"I've got to get out of here."
Where were you when COVID-19 forced the world into quarantine? Not many people understand the scope of how widespread the pandemic is better than USF Baseball alumnus Nico Giarratano, more than 6,000 miles from home in March 2020.
"I'm stuck in my apartment in Italy, in this little town called Ravenna," Giarratano reflects. "I'm like, 'I've got to get out of here'. At the time, (the United States government) declared that they were banning travel between here and there."
"So I got a flight through the night and flew home."
Just days after arriving in Italy to begin the next chapter of his professional career, Giarratano found himself back in the friendly confines of San Francisco, trying to decipher his next move. He had gone to great lengths just to make it to Europe in the first place, applying for Italian citizenship and arriving shortly after a lengthy tryout with the Texas Rangers.
"I went to the tryout with the Rangers thinking if I make this, I'm not going to Italy," Giarratano says. "Didn't make the team. That's okay, I left three days later to Italy."
If Italy was the original detour, what came next were a series of detours that have only reinforced Giarratano's resiliency as a leader in the baseball industry, at multiple levels of the game. It's now autumn 2021, and after stops back home, down in Arizona and in the Mexican League, Giarratano is now on the East Coast working as director of coaching development for Gradum Gswing, a swing performance company for baseball and softball players.
Between his final stop in the Majors and his new life in Florida were two citizenship applications, two retirements from his playing career, and roughly two hundred phone calls.
Grasping the depth of Giarratano's journey requires a trip back to the Hilltop, the heart and soul of the city where his dad, longtime USF head coach Nino Giarratano, nurtured his passion and skills from an early age. A four-year starter at USF and one of the best defensive players in conference history, Nico Giarratano's professional career began as a 24th round selection in the 2017 MLB Draft by none other than the San Francisco Giants.
"I was unsure if pro ball was even going to be an option," Giarratano says. "The (MLB) draft process was pretty intense, and I got the call from the Giants in the 24th round. That was incredible because growing up in the city, watching the Giants play… it was a huge honor."
Few professionals truly comprehend the concept of grit more than minor league baseball players. But in between the interstate bussing and late nights, Giarratano made some of his best friends bouncing in between three levels of the Giants organization.
After two years with his hometown team, Giarratano was released — only to be picked up by the club a dozen miles from home: the Oakland A's.
"Growing up in the city, drafted by the Giants, released and picked up by the A's," Giarratano says. "It was the two teams I've watched my whole life, going to both stadiums my entire life. So that was a great honor."
Playing for Oakland's High-A Affiliate, the Stockton Ports, meant Nico got to play in front of his family, an experience he cherishes from his time in the minors. The uncertainty began shortly thereafter, with his next destination in question and his phone silent for most of the winter.
"That was a hard process to navigate through," Giarratano says. "I waited and waited and wondered if I would get invited to spring training and I didn't fully know the process. Then January came... I started making calls trying to get tryouts, to show scouts that I'm good enough."
His proactivity reached both Major League organizations and those abroad. With an offer in hand from the Italian countryside, Giarratano applied for his Italian citizenship and flew across the world motivated to take care of business.
Less than a month later, he was on that overnight flight back to the Bay Area. But in a lot of ways, it was a blessing.
"I decided then that I wanted to coach," Giarratano says of concluding his playing career. "That's what's in my future. I made some calls, and got a job as a graduate assistant at the University of Arizona under (then-head coach) Jay Johnson."
Giarratano joined the staff in summer 2020, and in 2021, the Wildcats earned the No. 5 seed in the postseason and reached the College World Series. But while Arizona was in Omaha competing for a national title, Giarratano wasn't with the program.
Months earlier, he had gotten a call from the Generales de Durango of the Mexican League, locally known as Liga de Mexicana Beisbol (LMB).
"Maybe I'm not done," Giarratano reflected at the time. "Maybe I gave up my (playing career) too early. I consulted with the people in my life and decided that I was going to go and pursue this."
Like everything in professional baseball, no transaction is seamless. In order to make the move to Mexico official, Giarratano needed to be a citizen. Since one can only be a citizen in two places at once, he got back on the phone to ensure that his Italian citizenship — the original detour — wasn't processed.
Sixty-one games. That's sixty-one more than Giarratano originally thought he had left when he flew home from Europe and made the transition to be a GA. With the Generales, he worked all of the rust off and had some of his favorite baseball experiences — including one of the most memorable strikeouts of his life.
"I got to face Fernando Rodney; punched out to end the game," Giarratano says. "He shot the arrow on me. My dad's got that on film. It was bittersweet because I struck out, but Fernando Rodney got to shoot the arrow, which was cool."
The opportunity to face ex-big leaguers, including Rodney, Bartolo Colon and others, was just the tip of the iceberg. While Giarratano originally envisioned that he would leave baseball when his playing days were over, immersing himself in the Mexican baseball culture helped him finalize the decision to pursue a career within the game.
"I learned how much I actually love the game," Giarratano says. "Baseball in Mexico means so much more to the people there. The fan bases are unlike anything you see in minor league baseball. You feel the city behind you."
One of six players on the team to reach 200 at-bats on the season, Giarratano was an instrumental part of the team for the final ride of his playing career, seeing the field for 464 innings and recording just six errors. The words Nino uses to describe his son: proud and uplifting.
"I do not get the opportunity to watch all my former players, but in Nico's situation, I have a chance to watch almost every game live or on video," Nino Giarratano says. "He is the best defensive player I have coached or followed at the pro level. Nico should be here in America playing at a very high level, however, what a treat for the LMB and their fans."
Throughout his time in Durango, Giarratano was slowly putting together the pieces for his next move once the season ended. Having trained with Gradum when he worked back into playing shape the previous year, Giarratano stayed in close contact with Gradum founder Lorenzo Garmendia, who had a unique opportunity waiting for Nico.
"My title is Director of Coaching Development, which means that for all coaches who buy the system of what Gradum teaches, I'm walking them through it," Giarratano says. "I'm kind of in a hybrid role; I'm doing digital stuff and baseball stuff, which I like."
In addition to his new surroundings in Florida, Giarratano is enrolled in the University of San Francisco's Master's in Sport Management program, taking courses online. Just a couple of years ago, there was no telling how long he would continue playing or if he would pursue other ambitions.
Three countries, two citizenships and a new career later, he is eager to continue his baseball journey — just in a different ballpark. On the same wavelength as his father, Giarratano's aspirations include returning to the collegiate level to coach and be a mentor for the next generation.
"In my time, I've seen that that's when you can make the biggest difference in players' lives," Giarratano says of college baseball. "They're there to learn the most, to get better. You teach lessons outside of hitting mechanics. You teach them life lessons, to show up on time, to go to class, to eat right. "My end goal is to go back to the collegiate level and make a difference like Troy (Nakamura) and my dad do every day at USF."
As Nico's next adventure continues to take shape, Nino's advice to his son reflects the values and humor they share: enjoy everyday, enjoy the relationships, and to keep him in mind when he needs a volunteer or two.
With summer in the rearview mirror, the 2022 USF Dons are in the full-swing of their fall training regimen. The younger Giarratano's advice to this year's team is two-fold: take the fear out of it and enjoy your time.
"It goes by so fast you can't even explain it," Giarratano emphasizes. "I'm 4-5 years out of college, I'm almost eight years out of being a freshman and it feels like I can go back tomorrow and it would all be the same. Cherish the friendships and work your butt off, especially right now in the fall, when you think you have months until the season, but you don't. You get 30-40 days of team practice."
"Enjoy your time in college because you don't get it back."
