THE PASSION OF BASEBALL

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On Friday July 3, in the refined setting of Augeo Art Space, the sports journalist Carlo Ravegnani presented his book “Arrembaggio” (Boarding) to the press. Set in the baseball world, he pays tribute to Rino Zangheri the great president who, for 45 years, has held firmly the helm of the Rimini baseball team. Through the portrait of a character of great human depth, the author describes the alternating events of a team that has fascinated the Rimini city for 45 years.

In the background the city of Rimini, in the close-up the passion for baseball that binds many well-known personalities from the sports world and, especially Rino Zangheri, the unforgettable and extraordinary President of the “Pirates”, the players of the Rimini baseball team. The book bears the signature of the journalist Carlo Ravegnani and tells a dark period in the history of this team. Already from the title and the subtitle you can guess the travails, emotions and sleepless nights that characterized it: “Boarding – from Rino Zangheri to Ciro the Piazzaiolo, the 18 months that have buried the Pirates”. The author pays tribute to a great President starting precisely from those inauspicious 18 months to retrace 45 years of exciting competitions and a palmarès with 13 championships and 3 Champions Cups.

Page after page, the reader finds himself involved in the events of those who have been able to forge a team with the power of passion, making it a source of pride for the whole city. During the official presentation of the book, which was held on 3 July in the setting of Augeo Art Space, Carlo Ravegnani told how the idea of the book was born: “I started thinking about this book during one of the many night calls with my friend Alberto Antolini – General Manager of Rimini Baseball until 2004 – because the blackest page in the history of Rimini Baseball could not and should not be forgotten, but told. I rewound hours and hours of phone calls (some I preferred to record them), meetings. I put all the WhatsApp messages back together, I reread the emails and any references to people and things mentioned below, is purely real”. A lot of material full of episodes, painful decisions, unforgettable jokes and sports strategies that gradually make up the portrait of the “Pres” – as Rino Zangheri was confidentially called – a true man and also a bit grumpy, who has dedicated most of his life to give prestige to his team, teaching the essence of the game with a sporting and always loyal spirit.

From left: Alberto Antolini (Ocrim CEO) and Carlo Ravegnani (Sports journalist of Corriere Romagna and the author of “Arrembaggio book”).