Italy’s Espresso-Fueled Underdogs Are Taking Over the WBC

MIAMI — Italy’s team in the World Baseball Classic is nothing if not a total vibe that has helped define the 2026 version of the international tournament. 

Surging through the event and into Monday night’s semifinal matchup against Venezuela, the underdog Italian squad has put its stamp on the WBC through a series of quirks and rituals that have helped give this tournament its prevalent sense of joy. Among them:

• Taking shots of espresso after each home run. This tradition started during the 2023 WBC, complete with an espresso maker set up in the dugout, but has hit a whole new level of prominence after the Italians hit 12 home runs during their first five WBC games this year. 
• Giving one another kisses on the cheek after those home runs.
• Arriving at the ballpark on game days in tailored suits.
• Celebrating victories with increasingly pricey bottles of wine.

Of course, winning has also made a difference, turning what could be seen by some as odd into something fun. Entering Monday’s game, Italy is the last undefeated team in the field, and the team’s march has included last week’s pool-play win over the heavily favored U.S. team. Italy started the tournament as an 80-to-1 underdog in betting odds, and the combined 2026 MLB salaries on its roster are about one-sixth the comparable figure for the U.S. squad. 

“There’s another team in the world that can play baseball. This tournament is so amazing because everybody expected only four teams to make it,” said Italy manager Francisco Cervelli, referring in part to pre-event favorites such as the U.S. and now-eliminated Japan. “But when you’ve got this kind of surprise, the game grows globally. And I believe that’s what MLB is looking for. Put baseball in every part of the world, every corner.”

The Italian WBC team, using eligibility rules available to every team, has just three native-born players and instead leans heavily on American talent with family lineage to Italy. Still, the team has also broken through normal sports coverage typically focused on soccer’s Serie A.

“Italy’s all about soccer. If you watch the newspaper, it’s going to be five, six pages about soccer. Now, we’re in,” Cervelli said. “What’s happening right now, it’s just beautiful.”

A Different Event

Cervelli, who had a 13-season MLB career spanning four teams, has seen nearly the entire scope of the WBC’s 20-year trajectory from a preseason curiosity to something now branded as “bigger than the World Series” by MLB greats. He caught for the Italian team in the 2009 and 2017 iterations, and is already set to remain involved with the club in future WBCs. He’ll likely be joined by a continued influx of top talent. 

“More players want to do it because the tournament’s getting better and better and better. There’s more exposure, and the media is giving a big platform to this tournament. So it’s fun,” Cervelli said in response to a Front Office Sports question. “The organization is better. It’s a big-league tournament [now].”