Michael Marchesano

Michael Marchesano

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 205 lb.

• Born September 23, 1975 in Fort Wayne, IN USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Michael Marchesano spent a decade as a pitcher, bouncing between the independent leagues and Italy. He represented Italy on the international stage, including the Olympics.

Marchesano debuted in 1997 with the Duluth-Superior Dukes (1-0, 9 H, 7 R in 4 IP) and Will County Cheetahs (2-1, 3.77). In 1998, Mike again struggled with the Dukes (1-3, 8.10) but did okay with the Canton Crocodiles (2-1, 3.46). The next year, the right-hander improved to 8-4, 3.30 with two saves for the Sioux City Explorers. He finished fifth in the Northern League in ERA.

Moving to the rotation full-time for the 2000 Explorers, the Fort Wayne native fell to 6-8, 5.08. He then made his first trip to Italy's Serie A1, going 10-3 with a 2.46 ERA for Rimini. He whiffed 128 in 109 2/3 innings and allowed only a .205/.288/.280 line. He then was 2-1 in the postseason. He tied for fourth in the league in both strikeouts and victories.

Joining the Italian national team, Michael went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 12 innings in the 2001 European Championship. He tied for the most wins and best ERA. He shut down the French national team to win the Bronze Medal game. He then had a 1-1, 3.55 record in the 2001 Baseball World Cup with a team-high 15 whiffs in 12 2/3 innings.

Marchesano returned to the USA in 2002 to go 8-7 with a 5.24 ERA for the Brockton Rox. In 2003, he improved to 8-7, 2.92 for the Rox. He was 9th in the Northeast League in ERA, followed by Rick Guttormson. He also made one playoff appearance with Rimini, getting a win. Michael was 1-1 with a 0.71 ERA in the 2003 Baseball World Cup; only Kasey Olenberger and Ilo Bartolucci had better ERAs for the Italians. Marchesano got Italy's lone win, beating a Russian national team that had knocked Italy out of Gold Medal contention in the 2001 Euros.

Michael was 10-5 with a 2.21 ERA for Rimini in 2004, with 120 K in 114 IP and a .209/.286/.262 opponent batting line. He finished sixth in ERA between Roberto Cabalisti and Daniel Newman, fifth in strikeouts and tied for 5th in wins with Rolando Cretis and Fabio Betto. Marchesano led Italy in ERA in the 2004 Olympics at 2.84 (Peter Nyari was second at 3.86) but went 0-2, losing to Gold Medal winner Cuba and Silver Medal winner Australia.

In his final US season, 2005, Marchesano turned in a 8-3, 2.55 record for the Long Beach Armada and 1-1, 3.97 for the Nashua Pride. He finished second in the Golden Baseball League in ERA behind Grant Gregg.

In 2006, Mike was 2-1 with a 1.38 ERA in limited action out of Rimini's bullpen and allowed two runs in 1 1/3 playoff innings.

Overall, his record was 45-35, 4.06 in the independent leagues and 25-10, 2.18 in Italy.