The Team Italy pitcher related to Rocky

TAICHUNG, Taiwan -- It'd be hard to find many more iconic figures in all of Americana than Rocky.

There have been, what feels like, 100,000 movies made about him. The Rocky Steps in Philadelphia are one of the top tourist attractions along the East Coast. Everyone can do a Sylvester Stallone impression of the famed boxer.

Although most of what he does in the films is made up, Rocky is actually based on a couple of real fighters, including Chuck Wepner. Known as "The Bayonne Bleeder," Wepner went toe-to-toe with Muhammad Ali for 15 rounds in 1975, but lost. The main inspiration for Rocky, however, was undefeated, heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. If you're tuned into Team Italy's roster during this year's World Baseball Classic, you might see that name and think, "Wait, is that ..."

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"Yeah, he's on my dad's side," pitcher Joey Marciano told me. "It's my cousin twice removed."

Yes, Marciano, a hard-throwing reliever who's gradually worked his way through the Giants system and made it to Triple-A last year, is related to Rocky.

"People that are familiar with boxing, they see the last name and it's not a very common last name," Marciano said. "They ask, 'Are you related to the boxer?' I tell them, 'I am.' They're just kinda stunned."

Team Italy manager Mike Piazza, a pretty famous Italian-American in his own right, thought it was pretty cool when he found out about his pitcher's connection.

"Obviously, I was surprised, but excited," Piazza said. "I think the way Italians look at Rocky Marciano, from the legacy standpoint, the baseball version would be Joe DiMaggio. He's a legend in Italian culture and, of course, inspired the Rocky movies."

Although Rocky Marciano once tried out to be a pro baseball player for the Cubs (he failed because he, according to his brother, had an ironically weak right arm), Joey says he never thought about boxing. In fact, he's the only real athlete in his immediate family. The Chicago native was also a late bloomer in baseball -- not playing the sport until he was a freshman in high school.

"Yeah, I just kinda picked up on it quickly by the grace of God," Marciano said.

You can tell Piazza is hyped to be representing Italy in this tournament, and he thinks the 6-foot-5, 250-pound lefty will be a big help coming out of the bullpen.

"He's impressive and he's a great kid," Piazza said. "He throws hard. The fact that he seems very versatile and durable, and that he can bounce back, we need guys like that."

Italy is somewhat of an underdog in Pool A with powerhouses like the Netherlands and Cuba picked as early favorites to make it to the next round in Japan. But like his distant cousin, Marciano seems to embrace that label. He has a feeling that his team will surprise the doubters.

"I think we're gonna win the whole thing," Marciano told me. "We truly have a really good team and good team chemistry -- which goes a long way."