Mike Piazza was born and raised in Pennsylvania.
His father, however, is Italian, which makes him eligible to manage their national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
So far, Piazza is doing an admirable job.
On Thursday, he came out on top in Italy’s debut in the 2023 edition of the WBC, beating the tough Cuba, 6-3.
Mike Piazza led Italy to win in his first WBC game as manager pic.twitter.com/CcSXthfl65
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 9, 2023
Two New York Mets legends were behind Italy’s triumph: Piazza and Matt Harvey, who pitched three scoreless frames as the starter.
Well, Harvey is more of a recent icon than a true legend, but he was a force in the Mets rotation from 2012-15 and actually played in a World Series.
Piazza, on the other hand, can’t have his legendary status in franchise history questioned by anyone.
A symbol of the truly fantastic 2000s Mets, he was a force in New York from 1998 to 2005.
The catcher was routinely one of the Mets best players around those days and helped them make it all the way to the 2000 World Series.
Piazza had his number 31 retired by the Mets and is a proud member of their Hall of Fame.
Back to his WBC campaign, Piazza knows he still has a lot of work to do to make sure the country of his father advances in the tournament.
Winning against Cuba, however, gives them an unexpected boost and drowns the Caribbeans in a 0-2 hole, facing elimination.
The WBC is just starting, and we have had our fair share of surprises already.
Netherlands defeated Cuba, Australia beat South Korea, and now Italy made a statement, too.
We are just getting started.
NEXT:
Matt Harvey Looks Back Fondly On His Mets Days
