Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series celebrating the people, places, and traditions that make up Milwaukee’s Italian-American community. With the Milwaukee Brewers fresh off a historic World Series championship, I’m stepping away from the dinner table and heading to the ballpark to celebrate the Italian-American players, personalities, and connections that have helped shape Milwaukee baseball history.

Let’s start with perhaps the best Italian nickname in Brewers history.

The Macaroni Pony Rides Into Milwaukee

Bobby Coluccio played for Milwaukee from 1973 through 1975. Though he grew up in Washington state, his Italian heritage helped him forge a connection with Milwaukee’s sizable Italian-American community. It also helped inspire a nickname that would stick with him throughout his career.

As Coluccio recalled in a 2013 interview with the Los Angeles Times, the nickname was born during an on-air exchange between Brewers broadcasters Bob Uecker and Merle Harmon. Watching Coluccio hustle around the field, Uecker compared him to a little stallion. Harmon took it one step further, combining Coluccio’s speed with his Italian roots and dubbed him “The Macaroni Pony.”

Sal Bando Joins the Brew Crew

A few years later, another significant Italian American figure arrived in Milwaukee. Sal Bando signed with the Brewers and played for the team from 1977 through 1981.

After his playing career, Bando joined the front office as an assistant to general manager Harry Dalton. He became general manager in 1991 and held the position until 1999.

From Milwaukee to Team Italy

The Brewers’ ties to Italy have also carried on to international competition. Over the years, several Brewers players have represented Italy in the World Baseball Classic, an international tournament featuring professional players from around the globe. Wisconsin native Vinny Rottino, a former Brewers player and broadcaster, served as Italy’s starting catcher in 2009, alongside former Milwaukee pitcher Mark DiFelice and Frank Catalanotto, who also represented Italy in 2006. More recently, Sal Frelick played for Italy in 2023.

Guido the Italian Sausage’s Road to Glory

Of course, we can’t talk about Italian connections to the Brewers without mentioning Guido, the Italian Racing Sausage. One of the original three competitors and my personal favorite celebrity encounter, the Italian Sausage Racer has been a fixture at games since 1993.

The Italian sausage has made headlines for various unusual reasons over the years. In 2003, Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Randall Simon was suspended for three games after he struck Guido with a bat during a race, knocking down the 19-year-old woman inside the costume.

He was celebrated during Italian Heritage Day in 2012, when the Brewers wore special green, white, and red “Birrai” uniforms and gave away bobbleheads of the Italian racing sausage.

Later in 2013, the racer made headlines again when its costume was stolen following an appearance at a Cedarburg fundraiser. Nearly two weeks later, two people returned the missing sausage to a Cedarburg bar, left it on a barstool, and disappeared. Thankfully, Guido was reunited with his fellow sausages.

Perhaps most thrillingly, Guido the Italian Sausage became the first-ever winner of the World Series Sausage Race.

World Series Champions

Sal Frelick, the Massachusetts native whose Italian roots extend to both sides of his family, was selected by the Brewers in the first round of the 2021 MLB Draft, made his major league debut in 2023, and can now add World Series champion to his resume. Frelick delivered a game-tying home run in Game 2, helping complete a a 5-4 comeback victory.

The Italian-American connection extends to the Brewers’ front office. Mark Attanasio became the team’s principal owner in 2005, overseeing one of the most successful stretches in franchise history, capped by this past week’s World Series Championship.

The Man Who Preserved Italian-American Baseball History

I’d like to acknowledge the late Larry Baldassaaro, a longtime UWM professor and baseball historian whose research helped me uncover much of the history featured in this article. Baldassaro documented the contributions of Italian-American baseball players in books like Beyond DiMaggio and Baseball Italian Style. He passed away on September 8, 2026. UWM published a great tribute to Baldassaro and his work preserving Italian-American baseball history.

Though, I never had the honor to meet him in person, I hope he was watching our Brewers clinch the championship from above.

That’s Amore, Milwaukee!

From the Macaroni Pony to Guido the Italian Racing Sausage, the Brewers have long held a special place in Milwaukee’s Italian-American community. That connection is alive and well today: shout-out to folks like Petra Orlowski of Semolina, who celebrated the World Series run with beautifully crafted Brewers-themed gnocchi and “Brew”urgiones. Of course, whether you’re Italian or not, one thing brings us all together: we love the Brewers!