The winner of 5 World Series, one of the strongest receivers ever, will be one of the direct collaborators of manager Patrick Cervelli: “There is a great friendship between us, I can’t wait to get started”
50 days before the World Classic, the professional baseball world championship, Italy announces a big name: Jorge Posada, New York Yankees, 5 World Series won and one of the strongest catchers ever, joins the staff of the Italian national team led by manager Patrick Cervelli, with whom Posada played and won a title in 2009. “I am excited about this opportunity. I can’t wait to return to the field and help the Italian national team achieve its goals”, said Jorge Posada, who played in the most successful team from 1995 to 2011, winning the ring in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009. Born on 17 August 1970 in Santurce (Puerto Rico), Posada was a five-time All Star and appeared in 1,829 Major League games, finishing with a lifetime batting average of 273 for 275 home runs and 1,065 home runs. His excellent offensive statistics together with his important defensive performances have made him one of the key players in the entire baseball world of the last 30 years and one of the most important icons of American bat and run.
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“It will be something important to have Jorge on the bench with us in such an important tournament like the World Classic” says Cervelli, who guided Italy to the silver medal at the European Championship in September. “He knows what it means to win as evidenced by the five rings he won and he sees baseball the same way I do. He was my mentor when we played and he has a great experience that he can make available to the whole team, including young guys. We can do great things together.” Posada also thinks the same way. “Francisco and I have a similar mentality. We both grew up in the Yankees organization. We were both catchers, and when we were younger, he always followed me. We made each other better. We wanted to win. There’s always been a bond and a great friendship between us, and when he asked me to join his staff, I immediately said ‘yes’. I can’t wait to get started.”
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Italy, who will play all the group stage matches of the World Baseball Classic at Daikin Park in Houston, Texas, will make their debut against Brazil on Saturday 7 March, then on Sunday 8 they will face Aroldis Chapman’s Great Britain. The Azzurri will then challenge the USA on Tuesday 10th and finally Mexico on Wednesday 11th. The top two teams will then continue the tournament in the direct elimination phase with the quarterfinals again in Houston. The semi-finals and finals will be played in Miami from March 15th to 17th.
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