Team Italy manager and National Baseball Hall of Famer Mike Piazza could not be happier for San Diego Padres catcher Brett Sullivan, who led all catchers in the 2023 World Baseball Classic with seven hits and compiled an impressive .368 batting average as the Team Italy cleanup hitter during the international competition.

It was the hot bats of Brett Sullivan and Azzurri teammates Nicky Lopez (.474 BA) and Dominic Fletcher (.368 BA) that led the Italians to the WBC quarterfinals in Tokyo, Japan.