Italy in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.(TRIPLE PLAY)

Nine, March, 2007 by Baldassaro, Lawrence

Before boarding my flight from Milwaukee to Orlando, where I would serve as the interpreter for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic, I purchased a copy of USA Today Sports Weekly. There on the cover--beneath a photo of Albert Pujols of the Dominican Republic team, his right arm resting on a globe--was the question: "Will it be a Classic or a Clunker?" That pretty much summed up the uncertainty that characterized the lead-up to this first-ever worldwide experiment in professional baseball competition. Numerous skeptics questioned everything about the Classic: its spring-training timing, the risk of injury, the level of fan interest, even the very concept itself.

Italy's first game was scheduled for the evening of March 7. Earlier that day, I had the chance...

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