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Former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti played a major role in Team Italy’s win over Team USA in the WBC Tuesday.
Colletti, who sat at the helm for the Dodgers from 2006-14, serves as Team Italy’s general manager, and helped construct the history-making side.
Italy, a heavy underdog heading into the game, jumped to a 5-0 lead over the hosts in the first four innings, then managed to extend their lead to eight a couple of innings later. Despite the USA’s best efforts, Team Italy still managed an 8-6 win — beyond what Colletti could have imagined when he put the team together.
“It was emotional, it was remarkable,” Colletti said, “and I’m not ashamed to say I cried. We played one of the greatest teams ever assembled, and won. We did it.”
Prior to their victory Tuesday, Team Italy had never beaten Team USA in pool play. They have also never made the knockout stages of the WBC, and find themselves on the brink of history heading into their fourth and final group stage game against Mexico on Friday.
They now stand alone as the sole unbeaten team in the group, and will look to cement a first place finish and a ticket to the quarter finals with a win against Mexico. Team Italy can still advance if they lose, though, due to the WBC’s tiebreaker rules.
If they lose against Team Mexico on Tuesday but allow four or fewer runs, they’ll still be on their way to the next round, sending Team USA packing.
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May 24, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers senior advisor Ned Colletti reacts during a MLB baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Were the Dodgers successful under Ned Colletti?
Through Colletti’s nine seasons with the Dodgers, they made five postseason appearances and reached the NLCS three times.
Under him, the Dodgers drafted several players who would go on to contribute heavily to make a huge impact on the franchise’s history, such as Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Cody Bellinger and Kenley Jansen.
Colletti is undoubtedly talented as a general manager, and will hope he and Team Italy can get the job done against Team Mexico on Wednesday.
“Whenever this is over, I can honestly say, it will be hard,” Colletti said. “These players will go their separate ways when we’re finished. I don’t think they’ll ever see each other anytime soon, but never again.
“But when they do see each other again, they’ll smile, and they’ll say, ‘Hey, how about what we did in Houston?’ “
Do you have any fond Ned Colletti moments?
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