Shot in the arm for tot baseball

Philippine tot baseball gets a big boost to its youth program when Jon Dehler, an American investor in the Philippines and a businessman from Billings, Montana, made a P100,000 donation plus pieces of baseball equipment to the local organization.

Dehler is in town to set up a manufacturing plant for his company’s products, the latest state-of-the art gaming machine.

Aside from being an avid Boston Red Sox fan, he also supports and monitors baseball activities of all his sons. Recently, his 13-year old son Kirk landed in the front page of their city’s leading newspaper when he threw a record perfect game, striking out all the batters he faced in the championship game.

He believes that Filipino players have the natural talent for the game and given the latest technology and the right equipment, they could make a crack at the Major Leagues in the near future.

After going around the provinces and witnessing underprivileged children playing the game, Dehler decided to give his full support to the tot baseball movement here.

"This is just the first step in a bigger plan to help these kids get a chance to find better education through baseball and eventually improve the quality of their lives," Dehler said.