Italian American Baseball Foundation’s John Franco and Mark Cardillo give back to help grow the game in Italy
MLB ambassador John Franco and former Italian Baseball League veteran Mark Cardillo have joined forces to work with Team Italy U15 manager Roberto De Franceschi on two clinics to help the young and talented baseball squad at the Acqua Acetosa Sport Center in Rome on July 19, 2018 and Steno Borghese Stadium in Nettuno on July 20, 2018. 
The gathering in Nettuno will coincide with the Trident Tournament, which brings together an eclectic mix of Team Italy U15 players and prospects, Nettuno Baseball Academy U18 players and collegiate players from Saint Ignatius College in Cleveland, Ohio.
Nettuno’s Blue and Green clinic will be also hosted by the Italian American Baseball Foundation’s John Franco and Mark Cardillo, who will be joined by Serie A1 Nuova Citta' di Nettuno players Scott Richmond, Paolino Ambrosino and Leo Rodriguez beginning August 1, 2018 in anticipation of the Tyrrhenian Pearl Softball Tournament. An international entourage of softball enthusiasts including two American softball teams with players from both U18 and U21 categories, a Japanese team from Sendai, two teams from the Nettuno Academy, and the Team Italy U15 squad will compete from August 3-5, 2018 for the Tyrrhenian Pearl trophy. At the conclusion of the tourney, players will travel to Amatrice to support victims of the 2016 Italian earthquake. The squad from Sendai knows too well how tragic these natural disasters can be having suffered a major catastrophe in 2011 when the most violent earthquake in Japan killed over 15,000 people.
The Italian American Baseball Foundation (IABF) went to bat for Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) and for the Amatrice earthquake victims at the first annual fundraising dinner on December 8, 2016 at Carmine’s Restaurant and Sports Bar in Brooklyn, New York. The Italian American Baseball Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity founded by former MLB player and current Team Italy coach Frank Catalanotto, Mint Pros president Joe Quagliano, FIBS executive Marco Landi and restauranteur Carmine Gangone. The second annual IABF fundraising dinner took place on December 7, 2017 with all proceeds supporting youth baseball in Italy by building and maintaining ball fields, awarding student-athletes with scholarships and financial aid, purchasing uniforms and equipment as well as organizing pitching, fielding and hitting clinics with MLB instructors under the guidance of FIBS. The Italian American Baseball Foundation is a community of fans, MLB players, and baseball executives dedicated to the future of Italian American baseball in Italy and the USA. To learn more or to support the efforts of the Italian American Baseball Foundation, click . Forza #Italia! #LetsMakeItHappen
by Roberto Angotti
