Samuel Aldegheri made history during his Major League Baseball debut on Aug. 30. The 22-year-old became the first player that was born and raised in Italy to ever pitch in the MLB. He made his major league debut against the Mariners.
Courtesy of Mark J. Terrill, Associated Press
Aldegheri was born in Verona, Italy. He was born and raised in a country that was more driven by soccer than any other sport. Baseball is not a big or common sport in Italy. Aldegheri was happy that he could show the kids at home in Italy that they can do whatever they want in life and that they can achieve their dreams.
Despite there being a cultural divide between his hometown and his dream sport, his primary connection to the sport was through watching videos of Clayton Kershaw pitching. His older brother, Mattias, was also a baseball mentor at their local field. On his Intagram post commemorating his big league debut, he said he would not be where he is today if it were not for his help. He also shared that he began playing baseball when he was just four years old and never thought he would fall in love with the game.
Aldegheri got picked up by the Phillies in 2019. He played for their Single, High and Double-A teams until they traded him to the Angels’ Rocket City Trash Pandas at the trade deadline in July. He was only in the minors with the Angels for just over a month before being called up.
Courtesy of George Kubas/Diamond Images via Getty Images.
Aldegheri is only the eighth ever MLB player to have been born in Italy. The last Italian-born player to be in the majors was infielder Alex Liddi, who played for the Mariners from 2011-2013. Aldegheri is an inspiration to kids in Italy who might want to get their start in baseball and now have someone to look up to, according to the World Baseball and Softball Confederation: Europe.
The night of Aldegheri’s first major league start, he had an earned run average of 3.60. During the five innings he pitched, he had three strikeouts. Seven runs were allowed during his time on the mound. Aldegheri recorded a loss for this game, with a score of 9-5. Despite having a rough start in the majors, fans are still excited to see what he can do.
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Angels via Instagram.
Edited by Brittany Snow
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