A shot of espresso is the best way to celebrate a home run
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Everyone’s favorite dugout espresso machine is back in business. And business is booming.
Italy created a stir at the 2023 World Baseball Classic when it housed a Nespresso machine in the dugout. With a little caffeine in their system, the Italians played inspired baseball, advancing out of group play for just the second time in team history.
To no one’s surprise, Team Italy brought back its espresso machine as a part of another vast coffee spread for the 2026 WBC.
“In Italy, we drink coffee about 20 times a day,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said on Saturday following his team’s 8-0 victory over Brazil. “It’s a tradition. You’re walking down the road. You see a coffee spot, get some coffee. Then you chitchat, and then keep walking and do the same thing all over and over again. That’s how Italy is.”
Cervelli, who became the manager of the Italian national team in January 2025, wasn’t a part of the 2023 WBC. Still, he’s well acquainted with the espresso machine, having managed Italy at the 2025 European Baseball Championship.
“It goes everywhere with us,” Cervelli said. “It’s something normal. We got it on the bus. We’ve had it in the dugout, everywhere.”
And now it’s a celebration, too.
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The Italians debuted a new feature of their coffee obsession in their opening game of the 2026 Classic. Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino came up with the idea to celebrate each home run with an espresso shot in the dugout.
Pasquantino was plenty busy serving up espresso shots on Saturday, as Italy slugged three home runs -- one a three-run shot off the bat of Dominic Canzone, and two via left fielder Dante Nori.
“I do not like coffee, so it did not taste great,” Nori laughed postgame. “The first one especially, I was like, ‘Ugh.’ But the second one, kind of liked that one a little bit more.”
Saturday's three-homer barrage was just the second time in tournament history that Italy hit at least three home runs in a WBC game. The only other instance came against Mexico in 2017, when the Italians launched four homers.
Italy will look to serve up a few more espresso shots on Sunday, when it continues group play in Pool B against Great Britain (1 p.m. ET, Tubi).