“Right now 70 percent of the money comes from our sponsors. With the decision to take baseball out of the Olympics, it means many of the sponsors will probably quit.”
“I'm confident that this event can help us move forward. Italian baseball has arrived at a point where it must either take a step forward and become truly professional, or take two steps back and become a recreational sport. I think this experience will serve to demonstrate to our Italian players the need for their teams to become fully professional and for them to take their play to a higher level.”