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STATE OF THE GAME
RP Baseball Resilient Through The Years
Updated: February 2006
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| Team RP has a lot of catching up to do in regional baseball competitions. Homerun celebrations like these will be tough to come by in the Asiad. |
The atmosphere that surrounded Team RP after fielding the baseball gold at the 23rd Southeast Asian Games echoed to a nation that once all was good and it is again. Indeed, baseball remains a popular team sport in the pearl of the orient.
While it is a given that Philippine baseball suffers from the pitfalls of a third-world environment, the game remains resilient in the hearts of many Filipinos. Build it and they will come. Popularity of the game is at an all-time high despite the limited exposure from traditional media, a lack of sprawling baseball fields, and the political mess around.
The recent SEAG conquest has garnered this nation its first invitation to the 2006 Asiad from the Baseball Federation of Asia, the sport's governing body in the region. Philippine Amateur Baseball Association president Hector Navasero, who received the formal invitation from BFA Presidential Advisor Yukichi Maeda of Japan, welcomed the Philippines' inclusion.
"It is an honor for the Philippines to be invited to play in the Asian Games," said Navasero, the embattled central figure in the sport who has been at the helm since 1986 and is often cited as the cause for baseball's prolonged stagnation in the country.
Something must be going right on the Philippine diamond. The numbers are telling. From the grassroots to the adult level, baseball has thrived. Participation and involvement continue to increase as evidenced by the number of leagues, tournaments, and circuits that have sprouted since the turn of this century.
The Kids International Diamond Sports Baseball, National All-High School Baseball Championships, and Titans League have provided additional avenues for the game and much needed baseball competition across the different levels that were previously centered around the International Little League Association of Manila, Little League Baseball Philippines, Tot Baseball, Private Schools Athletics Association, University Athletics Association of the Philippines, and Philippine Amateur Baseball Association Seniors League.
Despite this continued proliferation of teams across the nation however, the standards of international level competition have not been met above the high school level. Participation is one thing, competition is another. Progress comes with competition. There just aren't enough games being played on the diamond to raise the quality of play.
Furthermore, while general participation is extensive, it is quite unfortunate that the 'fan experience' still remains an afterthought. For the viewing public, it seems the game didn't entirely get on the bandwagon with the advent of the information age.
Whether it is due to a lack of organizational infrastructure, political resolve, or plain and simple economics is debatable. The common denominator reflects the problems encountered by a third-world country. At the same time, baseball provides the Philippines a great opportunity for nation-building. For in baseball, Filipinos can play their strengths.
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