Disappointing day on the field, but interesting for the statistical insights it left us. Especially for captain Nicola B Ancora who, finally back available after the long break for the cruciate operation, was able to reach the prestigious milestone of 200 matches for Milan, the 32nd player in our history to do so, third among those in activity, after Andrea Lo Monaco (who reached 200th in 2022) and Marco Pasotto (last year). Nicola B Ancora, a 26-year-old second baseman who grew up in our academy, made his first team debut in Crocetta Parma-United 2-7 on 20 April 2014, coming on at second base in the 8th minute in place of Lo Monaco with Baravalle at first, Franco at third and Bortolomai shortstop. On 4 August 2019, in Avigliana, in a match won by Milan over the Bees 8-6, he made his 100th appearance, always playing at second base with Luca Capellano at first, Lo Monaco at third and Andrea Capellano at shortstop. On Saturday, however, he played his 200th in the rossoblù, entering in the 6th minute as designated hitter in place of Ambrosioni.
But in terms of appearances, it was also an important turn for the Pasotto family, given that Marco overtook his uncle Thomas (current Milan coach) by reaching 230 matches for the rossoblù against 229. Marco made his debut in the same match as BANCA, Crocetta- United 2-7 on 20 April ’14, fielded by Renny Duarte as right fielder in the 8th inning in place of Banfi. Thomas, on the other hand, played his first first team match on 17 April 1994 in Desio-Milan 5-7 in Serie C, fielded by Angelo Fontana as a left winger, with Tavola in the center and Mazzetti on the right. His 229th and last appearance in the rossoblù shirt was on 2 August 2008 in Milan-Junior Parma 4-10 in Serie A2, when he came on in the 8th minute in place of Bacio deployed on the outside left by his brother Raoul with Spinosa in the center and Parisini on the right.
Still among the Milan faithful, Andrea Lo Monaco also makes progress, reaching 226 appearances, joining Francesco Parisini, a utility player from the early 2000s. Furthermore, Andrea Capellano has reached Mauro Mazzotti on 167 appearances, while Giacomo Fraulini has equaled Sergio Setti on 128.
Moving on to appearances for defensive roles, however, a significant achievement again for Andrea Capellano who in Verona played his 147th game as starting shortstop, reaching a legend like Alberto Spinosa in third place of all time among the rossoblù who have occupied this position. Only the president of Milan Alessandro Selmi did better than them with 168 games in position 6 and the great Carlo Passarotto with 202. Capellano was deployed for the first time as starting shortstop by Fraschetti on 15 April 2018 in Milan-Crocetta 6-5 in Serie B with Sanguedolce in first, B Ancora in second and Malli in third; on Sunday in game two in Verona he played with Varalda in first, Samuele Pasotto in second and Garavaglia in third. Capellano, among other things, has the absolute record of consecutive appearances for Milan in the same role, playing 78 times as a shortstop between 2018 and 2020. Alberto Spinosa instead played his first game as a starting shortstop in Milan-Roma 5- 10 of 2 June 1960 with Goldstein in first, Ugo Balzani in second and Redaelli in third; his 147th and final appearance as a starting shortstop was on 30 September 1972 in Ronchi-Milano 6-6, playing with Rossi at first, Novali at second and Bertolotti at third.
Some updates also on the specialty rankings: Marco Pasotto hit the 187th hit in Milan which allows him to overtake his former teammate Francesco Banfi, entering the top 30 of all-time rossoblù hitters. Giacomo Fraulini instead entered the top 30 of base stealers, matching his manager Marco Fraschetti with 46 “thefts”. Furthermore, in this ranking, Marco Pasotto with 61 stolen bases has overtaken the great Bob Gandini (60) in 21st place overall.
Finally, a note: in Verona Marco Fraschetti gave the first team debut to the 19-year-old Michele Bettola, who entered in the last inning of game one as left fielder in place of Marco Pasotto. In his first at bat he got a base ball from Dando. Bettola thus becomes player number 596 in 77 Milan championships.
2024-05-21 10:29:07
#Captain #Ancora #scores #rossoblù
