Noted Italian Baseball Players with Abruzzese Roots Remembered
Although we weren’t able to hold an in-person meeting on September 20, 2020, we did have a virtual talk by one of our AMHS board members, Joseph (Sonny) Scafetta, Jr. on the subject of Italian-American pro baseball players with Abruzzese roots. You may recall that Sonny wrote an article for a recent Notiziario on the career of Johnny Antonelli, an accomplished pitcher whose family has roots in Vasto, in the province of Chieti in Abruzzo. But there were some other great players with a similar background, as we found out from Sonny’s talk. First, a little bit about Sonny. He is the son of Giuseppe Scafetta who emigrated from the city of Vasto to Washington in 1915. He is an aerospace engineer and a lawyer specializing in patent law. Sonny has been an AMHS member since 2008 and he is also a member of the National Christopher Columbus Association. He was state president of the Order of the Sons and Daughters of Italy’s Grand Lodge of Virginia and he is also the author of a book entitled,
“The True & Complete Story of Christopher Columbus.” Sonny based his talk on the book, “Baseball Italian Style: Great Stories Told by Italian American Major Leaguers from Crosetti to Piazza,” by Lawrence Baldassaro, professor emeritus of Italian at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Baldassaro is also the author of “Beyond DiMaggio: Italian Americans in Baseball.” The “Baseball Italian Style” book, which is available on Amazon, brings together the memories of major leaguers of Italian heritage whose careers span almost a century, from the 1930s up to the present. Among those giving their first-person accounts are eight Hall of Famers (Yogi Berra, Phil Rizzuto, Ron Santo, Craig Biggio, Mike Piazza, Tommy Lasorda, Tony La Russia, and Joe Torre). In Sonny’s talk, he focused on five of the baseball greats with Abruzzese roots.
Overall, he noted that the situation was very different for players in the 1930s and 1940s, when Italian-American players were often called derogatory names, and nowadays, with players reporting no discrimination because of their ethnicity. Sonny notes that in the interviews of players from the early days, the hopes and dreams of their immigrant parents for their children did not include baseball.
Tommy Lasorda was born in Norristown, a suburb of Philadelphia. His father was born in Tollo, in Chieti, and his mother’s parents were Abruzzese. He signed with the Phillies but was drafted into the U.S. Army. Afterwards he was acquired by the Brooklyn Dodgers. He is best known for his two decades managing the Dodgers. In 2020, he marked his 71st season with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles organization. After he finished playing in 1960, he became a scout for the Dodgers, then a coach and eventually a manager, and his team went on to win two World Series. In short, his team had an outstanding record during his tenure. Lasorda managed four All Star Teams for the National League. His illustrious career included the Summer Olympics in 2000, with his team winning the gold medal. At age 93, he is currently the oldest living Hall of Famer. Lasorda famously said, “I would walk two miles to shake the hand of an Italian, but I would crawl two miles to shake the hand of an Abruzzese.”
Bobby Valentine’s family name was originally Valentini, and his paternal grandparents were from Calabria while his maternal grandparents were from Abruzzo. He played several positions for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and after being injured during a game, he was traded to the San Diego Padres, then to the New York Mets and afterwards to the Seattle Mariners. After retiring at age 29, he was the Mets coach then became the manager for the Texas Rangers but was fired by the owner, George W. Bush, despite a winning season.
He eventually became the first foreign coach in Japan and learned Japanese, winning a Japanese baseball award. Valentine was very popular with Japanese fans, and was known for marketing ideas such as having dedicated autograph sessions and hosting dance classes for fans (he was a competitive ballroom dancer in his youth). Later on, he became an ESPN analyst and the owner of Bobby V’s bar and sports club. He was known for his colorful personality, and he was known to sneak back onto the field wearing a disguise, after having been tossed out.
Johnny Antonelli was born in Rochester, N.Y., and his father was from the town of Castelbordino, near Vasto in Chieti. A left-handed pitcher, Antonelli went straight to the major leagues, playing for the Boston Braves who won a national league pennant. In 1948, the Boston Braves gave him a $52,000 bonus — the largest in baseball history up to that time — to pitch for them. After a stint in the Army at Fort Myer in Arlington, Va., he rejoined the Boston Braves and was later traded to the New York Giants. Antonelli made the All Star Team, then moved to the San Francisco Giants. He retired at the age of 32, moved back to Rochester and ran a chain of 28 Firestone tire stores, and died recently just short of 90 years old.
Michael Scioscia’s paternal grandparents were from Naples, while his maternal grandparents were from Abruzzo. He became a catcher and spent 13 years with the Dodgers. He retired at age 34, having used the same catcher’s mitt throughout most of his career. He went on to manage the Anaheim Angels for 19 years, including 2002 when the Angels won the World Series, and he was named manager of the year in 2002 and 2009. Early in his career after signing with the Dodgers, he spent the offseason attending Penn State University, working towards a computer science degree. While still a player, he made a guest appearance on the TV show
“The Simpsons” in the episode, “Homer at Bat.”
(Note: Another player mentioned in the book is Ken Aspromonte, whose grandparents were from Calabria and Basilicata. During his playing career, he was an infielder for the Red Sox, Senators, Angels, Braves and Cubs. After playing in Japan for three years, he managed the Cleveland Indians from 1972-1974.