Marcello Saccardi

• Bats Right, Throws Right

• Born July 6, 1972

Biographical Information

Marcello Saccardi has played and managed in Italy.

He debuted in Serie A1 in 1993, hitting .167/.278/.233 as a backup corner outfielder for Parma. He became the starter in center field in 1994 and made huge strides, batting .418/.496/.518 in the regular season and .286/.375/.429 in the semifinals before going 1-for-10 in the 1994 Italian Series; Parma won the title. He led the team in average over the course of the year. He fielded .984 in 1995 but fell to .245/.415/.337 at the plate; this time, he did better in the postseason, including 3-for-6 with two walks and a double in the 1995 Italian Series as his team repeated. The team also won the 1995 European Cup.

In 1996, he hit .202/.360/.236 in continued wild swings of production. He was 3 for 10 in the semifinals and 1 for 3 in the 1996 Italian Series. He produced at a .259/.376/.354 clip with 40 runs in 49 games during 1997, was 2 for 11 with two doubles in the semifinals and hit .333/.448/.417 with eight runs in six games in the 1997 Italian Series as Parma won its third title of his team. They also took the 1997 European Cup.

Still holding down the center field spot, he batted .280/.408/.350 in the 1998 Serie A1 regular season and .286/.310/.357 in the semifinals, but Parma failed to make the Italian Series. In 1999, he was at .271/.358/.439 (6 for 18 with 2 doubles and 6 walks in the playoffs). Parma did win both the 1998 European Cup and 1999 European Cup. He had 57 putouts, 3 assists and no errors in 2000, hitting .277/.431/.375 with 30 walks in 43 games in the regular season, then was 1 for 8 in the postseason.

Saccardi did not play in Italy's top league again until 2003, when he eked out a .223/.309/.279 line for Reggio Emilia, in his usual center field position. He hit .200/.364/.270 with 27 walks in 35 games in 2005 then ended his playing career in 2007 by hitting .338/.460/.437 back with Parma, his best season in years (he was 4 for 20 with 4 walks and a double in the semifinals). He had hit .266/.382/.353 with 286 walks and 317 runs in 484 career games; not a slugger, he had five career homers. He fielded .963 and also pitched four games (1-1, 3.37).

He later coached for Parma and managed them in 2023. He managed Collecchio in 2020.

Primary source: Italian Baseball and Softball Federation