José Piován

José Piován Fornerino

• Bats Both

• Born April 5, 1957 in Santa Ana de Coro, Falcón Venezuela

Biographical Information

José Piován was on the Venezuelan national team.

Playing baseball and soccer as a kid, he played for Venezuela in junior-level international tournaments in baseball. He was offered a contract by the Baltimore Orioles but his father turned it down, thinking it was too low. The Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers later offered deals and were also rejected by his father due to the dollar value. The third baseman later played for Venezuela in the 1983 Pan American Games (where he led his team in average and homers), 1984 Amateur World Series and 1986 Amateur World Series and also managed them in the 1986 Series. In the 1984 Series, he hit .182/.300/.333 and fielded .938 at 2B; he went deep off Roberto Radaelli of Italy and his five RBI tied Jesús Méndez and Jesús Cartagena for second on the team.

Sources: Mundo Deportivo bio, Pan American Games researcher Bill Mallon, Defunct IBAF site