Who is Vinnie Pasquantino? Meet Royals' Italian-American first baseman who powered Italy to early lead over Mexico

The United States knew it would likely to have a few "heroes" step up if it was going to make a deep run at the 2026 World Baseball Classic. What it didn't expect: one of those heroes could come from outside of manager Mark DeRosa's roster.

Team USA's hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals of the WBC are contingent on the results of Wednesday's matchup between Italy and Mexico. While the Americans could avoid elimination in some complicated scenarios of a Mexico win, there has also been a fairly straightforward path: if Italy wins, Team USA would also advance to the elimination bracket.

One of MLB's top sluggers, Vinnie Pasquantino, wound up helping power the Italians to a big lead, potentially helping both his squad and the United States advance out of Pool B play. And coincidentally, Pasquantino himself is Italian-American — he was helping out both sides of his heritage with a multi-home run night against Mexico.

Here's what to know about Pasquantino's background, from his time with the Kansas City Royals to his hometown.

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Who is Vinnie Pasquantino?

Vinnie Pasquantino is a 28-year-old first baseman and designated hitter for the Kansas City Royals. He's spent his entire MLB career with the team.

Pasquantino has earned the nickname "Pasquatch" from Royals fans, played college baseball at Old Dominion, and was an 11th round selection by Kansas City in the 2019 MLB Draft.

Where is Vinnie Pasquantino from?

Pasquantino is from Richmond, Virginia, and attended James River High School in Midlothian, Virginia.

Because Pasquantino has Italian heritage in his family, however, he has been eligible to represent Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He participated with the team in the 2023 WBC, and in 2026, he's been named a team captain for the Italians.

Vinnie Pasquantino MLB career

Pasquantino is entering his fifth season at the MLB level with the Royals in 2026. As a slugging first baseman, he came up in Kansas City's farm system and made his debut in 2022, earning AL Player of the Week honors during his rookie year.

After making the Royals' Opening Day roster in 2023, Pasquantino appeared in 61 games before a season-ending injury. However, during that season, the Royals began the "Pasquatch" nickname by celebrating his hits with an employee in a bigfoot costume.

Pasquantino became Kansas City's starting first baseman in 2024, but an injury also ended his season after 131 games. Still, he became one of the more reliable bats across the league, finishing with 19 home runs and 97 RBIs -- and he was able to return for the Royals' postseason matchup, notching his first two playoff hits.

In 2025, Pasquantino had his best MLB season yet, staying healthy by playing in 160 games while hitting 32 home runs and 113 RBIs as one of the American League's top bats.

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Vinnie Pasquantino MLB stats

Here's a look at Pasquantino's MLB numbers.

Vinnie Pasquantino stats vs. Mexico

• Hits-At Bats: 2-3
• Runs: 2
• Home Runs: 2
• RBIs: 2
• Walks: 0
• Strikeouts: 1

Pasquantino, notably, came into Wednesday's WBC matchup still hitless in the tournament. Despite being the most proven hitter on Italy's roster, he had little to show for it, even with his team's success in Pool B.

That changed quickly. He had two solo home runs against Mexico, part of a hot Italian offense that had seven runs by the seventh inning.

Pasquantino's multi-homer night, combined with Aaron Nola's strong start on the mound, put Italy in position to potentially win Pool B and advance to the quarterfinals.

MORE: Explaining the complicated Pool B scenarios of Mexico vs. Italy at 2026 WBC

Vinnie Pasquantino highlights vs. Mexico

It was Pasquantino who gave Italy the first run of the game vs. Mexico, swatting a solo home run barely over the glove of Jarren Duran in right field and into the bleachers in Houston.

Vinnie Pasquantino puts Italy on the board first 🇮🇹 #WorldBaseballClassic pic.twitter.com/757edPhdOk

Later on, once Italy built a more comfortable advantage, he was back at it.  Pasquantino sent a ball much deeper into right field, near the foul pole for his second homer of the night.

VINNIE PASQUANTINO AGAIN! 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/o5vKDzlRak