Hello baseball fans. We just received our latest Italian America magazine, summer edition and were reading it over dinner. There's an article about Baseball's Italian American Managers, but the writer forgot someone very important - Joe Maddon. Here's a message we sent; feel free to send your own if you would like.
On Aug 19, 2009, at 5:50 PM, Joe Lomascolo wrote:
Dear Mr. Darden:
My wife and I enjoyed your article, Play Small Win Big - Baseball's Italian American Managersthat appeared in the Summer 2009 Italian America magazine.
Unfortunately, you missed the 2008 Manager of the Year, and manager of the American League Tampa Bay Rays, Joe Maddon. Joe was the Angel's bench coach from 1996 to 2005 under Mike Scioscia, and is a former Minor League catcher who had been in the Angels organization for 31 years. In 2006, Joe was chosen to manage the Tampa Bay Rays.
Joe grew up in Pennsylvania the oldest of three children in a tiny apartment atop the business started by his Italian immigrant grandfather, C. Maddon & Sons Plumbing and Heating. (The family name was originally Maddoninni.) Joe was an excellent high school quarterback — nicknamed Broad Street Joe after a main Hazleton thoroughfare.
In the Tampa Bay area, as well as in his hometown, Joe and his wife help serve food to the homeless.
My wife and I live in Palm Harbor, Florida (Tampa Bay area) and are both Italian Americans
Joe Lomascolo, Orator of the Young Italians of Florida Lodge 2668
Suzanne Lomascolo, President of the Young Italians of Florida Lodge 2668
P.S. By separate e-mail I forwarded you an article about Joe Maddon.
Subject: Re: In response to your article on Italian-American Managers
Date: Thu, 20 Aug 2009 09:27:16 -0700Dear Mr. and Mrs. Lomascolo:
Thank you for telling me of Joe's Italian lineage. I regret not being aware of it. Unfortunately, when an individual's family name has been changed, as you know, the lineage is often not publicly known after a couple of generations. I have long been familiar with Joe's professional as well as personal qualities which your email causes me now to realize have their roots in his Italian heritage.
The way I remember it, Joe spent three decades with the Angels before being promoted to bench coach by Mike Scioscia early in Mike's career as manager. Mike didn't come to the Angels till after the close of the '99 season. So if Joe became bench coach in '96 as you say, I am in error. However, I still attribute his great success in that job to Scioscia's support as well as to his own skills. They learned from each other. Mike's support continued in Joe's gaining the Tampa Bay job, and Joe has done Mike a big favor since, which I won't elaborate on here. I understand they communicate regularly by Text messages.
Thanks to you, I will now support the Rays not only because of Joe's relationship to Mike, but because of his own Italian bloodline. While I don't possess Italian blood myself, I have strong personal ties to your race.
I haven't found the article you sent me. Please resend.
Ciao,
Lloyd
