Little (League) Italy

There is a long feature about Italian baseball in the Christian Science Monitor, centred on the Little League squad in Nettuno. Some highlights:

Today, the Nettuno complex boasts three diamonds, a snack bar, and a stadium rivaling any American minor-league set-up. It's also home to the offices of manager Alfonso Gualtieri. Rumored to be an unofficial scout for the Florida Marlins, Mr. Gualtieri beams as he points out the photographs lining the walls of his office - there he is, posing with Barry Bonds; there, with Tom Lasorda when he managed the Los Angeles Dodgers; and there, that's a shot of the scoreboard at San Francisco's 3-Comm Park welcoming the Nettuno Lions.

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Other towns, such as Rimini, Parma, and Palermo, boast winning semipro teams akin to the American Triple A division, and the halo effect extends to a Little League aura of confidence - and good strong playing.

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As in every red-blooded Little League community, games in Italy run throughout the summer; rules and base paths are in strict compliance with American Little League regulations. Ask for the count, however, and you may get the feeling you're not on home turf: Out may sound more like fuori; Safe will sound like salvo; coaches urging their outfielders to "throw it home," shout "A casa! A casa!" But strike? As everyone everywhere knows, a strike's a strike - and tre strikes always mean you're out. Er, make that fuori.

As in every red-blooded Little League community, games in Italy run throughout the summer; rules and base paths are in strict compliance with American Little League regulations. Ask for the count, however, and you may get the feeling you're not on home turf: Out may sound more like fuori; Safe will sound like salvo; coaches urging their outfielders to "throw it home," shout "A casa! A casa!" But strike? As everyone everywhere knows, a strike's a strike - and tre strikes always mean you're out. Er, make that fuori.

Go read the rest.