Italian Baseball League Explained

Italian Baseball League
Pixels:200px
Sport:Baseball
President:Riccardo Fraccari
Inaugural:1948
Teams:33
Country:
Champion:UnipolSai Bologna
Most Champs:Nettuno BC 1945
(17 titles)
Website:www.fibs.it
Relegation:Serie B

The Italian Baseball League (IBL, Italian: Campionato italiano di baseball|link=no), officially known as the Serie A (pronounced as /it/), is the top-level baseball league in Italy. Founded in 1948, it is governed by the Italian Baseball & Softball Federation (FIBS), which has its headquarters in Rome.

Many of the teams are based in the northern Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, which has historically been the hotbed of baseball in the country; a team from the Republic of San Marino also plays in Serie A.

Like most professional sports leagues in Europe, and unlike professional baseball leagues in North America and Asia, the IBL uses a promotion and relegation system; the bottom five clubs are relegated to the Serie B minor league. Winners of the league are awarded a scudetto, and earn the right to represent Italy in the European Champions Cup.

History

See also: Baseball in Italy. Until 2010, the IBL featured a promotion-and-relegation league format that demoted the last place finisher to the minor leagues (Series A2), while the Serie A2 (baseball) champion would be promoted into the IBL. This was changed in late 2009, when FIBS approved the decision to introduce a fixed-team franchise format (similar to that found in Major League Baseball) starting with the 2010 season.

However, in 2018, the promotion-and-relegation system was reintroduced.[1]

In 2021, the Italian Baseball League was rebranded as Serie A, bringing together the previous eight-team Serie A1 and the second-tier Serie A2. The new league was structured into 33 participating teams in 8 divisions, or gironi ("groups"). The 8 gironi winners compete for the league championship (the scudetto), while the remaining 25 will fight to avoid being among the five relegated to Serie B.[2] [3] In 2023, the league size was reduced to 30 teams, divided into five gironi; the top two in each group of the first phase (prima face) advance to the poule scudetto (and then to the playoffs), while those not qualified fight to avoid relegation.

Teams

As is the practice in Asian baseball leagues like Japan's NPB and South Korea's KBO, many of the official team names in the Serie A include the team's corporate sponsor — though unlike Asian baseball, a sponsorship name does not necessarily indicate ownership.

2023 poule scudetto teams

Of the 33 teams participating in the 2023 Serie A season, ten qualified for the poule scudetto (the championship pool). The top eight teams in the poule scudetto qualify for the postseason.

2023 TeamLocation2023 prima
face position
First season
in Serie A
No. of seasons
of current spell
in Serie A
Scudetto
titles
Most recent
Scudetto
Girone F
Hotsand Macerata Angels 1st 2020 4
Godo Baseball 2nd 2006 5
Nettuno BC 1945 1st 1950 3 17 2001
Comcor Modena 1st 1966 3
New Black Panthers 2nd 1969 3
Girone G
Fortitudo Bologna 1st 1963 26 14 2023
Senago BC 2nd 2021 3
BSC Grosseto 2nd 1999 9 5 2014
Parma Clima 1st 1950 59 10 2010
San Marino Baseball 2nd 1985 38 6 2022

Defunct teams

Champions

Single-table era (1948–85)

YearWinning TeamRunner UpMVP
Libertas Bologna
Milano-
Mamoli Grosseto (LIB)
Lazio (FIBS)
Ambrosiana Milano (LIB)
Ferrovieri Roma (FIBS)
-
USCM Nettuno-
Libertas Roma-
Libertas Roma-
Lazio-
A.S. Roma-
-
A.S. Roma-
Lazio-
Rome-
Libertas Inter Milano-
Algida Nettuno-
Roma S.C.-
Pirelli Milano-
Simmenthal Nettuno/
ACLI Bologna
-
Libertas Milano/
Europhon Milano
-
UGF Fortitudo Bologna-
Europhon Milano-
Tanara Parma-
Nettuno-
Nettuno-
Noalex Milano-
Montenegro Bologna-
Bernazzoli Parma-
Bernazzoli Parma-
Montenegro Bologna-
Colombo Nettuno-
Bernazzoli Parma-
Colombo Nettuno-
Derbigum RiminiMike Romano
Cercosti RiminiCarlos Guzman
Germal Parma /
Colombo Nettuno
John Long
Ed Oliveros
Papà Barzetti RiminiJohn Guggiana
Sicma NettunoGiuseppe Carelli
Nordmende Bologna-
World Vision Parma-
BE. CA. Bologna-

Playoff era (1986–present)

YearWinning TeamRunner UpResultMVP
4–3 -
Mamoli Grosseto4–1 -
SCAC Nettuno4–0 -
Ronson Lenoir Rimini4–2 -
Ronson Lenoir Rimini4–3 -
Flower Gloves Verona3-0
Eurobuilding Bologna3-0 David Sheldon
Telemarket Rimini3–2 Jessie Reid
Danesi Nettuno4–1 Brad Komminsk
Danesi Nettuno4–1 Roberto Bianchi
Cariparma Angels4–2 Francesco Casolari
Danesi Nettuno4–3 Francesco Casolari
Semenzato Rimini4–1 Federico Bassi
Danesi Nettuno4–3 Ed Campaniello (Rimini)
Danesi Nettuno4–0 Claudio Liverziani (Rimini)
Semenzato Rimini4–2 Juan Carlos Vigna
Danesi Nettuno4–1 Orlando Muñoz (Modena)
GB Ricambi Modena4–1 Claudio Liverziani (Bologna)
Italeri Bologna4–2 Jaime Navarro (Grosseto)
T & A San Marino4–3 Jesús Matos (Bologna)
Colonie Maremma Grosseto4–1 Mario Chiarini (Rimini)
Danesi Nettuno4–3 Giuseppe Mazzanti (Nettuno)
Danesi Nettuno4–3 Giuseppe Mazzanti (Nettuno)
T & A San Marino4–1 Eddie Garabito (Bologna)
Fortitudo Bologna4–2 Orlando Muñoz (Parma)
Danesi Nettuno4–3 Willie Vasquez (San Marino)
Rimini Baseball4–2 Danilo Sanchez (Godo)
Rimini Baseball3–2 Alessandro Vaglio
Rimini Baseball4–3 Claudio Liverziani
Fortitudo Baseball Bologna4–0 Giuseppe Mazzanti
Rimini Baseball4–2 Sebastiano Poma
T & A San Marino3–0
Parmaclima3–1
T & A San Marino3–0
T & A San Marino4–3
UnipolSai Bologna3–2
Parmaclima4–3
T & A San Marino4–0 Ricardo Paolini

Notable former players

External links

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Basta IBL! Si ritorna alla serie A1! . baseballmania.eu . 20 December 2017 . it.
  2. Web site: The history of baseball in Italy . MLB.com.
  3. Web site: Copia archiviata . Fabio Ferrini . 12 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210412124046/https://www.fibs.it/it/news/campionati-baseball/47557-nuova-formula-per-la-serie-a-baseball-che-assegner%C3%A0-lo-scudetto-a-fine-agosto.html . it.