When Mike Piazza was hired to manage Italy's national baseball team, one of the first people he shared the news with was Tommy Lasorda. Now 92, the former Los Angeles Dodgers manager had persuaded Piazza to switch from first base to catcher at the start of what would be a Hall of Fame career.

“His style may be a little dated for lack of a better term, but he was very inspiring and the way he ran the team was he inspired you to achieve more than you thought you were capable of achieving,” Piazza said of his mentor, a fellow Italian-American. “So that’s the one thing I want to bring in.”