Gianni Ricci

Gianni Ricci

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born April 30, 1972

Biographical Information

Gianni Ricci pitched for Nettuno in the 1990s. He once led the Serie A1 in wins; the next year, his brother and teammate Diego Ricci did the same.

Gianni debuted with Nettuno in 1990, allowing ten runs in 10 1/3 IP. He was back in 1992 and was 0-1 with 14 runs, 16 walks and 16 hits in 10 1/3 innings. After another year off, he showed progress in 1994 at 5-2, though his ERA was 8.47 and opponents hit .386/.478/.467 (76 H, 43 BB in 45 2/3 IP). In the finals, he was 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA and walked 17 in 14 innings as Nettuno fell to Parma. In '95, Gianni had his big season with a 14-2, 5.82 record, leading the league in wins. He deprived Cuban great Faustino Corrales of a pitching Triple Crown, as Corrales led in ERA and whiffs. He collapsed in the postseason, though, going 0-2 in the semifinals and 0-2 with a 10.64 ERA in the finals. Parma won again. He got his only stint with the Italian national team in the 1995 Intercontinental Cup and did very well (4 K, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 R in 2 2/3 IP).

In 1996, Ricci was 5-3 with a 4.59 ERA as his brother Diego replicated his league-leading 14 wins. Gianni was not used in the finals, which Nettuno won. In 1997, the 25-year-old was 3-2 with two saves and a 5.14 ERA. He allowed one run in 1 2/3 innings in the finals as Parma topped Nettuno for the third time in four years. Ricci saw limited action in 1998 (4-3, Sv, 4.82, .318 opponent average) and 1999 (1 R in 2 1/3 IP) and retired.

Overall, he was 32-18 with 3 saves and a 6.24 ERA in 106 games, while opponents hit .298/.385/.401 off him. Almost half his wins came in his big 1995 season.

Sources

• FIBS
• Baseball.it