1989 Italian Series

The 1989 Italian Series was won by Mamoli Robinetterie Grosseto. They beat two-time defending champion Ronson Lenoir Rimini in the final. It was Grosseto's second Serie A1 title.

Rimini had the best regular season record in Girone 1 (30-12) then went 4-1 in the first round of the playoffs and edged Nettuno 4-3 in round two. They had batting champion Giuseppe Carelli (.426/.540/.746, 40 RBI in 36 G) in RF and he was supported by players like C Elio Gambuti (.320/.397/.633, 39 RBI in 34 G) and two-way threat Paolo Ceccaroli (.398/.454/.611). Ceccaroli won the ERA title (8-3, 2 Sv, 1.91) while former MLB 15-game winner Rick Waits was 9-1 with a save and a 2.26 ERA.

Grosseto was 32-10 in the regular season to win Girone 2. They then went 4-1 in both the first round and second round of the playoffs. Their offensive leaders were former big leaguer C Dwight Lowry (.325/.452/.623, 11 HR, 49 RBI in 42 G) and OF Stefano Manzini (.299/.380/.554, 11 HR, 41 RBI, 40 R in 41 G). Rich Olsen (11-1, 2.09) and Raffaele Gandolfi (7-0, Sv, 2.92) led their pitchers.

In the finals, Grosseto took the opener, 12-7, then lost 8-3. They won games 3 (2-1) and 4 (5-0) but lost game 5 (3-0). Game 6 was a 9-2 victory to seal the deal. Rolando Cretis (3-0, 3.78) was their big winner in the postseason, though Olsen (1-0, 1.17) and Gandolfi (0-2, 0.77, hurt by unearned runs) had better ERAs. SS John Cortese (.300/.481/.650, 8 R, 6 RBI) powered the offense in the Series, while Manzini hit a solid .292/.393/.500 with 6 runs but Lowry struggled at .120/.179/.280. Waits (2-0, 1.06) got both of Rimini's wins while Ceccaroli was hit hard (0-2, 7.56). As he would in 1990, Gambuti had a superb Series (.333/.423/.571, 9 RBI in 6 G) in a losing cause, while CF Andrea Succi hit .346/.370/.500 and legged out two triples.

Playoffs

1st Round

• Ronson Lenoir Rimini (30-12) beat Rete37 Florence (21-20), 4-1
• World Vision Parma (27-15) beat Meseta Bologna (26-16), 4-0
• Mamoli Robinetterie Grosseto (32-10) beat Caravantours San Marino (18-24), 4-1
• Scac Nettuno (30-12) beat Multitecnica Turin (20-21), 4-0

Semi Finals

• Mamoli Robinetterie Grosseto 4-1 World Vision Parma
• Ronson Lenoir Rimini 4-3 Scac Nettuno

Championship Series

• Mamoli Robinetterie Grosseto 4-2 Ronson Lenoir Rimini