They secured an impressive 13–3 victory over Chinese Taipei in their first game of the tournament, however, they lost their next three match-ups to Netherlands, Cuba, and Australia (13 innings).

After coming back with a victory against the Philippines, Italy lost their next two to Japan and South Korea to end the round robin first phase of the tournament with a 2–5 record.

Italy (Bollate, Bologna, Codogno, Florence, Godo, Macerata, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, San Marino, Torino, Trieste, Verona, and Vicenza) and Netherlands (Rotterdam, Haarlem and Amsterdam) serve as hosts of the 16 teams of the second round (September 14–20), and therefore received first round byes.

At the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, a new international tournament organized by Major League Baseball with IBAF sanction, Italy competed in Pool D. The pool, which included Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Australia, was played in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, at The Ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Italy secured an impressive 10–0 win over Australia in its first game, invoking the mercy rule after seven innings.

With only ten players on their roster with any major league affiliation, Italy was a heavy underdog in Pool C of the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

Prior to the start of the WBC, Italy played two spring training games against the Washington Nationals and New York Mets.

A ninth-inning walk-off three-run home run by Roger Bernadina capped off a late rally in the Nats' 9–6 victory over Italy.

Cory Sullivan hit a two-run home run to tie the game at two, and Jeremy Reed doubled in Daniel Murphy to give the Mets a 3–2 victory.

[12] Against Canada on March 9, Italy pulled off one of the more surprising upsets in the 2009 WBC, winning 6–2, and eliminating the heavily favored Canadian team.

Italy led 3–0 heading into the fourth inning, until Canada jumped on starter Dan Serafini for two runs.

Piazza, a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, had previously played for Italy at the 2006 Classic, and served as the team's hitting coach at the 2009 and 2013 WBCs.

At the 2021 European Baseball Championship held in Piedmont, the Azzurri defeated Spain to earn the bronze medal, after having lost to Israel in the semifinals.

Piazza, who left partway through the tournament for his father's funeral, was replaced on the bench by Doriano Bindi.

However, Piazza has defended the practice, telling Italian media in 2024 that "sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward."

The first time an actual baseball tournament was held at an Olympics in 1984, Italy finished with a 1–2 record, with its only victory coming against the Dominican Republic.