ATHENS, Greece -- The United States won't be represented on the Olympic baseball diamond when the Games begin, but Johnston High School will.
The U.S. failed to qualify when the American team lost a deciding game to Mexico. But left-hander Fabio Milano, 27, a 1995 graduate of Johnston High, will be on the pitching staff for the Italian National Team when baseball competition begins Sunday in Athens.
Milano pitches for Fortitudo Baseball in Bologna, a partner of the Seattle Mariners. He finished last season with a 1.21 E.R.A. This year, he has three wins, no losses and eight saves, one save short of his league's record. As of late last week, his E.R.A. in pro ball was 0.45. He will return to Fortitudo to finish the season following the Olympics.
After he graduated from Johnston, Milano attended college in New Hampshire and then transferred to Radford University in Virginia. During a tryout for the Texas Rangers at the University of Rhode Island in 2000, a scout from the Seattle Mariners spotted Milano, and recommended him to the management of Fortitudo.
Fortitudo's best pitchers were competing in the Olympics in Australia that summer, so Milano filled in. In his debut he pitched a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Fortitudo signed him on the spot. His fastball averages between 87 and 90 mph.
About the level of play in the Italian league, Milano says, "I never played pro ball in the States, so I can't compare, but we have a lot of players who played AA, AAA, even a few ex-major leaguers, and they compare the game here to a good AA level. Our team, for example, has some top players who could play AA in the States if they had the opportunity.
"Baseball is not a big sport in Italy, although in Bologna, my city, more kids are starting to come out to play the game."
A game between two professional clubs in Italy may attract about 2,000 spectators.
Last year, Fortitudo won the league championship for the first time in 20 years. The playoffs attracted about 4,000 fans. When the national team plays, up to 9,000 will attend a game, and a European championship game will draw as many as 30,000.
During the season, each professional team is allowed three foreigners, generally a pitcher and two position players. Teams play every Friday night with a foreign pitcher. Every Saturday, a doubleheader is scheduled with local pitchers. Milano has dual citizenship, so he counts as an Italian on the roster, but as a foreigner on the payroll.
"Foreigners are the highest-paid," he says. "It starts at around $800 a month, but some of the foreigners, some of the ex-major leaguers, will make $4,000 to $5,000 a month."
Milano is a closer for Fortitudo, but says, "I'll be the middle relief guy for the national team at the Olympics. There are nine pitchers, and they picked a lot of starters and closers. I can go longer. I can go four innings and then close if I have to. I'm also the lefty."
In a series of international exhibition games, the Italian team saw mixed results last week. The prospects for next week?
"Teams like Cuba, Chinese Taipei, Japan: You're talking the best teams in the world," Milano says. "From what I read about us, they're hoping we come in sixth, but we have a lot of good players. I'm not going to say that we'll contend for a medal, but we'll be right there with every team."
The opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics will be held tonight, and local attention is focused on high-profile Rhode Island athletes such as boxer Jason Estrada and sailors Carol Cronin, Meg Gaillard and Katie McDowell. But other athletes with Rhode Island ties, some not as well-known, are in Athens, too. Tom Meade profiles two of them.
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