April 22, 1998 – Signed by the New York Giants as a “bonus baby” in 1954, 20-year-old John Joseph “Joey” Amalfitano spent most of his first two seasons warming the bench, with 25 at-bats in 45 games. In his rookie year, he roomed with Johnny Antonelli, the Braves’ “bonus baby” of 1948 who had just…

November 12, 2005 – Thomas Charles “Tommy” Lasorda was never one to hide his feelings. His passion for the Dodgers was such that he was said to bleed Dodgers blue. He was no less open about his pride in his Italian heritage. Prior to Italy’s game against the heavily favored Venezuela squad in the inaugural…

March 21, 2002 – On June 29, 1948, Johnny Antonelli, an 18-year-old phenom fresh out of high school in Rochester, New York, was signed by the Boston Braves for a bonus reported by various sources to be between $52,000 and $75,000. Whatever the actual amount, it eclipsed the salaries of all other Braves players. (Designed…

February 17, 1999 – Born in the Italian “Hill” section of St. Louis to immigrant parents, Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra was an unlikely candidate for baseball immortality. At 5-foot-7, 185 pounds, he was both short and ungainly. Even Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey, one of the most astute judges of baseball talent, thought Berra was…

December 16, 2000 – A native of East Boston, Leonard Richard “Lennie” Merullo was the ninth of twelve children of Italian immigrants. His outstanding prep school performance in baseball earned him a scholarship to Villanova University, where he was captain of the baseball team. He became ineligible to play during his senior year after signing…

June 7, 1993 – At his first major league tryout Phil Rizzuto was told to “go out and get a shoeshine box; that’s the only way you’re going to make a living.” The diminutive 5-foot-6, 150-pound shortstop known as “The Scooter” not only made a living in the big leagues, he was a five-time All-Star,…

July 7-8, 2002 – Dom DiMaggio was the youngest and, at 5-foot-9 and 170 pounds, the smallest of three brothers to make it to the major leagues. Vince, the oldest, was a two-time All-Star in his ten-year career, and Joe was a Hall of Famer widely considered the greatest all-around player of his era. Of…

Sebastian “Sibby” Sisti was signed in 1938 by the Boston Braves (then known as the Bees) during his senior year in high school and made his major league debut the following year at the age of 18. He was a starter at third and short over the next three seasons before losing three years while serving in the Coast Guard during World War II.

The son of immigrants from northern Italy, Dario Lodigiani was born in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco. Lodigiani played ball with both Joe and Dom DiMaggio, first at the local playground now named in honor of Joe, and later in junior high and high school.

Anthony Thomas “Nino” Bongiovanni’s major-league career was brief. Following a two-game cup of espresso early in the 1938 season, he appeared in 66 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1939.