[oliva]

As an Italian American, a baseball fan since the age of four, and an inveterate list maker, I knew that it would be only a matter of time before I would give in to temptation and put together an Italian American major league baseball all-time all-star team. That time came two years ago when, in honor of the 83rd anniversary of my late father’s birthday, I constructed such a team and sent it to a few of my friends. One of those friends was Jim Amato, who has since encouraged me to go public with a revised version of the team and present it on his website. I agreed to do so, and in complying with Jim’s suggestion, I would like to not only dedicate my labor of love to my father, who was a very good amateur baseball and softball player and the man who took me to my first major league baseball game, but also to all the fathers who have instilled a passion for the game of baseball in their children.

However, before I unveil my team for your viewing pleasure or pain, depending on whether you agree with my choices, several notes of explanation are needed.

1. Anyone with at least one parent of Italian ancestry—like Billy Martin and Roy Campanella—was eligible for the team, but if I couldn’t verify this information, I didn’t choose the man. Thus, if in the future, I can prove that a better player at a particular position is indeed at least half-Italian American, I’ll modify my team accordingly.

2. I did not include any active Italian American players (e.g., Mike Piazza, Craig Biggio, and the man who may pitch forever, John Franco). My reason was that since their careers are not over, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to compare them to players whose careers have ended. And to be consistent, I applied this rule to managers and coaches as well. That explains the absence of Joe Torre (as a manager, though he qualified as a player), Tony LaRussa, Leo Mazzone, and other managerial and/or coaching standouts.

3. The team consists of a manager, two coaches, a trainer, an honorary captain, and 25 players—30 men in all. Therefore, not every successful Italian American major leaguer made the cut.

4. Tony Bartirome may not have been much of a big league first baseman, having played only one season in the majors and that with the 1952 edition of the atrocious "Rickey Dinks." But he was an outstanding trainer for the Pittsburgh Pirates.


5. As good as Joe DiMaggio was as a defensive outfielder, his brother, Dom, was even better. So, I moved Joe to left field, where he played 66 games, and made Dom my starting center fielder.

OK, without further delay, here’s the team:

Manager: Tommy Lasorda


Coaches: Billy Martin and Frank Crosetti

Trainer: Tony Bartirome

Honorary Captain: Ed Abbaticchio (probably the first Italian American to play in the major leagues)

Starting Batting Order:

Dom DiMaggio, CF

Phil Rizzuto, SS

Joe DiMaggio, LF

Dolph Camilli, 1B

Rocky Colavito, RF

Yogi Berra, C

Ron Santo, 3B

Tony Lazzeri, 2B

Bench:

Roy Campanella, C

Joe Torre, C, 1B, 3B

Phil Cavarretta, 1B, OF

Tony Cuccinello, 2B

Jim Fregosi, SS

Robin Ventura, 3B

Carl Furillo, OF

Tony Conigliaro, OF

Starting Pitching Rotation:

Frank Viola

Sal Maglie

Johnny Antonelli

Tom Candiotti

Vic Raschi

Spot Starter: Kevin Tapani

Starter/Reliever: Don Mossi

Relievers: Dave Righetti and Dave Giusti