Italian Baseball League

Last updated
Italian Baseball League
Italian Baseball League logo.png
Sport Baseball
First season 1948
PresidentRiccardo Fraccari
No. of teams33
CountryFlag of Italy.svg Italy
Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino
Most recent
champion(s)		 Parma Clima
(2024)
Most titles Nettuno BC 1945
(17 titles)
Relegation to Serie B
Official website www.fibs.it

The Italian Baseball League (IBL, Italian: Campionato italiano di baseball), officially known as the Serie A (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsɛːrjeˈa] ), 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.

Contents

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 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. [a]

History

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 (lit. "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 fase) 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
(Group)		First season
in Serie A		No. of seasons
of current spell
in Serie A		 Scudetto
titles		Most recent
Scudetto
Girone F
Hotsand Macerata Angels Flag of Italy.svg Macerata 1st (A)20204——
Godo Baseball Flag of Italy.svg Russi 2nd (C)20065——
Nettuno BC 1945 Flag of Italy.svg Nettuno 1st (D)19503172001
Comcor Modena Flag of Italy.svg Modena 1st (E)19663——
New Black Panthers Flag of Italy.svg Ronchi dei Legionari 2nd (B)19693——
Girone G
Fortitudo Bologna Flag of Italy.svg Bologna 1st (C)196326142023
Senago BC Flag of Italy.svg Milan 2nd (E)20213——
BSC Grosseto Flag of Italy.svg Grosseto 2nd (D)1999952014
Parma Clima Flag of Italy.svg Parma 1st (B)195059102010
San Marino Baseball Flag of San Marino.svg San Marino 2nd (A)19853862022

Defunct teams

Champions

Single-table era (1948–85)

YearWinning TeamRunner UpMVP
1948 Libertas Bologna
Milano -
1949 Mamoli Grosseto (LIB)
Lazio (FIBS)		 Ambrosiana Milano (LIB)
Ferrovieri Roma (FIBS)		-
1950 Libertas Roma USCM Nettuno -
1951 Nettuno B.C. Libertas Roma -
1952 Nettuno B.C. Libertas Roma -
1953 Nettuno B.C. Lazio -
1954 Nettuno B.C. A.S. Roma -
1955 Lazio Nettuno -
1956 Chlorodont Nettuno A.S. Roma -
1957 Chlorodont Nettuno Lazio -
1958 Algida Nettuno B.C. Rome -
1958 C.U.S. Milano Libertas Inter Milano -
1959 Coca-Cola Roma Algida Nettuno -
1960 Seven Up Milano Roma S.C. -
1961 Europhon Milano Pirelli Milano -
1962 Europhon Milano Simmenthal Nettuno/
ACLI Bologna 		-
1963 Simmenthal Nettuno Libertas Milano/
Europhon Milano 		-
1964 Simmenthal Nettuno UGF Fortitudo Bologna -
1965 Simmenthal Nettuno Europhon Milano -
1966 Europhon Milano Tanara Parma -
1967 Europhon Milano Nettuno -
1968 Europhon Milano Nettuno -
1969 Montenegro Bologna Noalex Milano -
1970 Europhon Milano Montenegro Bologna -
1971 Glen Grant Nettuno Bernazzoli Parma -
1972 Montenegro Bologna Bernazzoli Parma -
1973 Glen Grant Nettuno Montenegro Bologna -
1974 Montenegro Bologna Colombo Nettuno -
1975 Cercosti Rimini Bernazzoli Parma -
1976 Germal Parma Colombo Nettuno -
1977 Germal Parma Derbigum Rimini Mike Romano
1978 Biemme Bologna Cercosti Rimini Carlos Guzman
1979 Derbigum Rimini Germal Parma /
Colombo Nettuno 		John Long
1980 Derbigum Rimini Glen Grant Nettuno Ed Oliveros
1981 Parmalat Parma Papà Barzetti Rimini John Guggiana
1982 Parmalat Parma Sicma Nettuno Giuseppe Carelli
1983 Papà Barzetti Rimini Nordmende Bologna -
1984 BE. CA. Bologna World Vision Parma -
1985 World Vision Parma BE. CA. Bologna -

Playoff era (1986–present)

