D-backs’ Descalso had complicated path to play for Italy in World Baseball Classic
Mar 2, 2017, 5:14 PM | Updated: 6:25 pm
Arizona Diamondbacks' Daniel Descalso fields a ground out hit by Texas Rangers' Ryan Rua during the second inning of a spring training baseball game, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2017, in Surprise, Ariz. (AP Photo/Matt York)
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Diamondbacks infielder Daniel Descalso will play for Italy in the World Baseball Classic, but not because he simply accepted an invitation. Things aren’t so easy for an Italian from Redwood City, Calif.
His very Italian last name wasn’t good enough to convince the International Baseball Federation of his heritage, either.
“It was like a little fact-finding mission,” Descalso told Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
FOX Sports reporter Jon Morosi first asked the infielder if he had interest in playing in the World Baseball Classic, then passed Descalso’s information on to Team Italy manager Marco Mazzieri.
“I got a call from Marco the next day and he told me to start gathering documentation of my lineage,” Descalso said. “That got me in the door, the last name ending in a vowel.”
The rest of the process took a bit of personal investigation.
Descalso first tracked down the birth certificate of his great-grandfather, who was born in Italy.
“Luckily, my grandmother had that lying around,” he said. “I think my aunt had gone to Italy and got her duel citizenship so she had some of the paperwork, and then I had to trace it from him (Descalso’s great-grandfather) to my grandmother and her marriage certificate to my grandfather, and then my father’s birth certificate and his marriage certificate to my mother, and then my birth certificate. That line of succession had to be checked out.
“My grandmother was a great help to me,” he added. “I’m lucky she had that information because otherwise I would’ve been screwed.”
