The Baseball Prince of Italy

Giorgio Castelli was born in Parma, Italy on August 28 ^th , 1951. Growing up in the late-fifties and early-sixties, Castelli began playing baseball in Parma. He dominated at the amateur level in Italy and in 1968; the Cincinnati Reds took notice and invited him to spring training.

In March, Castelli and a Reds scout stationed in Europe boarded a plane and took a flight from Italy to Fort Lauderdale, where they then jumped on a train for Tampa Bay where the Reds were having camp. However, after spring training, Castelli was one of the players not offered a roster spot in the organization. There are many different accounts of what happened. One of the more popular stories says the Reds wanted to offer Castelli a job backing-up Johnny Bench behind the plate but Giorgio declined because he wanted to return home.

However, in an interview with an Italian baseball site after his retirement, Castelli said he was ready to sign a deal with the Reds and report to their Double-A affiliate but decided against it at the last second. Had Castelli signed, he would have assumed professional status as a player and if he returned to Italy, he would be ineligible from playing in the Italian league and at the national level since he was no longer an amateur. Castelli also stated that he had yet to fulfill his military obligations to his country and wanted to return in case they needed him. “So I chose Italy, something of which I have never regretted.” said Giorgio in the interview.

Castelli returned to Italy after departing Florida and signed with his hometown Parma club in Serie A1, Italy’s top baseball league. He won the first of his many batting titles by hitting .324 and also shared the home run lead by hitting eight, despite only appearing in 26 of Parma’s 56 games. He also appeared in many exhibition games with the national team in preparation for the European Championship that was to be held after next season.

The next season, Castelli exploded, hitting .474 and scoring 34 runs in only 25 games. It was his second batting title in as many years. In fact, he also won the batting title in 1970, giving him three Serie A1 batting championships before he had even turned 21. After the 1969 season, Castelli joined the Italian national team and helped his country capture a silver medal at the European Championship.

In 1971, in his fourth season with Parma, Castelli finally took over the catching job full-time. Previously, he played first base and centerfield between days of catching. Again, he won another batting title, hitting over .400 for the third straight year (he hit .407). After the 1971 campaign, the European title was on the line in his hometown of Parma. They made it to the finals against the dominant Netherlands club but came up short in a winner-takes-all game three, losing 7-3 to the Dutch.

Castelli won his fifth straight batting title in 1972 with a line of .423-12-49 in 59 contests but the big part of the year was his breakthrough defensively. The catcher threw out 15 of 28 attempting base stealers and finally cemented his status as a strong defense gem. In 1973, he won his sixth hitting title in six seasons. Still, the Parma club had not won a pennant in Castelli’s tenure, the only blemish on an already very stellar career.

If you think that Giorgio’s first six seasons were amazing, then you’ll be in awe when you see his 1974 numbers. He became the second Triple Crown winner in Serie A1 history, hitting a ridiculous .523 with 26 home runs and 85 RBIs in only 44 games. He also stole 17 bags while posting a slugging percentage of 1.020. Still, the Italian pennant eluded Castelli and the Parma club. But big things were in store for Castelli, Parma, and the national team in the coming years.

1975 saw Castelli’s batting crown streak stop at seven seasons, but he still hit .391. In the European championship held in the Spain, Italy outscored its opposition 22-0 in the preliminary round setting up a showdown with the Dutch in a best-of-five final. The Dutch, who won 48 of their last 49 games heading into the tournament, tumbled and finished 4-3 in the round robin. Still, the two teams battled in a classic final, splitting the first four games. In game five though, pitcher Michele Romano tossed a complete game, leading the Italians to a 9-4 victory and their first European title since the inaugural tournament in 1954.

In 1976, Castelli reclaimed the batting title with a .442 average and he also drove in 61 runs to lead the league in that category for the third straight season.  Parma led the Serie A1 standings the entire way and would eventually win the championship, their first in Castelli’s term with the club. However, Castelli was losing speed and it appeared his knees were starting to give in to his commanding playing time.

Castelli hit a ludicrous .571 in 1977 but did not qualify for the batting crown as he only played in 20 games. However, he recorded many milestones that season with his powerful bat. On May 20 ^th , he hit for the cycle against Bologna and on June 11 ^th , he hammered four long balls over the fence against Bollate, a new Serie A1 single game record. Altogether, he hit 12 home runs on the year, giving him over 100 big flies over his career with Parma, becoming the first Serie A1 player ever to reach triple-digits in home runs. Parma won the title again in ’77, giving them back-to-back pennants. In the European championship, the national team against defeated the Dutch on their home soil, giving them two European titles in a row.

1978 was a season of lasts for Castelli. He hit over .500 again (.510) for his ninth and last batting title in his career. The ’78 campaign was also Castelli’s last season as a full time catcher, as his knees were beginning to wear down. While Parma did not appear in the post-season, the national team appeared in its first Amateur World Series since Castelli’s career started. The host Italians finished a very respectable 5-5 and Giorgio hit .314 in the tournament.

Giorgio moved out to first base primarily in 1979 and even got a stint on the mound, striking out one hitter while walking the only other batter he’d face. He was again a key player on the national team that three-peated as European champions in 1979 at home in Italy. His playing time began to dwindle down a bit as rest became a key requirement in Castelli’s career late. He appeared in less than 30 games in his next two seasons and after the 1983 campaign, his fifteen season in Italy, Castelli called it a career.

His retirement caught a few people by surprise, including those on the national team but Castelli felt burnt-out. He said he was no longer having fun as it seemed to matter too much on the winning and losing aspect. He said in an interview he felt he was no longer a contributor to the national club and it was time to allow younger players to step up and take his place.

His career numbers in his fifteen seasons are staggering. In 605 games, Castelli hit .421, scoring 689 runs and driving in 689. He hit 162 home runs and also contributed with 178 stolen bases. His career batting average mark is an Italian record and will likely never be broken. Castelli also holds the country’s record for hits, with 1,064. He was on three national teams that captured the European Championship and also was a member of a Parma team that secured four Serie A1 pennants during his time with the club. In 2005, he was among one of the inaugural inductees in the Italian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Castelli would continue to monitor baseball in his country from a distance after his retirement. However, in 2002, he was contacted by the Italian Baseball Federation and was asked to become a key member of the decision making process for baseball in the country. He accepted and right now, he is working in that capacity. The Prince, as his nickname was, continues to live on as the face of baseball in Italy.