YearWinning TeamRunner UpResultMVP
1986 Grohe Grosseto Trevi Rimini 4–3-
1987 Trevi Rimini Mamoli Grosseto 4–1-
1988 Ronson Lenoir Rimini SCAC Nettuno 4–0-
1989 Mamoli Grosseto Ronson Lenoir Rimini 4–2-
1990 SCAC Nettuno Ronson Lenoir Rimini 4–3-
1991 Parma Angels Flower Gloves Verona 3-0—
1992 Telemarket Rimini Eurobuilding Bologna 3-0 Flag of the United States.svg David Sheldon
1993 C.F.C. Nettuno Telemarket Rimini 3–2 Flag of the United States.svg Jessie Reid
1994 Cariparma Angels Danesi Nettuno 4–1 Flag of the United States.svg Brad Komminsk
1995 Cariparma Angels Danesi Nettuno 4–1 Flag of Italy.svg Roberto Bianchi
1996 Caffè Danesi Nettuno Cariparma Angels 4–2 Flag of Italy.svg Francesco Casolari
1997 Cariparma Parma Danesi Nettuno 4–3 Flag of Italy.svg Francesco Casolari
1998 Danesi Nettuno Semenzato Rimini 4–1 Flag of Italy.svg Federico Bassi
1999 Semenzato Rimini Danesi Nettuno 4–3 Flag of the United States.svg Ed Campaniello (Rimini)
2000 Semenzato Rimini Danesi Nettuno 4–0 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Liverziani (Rimini)
2001 Caffè Danesi Nettuno Semenzato Rimini 4–2 Flag of Italy.svg Juan Carlos Vigna
2002 Semenzato Rimini Danesi Nettuno 4–1 Flag of Venezuela.svg Orlando Muñoz (Modena)
2003 Italeri Bologna GB Ricambi Modena 4–1 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Liverziani (Bologna)
2004 Prink Grosseto Italeri Bologna 4–2 Flag of Puerto Rico.svg Jaime Navarro (Grosseto)
2005 Italeri Bologna T & A San Marino 4–3 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Jesús Matos (Bologna)
2006 Telemarket Rimini Colonie Maremma Grosseto 4–1 Flag of Italy.svg Mario Chiarini (Rimini)
2007 Montepaschi Grosseto Danesi Nettuno 4–3 Flag of Italy.svg Giuseppe Mazzanti (Nettuno)
2008 T & A San Marino Danesi Nettuno 4–3 Flag of Italy.svg Giuseppe Mazzanti (Nettuno)
2009 UGF Banca Bologna T & A San Marino 4–1 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Eddie Garabito (Bologna)
2010 Cariparma Parma Fortitudo Bologna 4–2 Flag of Venezuela.svg Orlando Muñoz (Parma)
2011 T & A San Marino Danesi Nettuno 4–3 Flag of Venezuela.svg Willie Vasquez (San Marino)
2012 T & A San Marino Rimini Baseball 4–2 Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg Danilo Sanchez (Godo)
2013 T & A San Marino Rimini Baseball 3–2 Flag of Italy.svg Alessandro Vaglio
2014 UGF Banca Bologna Rimini Baseball 4–3 Flag of Italy.svg Claudio Liverziani
2015 Rimini Baseball Fortitudo Baseball Bologna 4–0 Flag of Italy.svg Giuseppe Mazzanti
2016 UGF Banca Bologna Rimini Baseball 4–2 Flag of Italy.svg Sebastiano Poma
2017 ASD Rimini T & A San Marino 3–0
2018 UnipolSai Bologna Parmaclima 3–1
2019 UnipolSai Bologna T & A San Marino 3–0
2020 UnipolSai Bologna T & A San Marino 4–3
2021 T & A San Marino UnipolSai Bologna 3–2
2022 T & A San Marino Parmaclima 4–3
2023 UnipolSai Bologna T & A San Marino 4–0 Flag of Italy.svg Ricardo Paolini
2024 ParmaClima San Marino Baseball Club 4–1 Flag of Italy.svg Alex Liddi

Notable former players

Notes

  1. ↑ That is, for Italian clubs; San Marino BC automatically qualifies to play in the European Cup as the sole representative of the Republic of San Marino.

References

  1. ↑ "Basta IBL! Si ritorna alla serie A1!" (in Italian). baseballmania.eu. 20 December 2017.
  2. ↑ "The history of baseball in Italy". MLB.com.
  3. ↑ Fabio Ferrini. "Copia archiviata" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 12 April 2021.

See also

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