Baseballissimo: My Summer in the Italian Minor Leagues

by Dave Bidini

In the spring of 2002, Dave Bidini set off for Nettuno, Italy, with his wife, Janet, and their two small children, in search of his favourite summer game, baseball. Nettuno was his destination because this town, south of Rome, has been the baseball capital of Italy since 1944, when the game was introduced by the American GIs who liberated the region. Bidini wanted to spend time in a town where everyone is as nuts about the game as he is, and in Nettuno, they love the game so much that they hand out baseball gloves and bats to children taking their first communion.

For six months Bidini followed the fortunes of the Serie B Peones, Nettunese to the core. At the same time he was also learning about his own heritage, having spent his youth vigorously ignoring his Italianness. The result of his summer in Italy is vintage a funny, perceptive, and engrossing book that takes readers far beyond the professional sport to the game that people around the world love to play.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Baseball

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

DAVE BIDINI is the author of nine books. His play, "The Five Hole Stories," was performed by One Yellow Rabbit and toured Canada in winter, 2009, and his two "hockumentaries," The Hockey Nomad and The Hockey Nomad Goes To Russia were Gemini-nominated films, and The Hockey Nomad won for Best Documentary.

Bidini is the recipient of numerous National Magazine Awards, and is a weekly columnist in The National Post. In 1994, his former band, Rheostatics, won a Genie Award for the song 'Claire' (from the film Whale Music), and two of their albums were included in the Top 20 Canadian Albums of All Time. His first hockey book, Tropic of Hockey, was named one of the Top 100 Canadian Books of All Time by McCllland and Stewart, and his baseball odyssey, Baseballissimo, is currently being made into a feature film.

He is a board member of Street Soccer Canada, and has attended two Homeless World Cups, traveling with Team Canada to Melbourne and Milan.

David Bidini lives in Toronto with his wife, guitarist Janet Morassutti, and their two children.

Reviews

[Joe Seliske · Rating 4 out of 5]

A reasonable account of a personal bucket list item. Bidini goes to Italy to follow an Italian baseball team, the Nettuno Peones for the summer, confirming his Italian roots while participating in one of his passions. Nettuno is the baseball capital of Italy having been shown the game by American troops in 1944. Bidini, along with his wife and two children, become the designated fans of the Peones, a "serie B" team in the Italian Baseball League. We learn about every one of the players described in Bidini's broken Italian. The book is filled out with some history of his favourite team, the Toronto Blue Jays. A fun read.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book from the local bookstore after browsing around. The store was trying to rid of this final copy of the book and there fore I bought it for only $2. I love baseball and have read many baseball books but nonetheless I wasn't expecting much considering it was placed in the clearout bin.
After reading this book I was very suprised by how much I liked it. There were many flaws like grammar, juvenile writing habits and jumping around the story too often but I still enjoyed the simple nature of the read.
It was an unconventional baseball book considering it was supposed to be about only baseball but other parts started surrounding the main idea. The book devulged into the authors own personal past, the history of Italy and the USA and the culture of modern Italy. Bidini painted a detailed picture of what it is like in smalltown Italy. This book reminded me a lot of another `Baseball Book` The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris and although the nature of the two books were different they both went into the history and culture of the surrounding areas.

[Tina Siegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So it was an engaging, endearing book. Bidini is a talented writer and, clearly, psssionate about baseball. I could appreciate that, even though I'm not a sports fan myself. Being Italian, I also loved the window into Italian culture - it was amusing and heart-warming at the same time. Anyone with any Italian in them will recognize a lot of the context of this book.

However. The structure left a lot to be desired. I think Bidini wanted to capture the events as he experienced them, which is a noble goal. Problem: it means he jumps around from player to player, era to era, continent to continent. I think the book needed some more thoughtful organization, although I appreciate the attempt at organic writing.

Still, a fun book. And anyone who loves baseball will love it.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book. Dave Bidini is the ultimate in finding sports in odd ball places. His nomadic existence must be owed to his career as a musician. This book explores a league and a baseball culture not normally explored. Italian baseball does not seem like something that goes together. But the tale woven in this book, makes baseball seem as Italian as pasta. I would highly recommend this book to any baseball fan.

[Lew Serviss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderful read. Lyrical, humorous writing. A delightful travelogue and personal journey at the same time.

[Marc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bidini surprises with insight into the conflicted identities of new-ish Canadians as their country went from anglo hinterland to multi-cultural snowglobe