January 15, 2001
Fortitudo BC 1953 reached an one-year agreement with pitcher/outfielder DANIEL NEWMAN.
The team's pitching staff is now set, and Newman will also be able to contribute in the outfield and in the box.
He got his degree at the University of San Diego and was then drafted by the Houston Astros. After a couple of years in the minors, the leafthander chose to test the Italian League in 1989, playing for Novara and then Rome, Ronchi dei Legionari, Riccione, Verona and Milan. The last two years he played in Parma. He is married with an Italian woman and has an Italian passport, and this allowed him to play with the National Team at the Sydney Olympic Games.
Last year in Parma, the 37-year-old had a 2.71 ERA in 106+ innings, with 100 strikeouts. He found little room in the potent Parma lineup (just 57 AB), while just two years ago in Milan, with Mauro Mazzotti as his head coach, he hit .385 in 117 AB with 4 HR.
In other news, outfielders Francesco Balzani and Fabio Giovannini and Cuban-born pitcher Alfredo Lopez Delgado were released. Shotstop Pierluigi Bissa chose to play next season in San Marino for business-related reasons, and his place on the field will be taken by Matteo Dall'Olio, back from Parma. Dominican Ruben Santana, a fan favorite and the team's most dangerous hitter last year, will again be covering third base.
