May 31, 2007

Dan Cozzi to Play in Italian Pro Baseball League

CHICAGO -- The Most Valuable Player for the 2007 University of Chicago baseball team, senior Dan Cozzi (Park Ridge, Ill./ St. Ignatius) will pitch for Codogno in the Series A2 Italian Baseball League this summer.

"I am excited about the opportunity to continue playing baseball at a high level," said the right-handed Cozzi. "Most players' careers end after their fourth year in college, but I have the chance to keep working on my pitches and competing against good hitters. I am also looking forward to living in Codogno and getting a chance to travel around the country."

Cozzi received an offer to play for Codogno as a result of Chicago Head Coach Brian Baldea's contacts with the Italian club's Vice-President Giuseppe "Beppe" Traversoni.

"I have maintained relationships with a few Italian teams over the past few years in an effort to give some of our players the opportunity to experience baseball and life in Italy when their undergraduate days at Chicago are over," said Baldea.

Cozzi becomes the second Chicago baseball player in recent years to gain the opportunity to play professionally in Italy. Brent Consiglio played shortstop for Poviglio after his graduation in 2004.

The Codogno team will play throughout northern Italy as well as in Sicily. Most of the players in the league are native Italians in their late-20s to early-30s. Codogno's starting catcher was also the starter for the Italian Olympic Team which included long-time Major League Baseball star Mike Piazza.

A city of 15,000 people situated in fertile wine country, Codogno is located in Italy's Lombardy region, approximately halfway between Milan and Parma.

Italian professional baseball leagues permit teams to have an American player on the roster who has achieved dual citizenship with Italy by undergoing the arduous process of documenting his Italian heritage. Cozzi has ancestors and family in the Naples area.

Cozzi was 6-2 with a 3.60 earned run average for the Maroons during the 2007 campaign. In his final nine appearances, he notched a 2.04 ERA and a .188 opponent batting average.

Cozzi concluded his career ranked among the Chicago all-time leaders in five statistical categories: wins (7th, 14), strikeouts (7th, 139), appearances (7th, 39), innings pitched (9th, 166.0), and complete games (10th, 8).

"Playing at the U. of C. has obviously prepared me very well for pitching in Italy," said Cozzi, who is likely to see action as a late-innings reliever.

"The last couple of years I've pitched a lot of innings and been able to develop five pitches with which I feel confident I can get guys out."

Following the Italian baseball season, Cozzi will return to the U.S. to attend law school at Boston College.