Alessandro Maestri interview with Pat Venditte now on YouTube

Team Italy pitching patriarch Alessandro Maestri hosted an Instagram Live interview with  Miami Marlins switch-pitcher Pat Venditte on recently. Speaking primarily in English but translating answers to his questions in Italian, Alessandro Maestri did an excellent job in getting friend and fellow Team Italy pitcher Pat Venditte to elaborate on his early childhood days. Some of his favorite memories included when father Pat Venditte Sr. taught him how to throw with both arms and how Italians reacted to them playing catch in the streets of the streets of La Spezia on a family vacation in Italy when he was seven years old.

Nearly forty minutes in length, the Pat Venditte interview touches on the Omaha, Nebraska native's humble beginning in baseball and how his passion for the game eventually led him to nearby Creighton University, where he was a walk-on athlete without a scholarship. Urged by his pitching coach to change his arm angle for more of a sidearm delivery, Pat Venditte turned into a collegiate pitching phenomenon from 2005 to 2008. He ended his college career with a 2.86 ERA in 248.1 innings. His 255 strikeouts rank sixth in Creighton history, including 39 games with a strikeout with both arms. After posting the school's single-season record for ERA (1.88) and appearances (38), it came as no surprise that Pat Venditte was named as a member of the 2020 Creighton University Athletics Hall of Fame class on March 25.

Pat Venditte was drafted in 2007 and 2008 by the New York Yankees and was signed by the Pinstripes after being selected in the 20th round of the 2008 MLB draft. He made his Major League Baseball debut in 2015 with the Oakland Athletics and has since appeared in 58 games during his career in the big leagues playing for the Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants. Pat Venditte signed a minor-league contract with the Miami Marlins on January 6, 2020. He has since made a strong case to Marlins manager Don Mattingly and pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to make the MLB roster after a successful spring training campaign. Forza #Italia!

by Roberto Angotti