Baseball: Ex-teammates talk about Piazza before Italy-Japan WBC game

Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Kazuo Matsui, former Japanese teammates of Mike Piazza, have reflected on memories with the Hall of Fame catcher before his Team Italy faces Japan in Thursday’s World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game.

As Italy’s manager, Piazza brought his men to Tokyo after emerging from a tough Pool A in Taichung, Taiwan, where all five teams finished with 2-2 records. Cuba and Italy advanced thanks to a tiebreaker.

Shinjo and Matsui were Piazza’s New York Mets teammates at different times. They are now the managers of the Nippon Ham Fighters and Seibu Lions, respectively.

Piazza is wel...