This kid's a throwback. First, there's Johnny Giavatolla's size. At 5-foot-8 in high heels, he doesn't exactly cause an opposing pitcher's sphincter to clench. But when you consider such baseball legends as Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, Mel Ott, Pee Wee Reese (duh) and “Wee” Willie Keeler (double duh) were that height or shorter, screw it. Then there's his style of play: scrappy and energetic. But, really, it's the name: Gia-va-toll-uh. The Italian-American pedigree in baseball is a fine one. Camilli, Amalfitano, Fanzone, Mazilli—and while most of those names sound like families duking it out with the Corleones on the streets of New York in the 1950s, there's also this guy: DiMaggio. We're not saying Giavatolla has Joltin' Joe's upside, but after sticking him in the bottom third of the lineup for most of the season, Mike Scioscia put him in the leadoff role on June 28, and the Angels rattled off a 15-3 record. And the second sacker probably also makes a killer pizza pie.
