The baseball titans and Jolas challenge

Where do baseball players go after college? That question has been answered thusly: nowhere.

But such was not the case a long time ago. In the 1930’s baseball was king in the Philippines. The far wall of Rizal Memorial baseball field stands as a mute but enduring witness to the greatness that was once a staple there.

Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig once brought a team of All-Stars here and almost went home not allowing a single hit from the Philippine teams they faced.

But now, the Titans Baseball Club is seeking to renew interest in baseball in the Philippines. The International Little League Association of Manila (ILLAM) has grown by huge leaps, thanks to the support of sponsors and parents who have been dedicating their weekends to let their children experience the great American pastime. However, once these children grow up, they have nowhere to play.

In an analysis submitted by the Titans, a group of former varsity players whose enflamed passion for the sports has not subsided, Filipinos are ideally built for baseball. Unfortunately, the sports has not progressed beyond the recreational level here. They have formed a non-profit organization to spread the sport throughout the country.

Their proposal for an active, year-round development program and tournament (a copy of which was furnished The STAR) proves to be a well-thought-out, realistic and conservative projection of what may be accomplished with a minimum of cost. They propose to have tournaments that will run for sixteen weekends, coupled with weekend camps for players fifteen years old and above. When one looks at the budget, one realizes that they are doing this for practically nothing. The biggest cost, in fact, is the rental of venues.

This is a clear sign that the private sector is really doing the job for the NSA, since these former varsity players have banded together to fill the vacuum that has been left like a gaping wound in the timeline of baseball in the Philippines. If they were to follow the sport’s model in other countries, they would realize that they already have a natural feeder system from the children’s level all the way to college. All they need to do is expand their base at the tertiary level, and find sponsors to support a competitive commercial league. And it won’t cost that much.

This December, the Titans are starting to translate their plans into reality, borrowing from the sentiments of Burce Arena, head coach of the US soccer team to the World Cup: "Player development is the responsibility of (professional) clubs and leagues and not the governing sports authority."

We wish them the best of luck. Keep swinging.

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Jojo Lastimosa is a man on a very serious mission. Drawn into the fray after being quoted as saying there are "less than ten" fake Fil-Ams in the PBA, he is now the face for the silent, grumbling local players who have felt deprived of livelihood by illegitimate players.

"We aren’t envious of the Fil-Am players," he assures. "Whatever they earn is theirs, as long as it’s part of the salary cap. What we are after is weeding out the fake Fil-Ams, because they dirty the names of even the legitimate ones. We have nothing against them personally."

Lastimosa and the "senior class" of the PBA have taken it upon themselves to revive the ailing PBA Players’ Association. Aside from tackling the issue of Fil-foreigners who have falsified their documents, they would also like to find a way to invest the P14 million or so in the Players Trust Fund which goes to paying the tuition of PBA players who are no longer in the league.

They are asking for an accounting from the PBA.

Meanwhile, regarding the issue of Fil-Ams, the Alaska veteran clarifies that fans may not necessarily favor Fil-Ams over pure-bred locals.

"I’ve been asking around," Lastimosa says. "And fans are shying away from the PBA because they don’t really prefer Fil-Ams. Besides, our fans are intelligent. If they feel they’re being cheated, they shy away."

In the next few weeks, the Senate investigation will dig deeper into the true identities of these alleged fakes. Sen. Barbers has promised to pursue this issue until they are exposed. Let’s hope he succeeds, for everybody’s sake.

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The Basketball Show will be aired at 12 noon on IBC-13 today to give way to an international billiards. It will be back on its regular 4 p.m. timeslot next week. The Basketball Show is sponsored by Columbia Foods International, Aqua Sweet, Red Horse Extra Strong Beer and Accel Sports Gear.

Warner Brothers Pictures is having a special premiere of "Like Mike" at the SM Megamall at 7 p.m. Monday night. Some of your favorite basketball players have been invited to grace the event.

You may reach me at [email protected] or [email protected]