Piazza focused on growing baseball in Italy

NEW YORK — What a year 2016 has been for Mike Piazza. The former catcher was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and that was shortly after he bought a majority stake in the Italian soccer club A.C. Reggiana 1919 of the Lega Pro league.

On Thursday night, his attention was on 2017, with the fourth installment of the World Baseball Classic and an overall effort to keep growing baseball at the grassroots level in Italy. Piazza, who is returning as a coach for Team Italy in the event next spring, was the featured guest of honor at the Italian American Baseball Family Launch and Dinner at Carmine’s in Brooklyn.

Piazza was there along with his former Mets batterymate John Franco, Pirates catcher Francisco Cervelli, Royals catcher Drew Butera, former Major Leaguer Frank Catalanotto, free agent first baseman/outfielder Chris Colabello and others for the fundraiser, which helps youth baseball and softball academies in Italy and supports the Italian Baseball League.

“We’re just trying to get some support for the Italian Baseball Federation and to grow the game in Italy, to continue to grow it, and just give the national team opportunities to travel abroad to compete,” Piazza said. “But aside from the money raised, particularly we just want to raise awareness that there is a foothold in baseball in Italy. It’s tough, because to compete in Europe against the culture there, obviously there are cultural differences, but baseball is slowly starting to grow in popularity and we just want to keep that movement growing.”

Italy reached the second round of the World Baseball Classic in 2013, shocking Mexico with a ninth-inning comeback …

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