As a young boy growing up in Alzano Lombardy, Italy, baseball wasn’t on Leonardo Seminati’s radar. It was hardly on anyone’s radar in his northern Italian town. Seminati’s family would regularly attend "sporting events," where teams from various sports would promote their clubs. Then, out of the blue, a baseball club set up shop. Seminati was about 8 or 9 years old.

“I walked into the cage, picked up a ball and a bat, and from then on it’s all history,” Seminati said after Friday’s batting practice before the Billings Mustangs opened their Pioneer League season against the Idaho Falls Chukars. “Here I am living the dream.” Not the typical dream for a boy from Italy, where soccer is king and baseball is low on the list of popular sports. But it’s Seminati’s dream now.