L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2017 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano ALFONSO GUERRIERO JR. N ew York Yankees pitcher Tommy Layne is back from the World Baseball Classic. The tall and lanky south- paw, briefly traded-in his pin- stripe uniform for an Italian National Baseball jersey, and he could not have chosen a better time to play. The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was nothing short of exciting. The March games had the highest attendance and TV ratings since its inception in 2006 and generat- ed worldwide interest for the first time ever. After his typical morning workout of stretching his arms and legs at the George M. Steinbrenner Field located in Tampa, Florida, the thirty-two year old relief pitcher sat down with me to talk about his experi- ence playing in the World Baseball Classic and his Italian- American heritage. It was an interesting transition for Tommy to leave the Yankees' spring training camp for a few weeks to join Italy's National Baseball Team. "I went from the usual spring training routine to getting thrown right into playoff atmos- phere, as every game we were involved in was close and went down to the last inning" explained the Yankees relief pitcher. One of the many highlights in this year's games was Italy's competitive play. After it's dra- matic win (10-9) over Mexico that involved a walk-off two-run single, Italy's manager, Marco Mazzieri declared, "Any time Italy wins, it's a big surprise. It's been like that for eight years now but these guys came here to win." The national team consist- ed of MLB and minor leaguers as well as ballplayers from the Italian Baseball League. Although Italy lost a key game with the talented Venezuela team that prevented the country from advancing, many baseball experts were impressed with its performance. For Tommy putting on the blue and white colors meant pay- ing tribute to his great-grandpar- ents who were from Cefalù, Sicily. His great-grandparents, circa the early twentieth century, settled in the US and met in St. Louis, Missouri. The couple remained in St. Louis, and lived in the city's small Italian section with their American-born chil- dren including Tommy's mater- nal grandmother. "I have always felt more Italian than some of the other ethnicities that I have in my family." Layne said. He added, "My mother is from a large Italian family and they were very proud when I was selected for the Italian team." We chuckled simultaneously when he also explained that his mom's side is more "boisterous and loud" com- pared to some of his other non- Italian family members. The left-handed reliever con- tinues to live in the city's district, with his wife and daughter and he remains very connected to his Italo-American roots through the matriarch of the family, his grandmother whose maiden name is Garbo. "Every so often my grandmother will say some- thing in Italian and it reminds me of where I come from." Tommy's grandmother and her siblings were raised in the pre- dominately Italian neighborhood, where family was paramount above anything else. When I Yankee Pitcher Tommy Layne. CREDIT: NEW YORK YANKEES. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Yankee Pitcher Joins Italian Baseball Classic reminded him that there was another Yankee also of Italian- American background from St. Louis, Yogi Berra, he sounded unimpressed with my knowledge but expressed fondness for the late St. Louie native (from The Hill area) and commented "when you put on the pinstripes you also put on a part of baseball history." Part of baseball history this year was the USA team winning the WBC for the first time and through America's pastime, a new-found sense of national pride was instilled in countries. Baseball, not soccer, created an aura of patriotism in nations such as Israel, the Netherlands, Mexico and Italy, countries known more for their fanatical enthusiasm of soccer than America's game. The games were exactly what Major League Baseball has been awaiting. In the past WBC games were marred for their lackluster play and poor timing with spring training, when players are just getting back into shape after the off-season. Even MLB managers and popular players have criti- cized the timing of the games and have veered away from joining the WBC games for fear of seri- ous injury. Perhaps the tide is turning with the exhilarating per- formance by all the teams that participated this year. Italy, a country known for its zealous passion for soccer, has been part of the World Baseball Classic from the very beginning despite the nation's feeble inter- est in the sport. Ironically, as a youngster Tommy excelled in soccer but it was baseball that stole his heart. The very humble and grounded pitcher has been committed to the game ever since he played in his first little league game. Layne was picked in the 26th round of the 2007 Major League Baseball draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was released after three years by the Diamondbacks and signed by the San Diego Padres where he spent another two years in both AA and triple A ball. It was in the Padres' farm system that the coaching staff noticed his dura- bility and value as a left-handed pitcher, so they turned him into a relief pitcher. On August 14, 2012 he pitched in his first big league game and struck- out the opposing side. Since his Major League debut he has bounced around a few teams until the Yankees picked him up in August 2016. With the Yankees Tommy is looking forward to the opportuni- ty of being an effective relief pitcher and having one of his best seasons in his career. In the game of baseball, left-handed relief pitchers are a valuable asset to have on a team specifically what is called a left-handed specialist. It is in this capacity that Layne's role this year will be as a key member of the New York Yankees bullpen. Layne attribut- es most of his success and strong work ethic to his upbringing in St. Louis. I asked Tom how he applies those core Italian values that he learned from his mom's side to his professional and personal life. He quickly responded, "One big thing that I think almost anyone will say about Italian culture is family, and I try to incorporate those same values to my own family now that I have a wife and daughter. This idea also applies to a baseball team because we are a family. We are in a confined space in a clubhouse typically and we travel together through- out the season. It is those values that have helped me become a better teammate and hopefully I can help other guys." Before he departed to prepare for an upcoming exhibition game, I had to ask one final ques- tion as our interview was ending. I wondered if he ever had a con- versation about his heritage with the other Italo-American on the Yankees, his manager Joe Girardi. He waited a few seconds to think and said, "When, Joe found out that I was playing for Italy he said go make the mother- land proud and when I arrived back he said welcome back paisan." NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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