Italian Serie A1 Baseball adapts to challenging times with new guidelines
Federazione Italiana Baseball Softball (FIBS) President Andrea Marcon, Vice President Fabrizio De Robbio, and delegation manager Gigi Mignola hosted a video conference with the front office of the seven Serie A 1 Baseball teams (Fortitudo Bologna, Parma, Collecchio, San Marino, Godo, Macerata, and Nettuno2) to address what the upcoming season will look like on June 29, 2020.
An unlikely hero emerged during the discussion when San Marino General Manager Mauro Mazzotti shed light on the subject and what some believe to a miracle season. The proud Italian baseball icon spoke eloquently with his colleagues and the leaders of FIBS when he said, "At the beginning we didn't even know if we would play, then we came together to make it happen without knowing exactly how it could be done. Because of our collective efforts and passion for the game, it is now possible for all of us to strive to become champions and to build towards the future."
With the utmost regard for the health and safety of players, staff, umpires, and fans, FIBS and the seven Serie A1 Baseball squads have agreed upon the following terms and conditions: Serie A1 Baseball begins on Wednesday, July 8, 2020; all seven teams play in the same division; all games are seven innings in length; each team plays each other three times, one game at home and two games away, or vice versa, in the same week; game one is played on Wednesday night, while games two and three are played as a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon/evening unless both teams agree to play on Friday and Saturday nights instead; only Italian pitchers can be used on the mound in game two; the top four teams at the end of the regular season will compete in the semifinals, a best-of-five game series; the winners of the semifinals qualify for the Italian Baseball Series, a best-of-seven game series culminating with a possible game seven on September, 26, 2020; the three teams that do not qualify for the semifinals will play each other to determine the top two squads that will compete against the two losing teams from the semifinals in the Italian Cup Final Four. Forza #Italia!
by Roberto Angotti
