Alessandro Maestri (born June 1, 1985, in Cesena, Italy) is an Italian former professional baseball player. He played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the

Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team formed as a result of the 2004 Nippon Professional Baseball realignment by the merger of the Orix BlueWave of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, and the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Osaka, Osaka Prefectur ...

and in the KBO League for the

Hanwha Eagles The Hanwha Eagles ( ko, 한화 이글스) are a South Korean professional baseball team based in Daejeon. They are a member of the KBO League. The Eagles' home ballpark is Daejeon Hanbat Baseball Stadium. The Eagles have won the Korean Series on ...

. A pitcher, the 5'11", 180 lb. right-hander signed with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

as a non-drafted free agent on Jan. 6, . He played for Team Italy in the

2019 European Baseball Championship The 2019 European Baseball Championship was an international baseball tournament organized by the Confederation of European Baseball. The 2019 Championship was held September 7–15, 2019, in Bonn and Solingen, Germany. The tournament contributed ...

Career

Early career

Born in Cesena, Maestri grew up in

Viserba Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminus ...

, a suburb near Rimini. He played in the Italian minor leagues for Torre Pedrera. In 2005, he joined the San Marino Baseball Club of the Italian Baseball League, the highest league in Italy.

Chicago Cubs organization

Early in the season, Maestri's second season of professional ball with the Class A

Peoria Chiefs The Peoria Chiefs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. The team was established in 1983 as the Peoria Suns. They are located in Peoria, Illinois, and are named for the Peori ...

, he gave up seven runs in two

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s against the Cedar Rapids Kernels. From that point on, he did not give up more than two runs in an appearance for the rest of the season, and converted his first seven save opportunities to earn himself a Midwest League All-Star nod. His success in 2007 prompted the Cubs to try to convert Maestri into a starter. Thus, he began the season in the starting rotation of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

Class A advanced Daytona Cubs. In this role, he went 5-3 with a 3.69 ERA to again earn himself an All Star nod. Following the all star game, Maestri was promoted to the double A Southern League Tennessee Smokies. With the Smokies, Maestri made two starts in which he pitched 11 innings and gave up eight earned runs before shoulder soreness forced the Cubs to shut him down for the remainder of the season, and ended the Cubs' experiment with Maestri as a starter. The Cubs released Maestri in April 2011, and he signed with the Lincoln Saltdogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Brisbane Bandits

On November 5, 2011, Maestri made his Australian Baseball League debut with the Brisbane Bandits. Starting against the Canberra Cavalry, Maestri went five innings and gave up two hits, picking up the first win of the Bandits' 2011-12 season. His performances earned him a spot with Team World at the

2011 Australian Baseball League All-Star Game Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number), the natural number following 10 and preceding 12 * one of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011, or any year ending in 11 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *'' ...

. Maestri pitched a scoreless inning in the game. Maestri continued the season as the Bandits' ace, finishing third highest in the league in strikeouts and innings pitched. The Bandits ended the half a game short of the playoffs, with Maestri posting a 3.25 ERA and a 1.16

WHIP A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

en route to winning the ABL's Fan Choice Award.

Rimini Baseball Club and the Kagawa Olive Guyners

Maestri played portions of 2012 for the Rimini Baseball Club and the Kagawa Olive Guyners of Japan's Shikoku Island League.

Orix Buffaloes

Maestri signed with the

of Nippon Professional baseball prior to the 2012 season. In his first season with Orix, Maestri recorded a 4–3 record and 2.17 ERA with 40 strikeouts. In 2013, Maestri pitched to a 7–5 record and 5.40 ERA in 24 games. In 36 games in 2014, Maestri registered a 3–1 record and stellar 1.97 ERA with 48 strikeouts. In his final season with Orix, Maestri recorded an 0-2 record and 3.19 ERA in 28 games. On November 9, 2015, Maestri elected free agency.

Hanwha Eagles

In 2016, Maestri moved to the

of the KBO League. He was released on June 25, 2016, to make way for new signing Fabio Castillo. He had recorded a 9.42 ERA in 9 games for the Eagles.

Gunma Diamond Pegasus

On July 12, 2016, after being released from his Korean team, Maestri returned to the independent leagues of Japan by signing for

Gunma Diamond Pegasus The are a semi-professional baseball team in the Baseball Challenge League of Japan. The team was established as part of the expansion of the league, and began play in the 2008 season. Their home is Gunma Prefecture. Franchise history The Di ...

of the Baseball Challenge League.

Rojos del Águila de Veracruz

On April 10, 2017, Maestri signed with the Rojos del Águila de Veracruz of the Mexican Baseball League.

Return to San Marino

On December 21, 2017, Maestri signed with the

T&A San Marino San Marino Baseball Club is a professional domestic baseball club based in San Marino. As of August 2021, they compete in Serie A1 (baseball), Serie A1, the top tier of Italian baseball. Their current commercial name is T & A San Marino, because t ...

of the Italian Baseball League. He played with the club through the 2020 season.

Sydney Blue Sox

Maestri signed with the Sydney Blue Sox of the Australian Baseball League for the 2018-19 season. On May 11, 2021, Maestri announced his retirement from professional baseball.

International career

Italy national team

Maestri was signed by Cubs scout Bill Holmberg, who also serves as

pitching coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

for the Italy national baseball team for whom Maestri pitched in both the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on 5 9 and finished 5 26. Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference ti ...

. Maestri gave up one earned run in two appearances out of the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if t ...

in the 2006 WBC. In , Maestri pitched 2.2 innings without giving up a run. He also pitched for Team Italy in the

. He is playing for the team at the Africa/Europe 2020 Olympic Qualification tournament, taking place in Italy beginning September 18, 2019.

References

External links

, o
Korea Baseball Organization
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maestri, Alex 1985 births Living people Boise Hawks players Brisbane Bandits players Daytona Cubs players Expatriate baseball players in South Korea Hanwha Eagles players Italian expatriate baseball players in Japan Italian expatriate baseball players in Mexico Italian expatriate baseball players in the United States Italian expatriate sportspeople in San Marino Italian expatriates in South Korea KBO League pitchers Mexican League baseball pitchers Nippon Professional Baseball pitchers Orix Buffaloes players Sportspeople from Cesena Peoria Chiefs players Rimini Baseball Club players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players Sydney Blue Sox players Tennessee Smokies players T & A San Marino players Expatriate baseball players in San Marino 2006 World Baseball Classic players 2009 World Baseball Classic players 2013 World Baseball Classic players 2015 WBSC Premier12 players 2017 World Baseball Classic players 2019 European Baseball Championship players