Tacoma infielder on track to be first Italian-born big-league player in 50 years

At 4 a.m. most days in the Mediterranean coastal town of San Remo, Italy, Augustine and Flavia Liddi wake up to watch their youngest son Alex play baseball for the Tacoma Rainiers.

"They watch every game (on milb.tv)," said Alex Liddi, a power-hitting third baseman for the Seattle Mariners' Triple-A affiliate.

The 22-year-old, who was born and raised in San Remo, could become the first Italian-born player to reach the major leagues in nearly 50 years.

Only six other players from Italy have appeared in the majors, but none since Reno Bertoia in 1962.

"I would be proud to be from Italy and play in the big leagues. It would be something special," said Liddi, who went 0-for-4 Tuesday in Tacoma's 11-4 loss to the 51s at Cashman Field. "Hopefully it would get more kids playing baseball in Italy."

The 6-foot-4-inch, 220-pound Liddi was introduced to the game by his father, who moved to the United States from Italy with his family as a young boy and played baseball and football at Beverly Hills (Calif.) High School.

After graduation, Augustine returned to Italy, where he married Flavia, a former softball player. The couple passed on their love of the game to their two sons, Thomas and Alex.

"My family gave me that passion for the game. It's like a family sport for us," Liddi said. "Since I was 3 years old, I've always loved it. All I was thinking about was playing baseball."

But seemingly everybody else in Italy was thinking about playing soccer.

"Soccer takes over everything. Soccer is way bigger than all other sports," he said. "Baseball is way down (the list)."

With no baseball leagues in San Remo -- which is located near the border of France, about a 20-minute drive from Monte Carlo -- Liddi's father drove him and his brother more than two hours each way every Sunday, and some weekdays, to play Little League ball in Genoa and other Italian towns.

"We were traveling far," said Liddi, who soon started playing for Italy's national team.

When he was 11 and 12, he represented his country in the United States at the Cal Ripken World Series.

After playing for Italy in the 2004 World Cup in Taiwan, Liddi was approached by a pair of Mariners' scouts, who asked him if he was interested in playing in the United States.

"That was my dream, to come here to play, since I was a kid. I didn't think twice," said Liddi, who signed with Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 2005.

After playing for Italy in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, he compiled a career year at Class-A High Desert, batting .345 with 23 home runs and 104 RBIs en route to being named the Mariners' Minor League Player of the Year.

Liddi hit .281 with 15 homers and 92 RBIs at Double-A West Tennessee last season and is off to a solid start this year, batting .257 with 14 homers and 53 RBIs for Tacoma in his first Triple-A season. He homered and had six RBIs Monday in the Rainiers' 19-5 rout of the 51s.

Tacoma's second-youngest player, Liddi is a slick fielder who also can play shortstop.

He needs to cut down on his Pacific Coast League-leading 102 strikeouts in 77 games. But Rainiers manager Daren Brown said he has a chance to make the majors.

"He hasn't shown me anything here that says he can't," he said. "I like what I see, being 22 years old."

Liddi, who still lives in San Remo in the offseason, misses his mom's authentic Italian cooking, but has otherwise adjusted to life in America.

"My first couple years was really tough because I didn't really know English and coming from a country where nobody played baseball, maybe people thought I wasn't good enough," he said. "But my passion for the game kept me grinding every day.

''Now I'm real comfortable being here. I feel like I'm at home."

n NOTE ---- The Blue Jays recalled left-handed pitcher Brett Cecil from the 51s and optioned right-hander Zach Stewart to Double-A New Hampshire.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354.