On Wednesday, Team Italy continued their dominance at the ongoing World Baseball Classic in Houston with a win over Team Mexico in relatively comfortable fashion. That victory was preceded by a shocking win over Team USA the day before, which put the world on notice that the Italian team has a real shot at winning the whole thing.
In addition to their play on the field, Team Italy has also become known for its tradition of handing out espresso shots in the dugout, and recently, star Vinnie Pasquantino of the Kansas City Royals stopped by ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show to break down what goes into the operation.
“We've got the espresso figured out for these home runs now so they aren't too hot.. In our first team meeting Francisco Cervelli told us we're Italian and we're gonna be talking with our hands a lot,” said Pasquantino, per Pat McAfee on X, formerly Twitter.
Recently, Colorado Rockies manager Warren Schaeffer spoke on whether he would allow pitcher Michael Lorenzen, who is also a member of Team Italy, to bring espresso machines into the dugout.
“…I'm always open to espresso machines, no matter where they're at,” he joked, per Suzie Hunter of Guerrilla Sports on X.
Whatever the Italian team is doing is clearly working, as the team shocked the world by racing out to a huge lead over Team USA in their game on Tuesday, before ultimately hanging on for the win in the closing innings. The team will next take the field later this week against the Puerto Rican national team in the quarterfinal round.
