In a cruel twist of fate, the United States’ World Baseball Classic hopes lie with Team Italy. In other words, the same squad that put Team USA in that position Tuesday night.
No matter the result, the Italians will do it in style.
Like other teams, Italy has its own home run celebration — taking an espresso shot from a machine in the corner of the dugout.
After that, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino gives the hitter a kiss on both cheeks, an Italian tradition.
This isn’t anything new, though. The team had a Nespresso machine in the 2023 WBC, where it advanced to the group stage.
The Athletic posted a video on X of Italy manager and former MLB catcher Francisco Cervelli trying out the machine.
“In Italy, we drink coffee about 20 times a day,” Cervelli told MLB.com. “It’s a tradition. You’re walking down the road. You see a coffee spot, get some coffee. Then you chitchat, and then keep walking and do the same thing all over and over again. That’s how Italy is.”
“I do not like coffee, so it did not taste great,” outfielder Daniel Nori said after slugging two long balls versus Brazil. “The first one especially, I was like, ‘Ugh.’ But the second one, kind of liked that one a little bit more.”
The celebration has seemed to work.
Italy is 3-0 in pool play thus far, including a stunning 8-6 win over the U.S. Tuesday night. The Italians blitzed the U.S. early, exploding to an 8-0 lead by the sixth inning.
Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci and Jac Caglianone all blasted homers, while starting pitcher Michael Lorenzen tossed four scoreless innings in the victory.
Prior to Tuesday’s matchup, Italy easily dispatched Brazil, 8-0, and downed Great Britain, 7-4.
Now, Italy can clinch the top spot in Pool B and an undefeated group record by beating Mexico on Wednesday. A win would also hand the U.S. the pool’s second quarterfinals berth with Mexico being bumped to 2-2.
The Italian team is composed of 21 players born in the United States, but they’re eligible to represent Italy due to their heritage. Many likely wouldn’t start on Team USA and chose Italy as a backup.
But maybe the backup option could end up faring better anyway. The espresso machine certainly doesn’t hurt either.