FIBS for Calzetti & Mariucci Editore.
“It was an already finished book – Ravegnani asked the author – and then?”
“And then when they called me from the USA I understood that the chapter in which I said: Alex Liddi is the only player from an Italian school in the Major League, etc. had to be corrected… I had to take matters into my own hands once again.
It is strange that Alex and Samuel have names that are not typically Italian, which do not end in a vowel as they expect abroad. Jokes aside, the strength of having champions like this is demonstrated by the attention they receive: years ago in Vicenza we had planned an event for 500 people and 900 arrived after the announcement that Liddi would participate.
Of course, I never thought I’d see an Italian pitch in MLB, but Samuel always says in many interviews: if you have a passion for baseball, pursue it. Here, I want to make this position my own. Always follow your passion. Whatever happens, you’ll get to the end with no regrets.
Coming to the book, in 2006 the then President FIBS Riccardo Fraccari asked to write a book on the history of FIBS, I wasn’t prepared. We’ve had presidents in Italian baseball who have tried to erase those who came before. Fraccari was the first who wanted to write its history, without preconceptions.
Years later I realized the limits of that first job, partly due to inexperience, partly due to lack of information. For example, we only had one photo of Steno, actually Stefano, Borghese. Over the years I have often thought about the project and when in 2018 Andrea Marcon told me that a second edition could be done, it made me a happy man.
All this certainly owes a huge debt to Roberto Buganèour ‘Pierino’ as he liked to define himself, allowed us to recover documents and memories that would otherwise have been lost forever.
I put passion into it, but also professionalism to try to rationalize all of Roberto’s work.
In this work, obviously the last chapters, dedicated to Fraccari and Marcon, are addressed through interviews, while I consider the first part quite indisputable from the point of view of historical research, and I am particularly proud of it.
This is my work, which obviously takes into account the contributions of those who created the first edition with me.”
The ‘Blue Diamond II”, thanks to Calzetti & Mariucciwill be available for purchase in the main distribution channels, bookstores and online, starting from the first half of December and several presentations are scheduled in Italian baseball and softball locations.
In the afternoon, the Aldegheri brothers then met the Under 12 boys from the various Veneto teams called by the FIBS Regional Committee on the San Martino Buon Albergo pitch to participate in the training and game day ‘Let’s grow together, let’s all grow’.
Some of the very young participants also turned into interviewers, in front of the cheering audience of their parents, before the ritual autographs.
In the cover photo: Andrea Marcon, Samuel Aldegheri and Riccardo Schiroli (K73-Oldman)
from San Martino Buon Albergo, Verona, Marco Landi
