Italy’s Espresso Machine Returns As WBC Dugout Turns Into Coffee Bar
Can they do an Americano in there?
The World Baseball Classic is underway, and it's always fun to see what kind of national flair teams bring to the tournament.
This year, most of the early attention has been on the Italian team's dugout, and specifically their espresso bar.
Back in 2023, the Italians brought a Nespresso machine to the WBC and used shots of espresso as a home run celebration, because… well, because that's just what Italians do.
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"In Italy, we drink coffee about 20 times a day," manager Francisco Cervelli said, per MLB.com. "It’s a tradition. You’re walking down the road. You see a coffee spot, get some coffee. Then you chit-chat, and then keep walking and do the same thing all over and over again. That’s how Italy is."
The espresso machine is back in 2026, and it was getting a workout in Italy's 8-0 win over Brazil on Saturday.
It turns out that they've got quite the setup in that dugout, too.
I think they're only about one or two WBCs away from having a full-on Starbucks. They just need a barista who mispronounces your name and some guy working on his screenplay, so everyone sees what he's doing.
This. Give me more of this.
I think every country should have some sort of national beverage in its dugout. The Brits could have tea, the Americans could have Coke or Pepsi (whichever ponies up more sponsorship dollars), and the Japanese could have a sake bar.
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Actually, that might be the only way to beat Japan. I'd gladly wheel a cart with some sake and a karaoke machine into their dugout before the game if it gives Team USA an edge in this tournament.
It's a little late to do this for the 2025 tournament (although we could probably have this figured out with one Costco run), but maybe in 2029 we'll get more nations on board.