The World Baseball Classic is officially underway.
On Tuesday night, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Cuba played the first game of this year’s WBC.
But other teams are set to do battle this spring as we find out who the best team in the tournament is.
Team Italy may be an interesting team to watch.
Kansas City Royals star Vinnie Pasquantino is one of the key members of that team.
Hall-of-Famer and former catcher Mike Piazza is the manager of the team and has assembled a group of stars.
On MLB Network, Pasquantino discussed what it has been like to bond with the team and learn from Piazza along the way.
.@VPasquantino will rep Team Italy in the #WorldBaseballClassic.
He explains how he has bonded with the team, and what it’s been like to learn from Hall of Famer Mike Piazza.#MLBNHotStove | @WBCBaseball pic.twitter.com/0GnwcWikkn
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) March 8, 2023
Pasquantino talked about the bonding process for the team and how it began last fall.
He and several members of the team went out to Italy in the fall and got a chance to meet with each other and begin building camaraderie.
Pasquantino is excited about the opportunity to play with such a young team and the chance to be a part of a winning ballclub.
The Royals young star hopes that in a few years, more players will want to come to Italy and be a part of the Italian National Team.
He says the goal is to win this year, but also ignite hope for the future.
He also talked about his relationship with Piazza.
Harold Reynolds asked the Royals star about how Piazza looked when he took batting practice.
Pasquantino said it didn’t take long for him to get his stroke back and that it’s something that the players on the team hope to see more of when they aren’t competing.
NEXT: Young Royals Star Shares A Hilarious Team Photo
