by Riccardo Schiroli Former
Major League Baseball (Dodgers, Marlins, Mets, Padres and A’S) superstar
Mike Piazza, currently the
hitting coach for Team Italy, took a chance to live his
soccer fan dream while in
Sicily representing the
NIAF (National Italian American Foundation).
Piazza met
Palermo calcio (one of the top teams in the Italian soccer
Serie A) vice president
Guglielmo Miccichè and received a personalized (with his name and his number
31) Palermo jersey . “We are the only team in the world with a pink jersey” commented
Miccichè, who received from
Piazza a Mets jersey and gave to Mike’s wife
Alicia Rickter a couple of
Kurò (the
Palermo calcio mascotte) puppets as a present for the couple’s daughters
Nicoletta and
Paulina.
Miccichè enquired
Piazza and NIAF President
Jerry Colangelo about the possibility of organizing a
Palermo tour in the States to face
Major League Soccer teams.
Piazza, after asking information about the future of his favorite Palermo player (
striker Fabrizio Miccoli), explained to
Miccichè that he believes that
baseball development in
Italy has to include
Sicily, because of the ideal weather conditions of the island.
Miccichè explained that
Palermo calcio supports
baseball and that one of the projects the team ownership has is about remodeling the Palermo
baseball stadium in order to host main events.
For more pictures of Mike Piazza’s visit to Palermo go to FIBS.it.