It is not uncommon for a Major League Baseball team to cross the globe and play a series of games against Asian teams. When the mighty New York Yankees visited the Philippines half a century ago, they were in the middle of one of their dynastic runs. Here is how one Hall of Famer put yesterday's game in perspective.

"Ayaw nga kaming labanan ng Yankees dahil wala kaming helmet. Walang helmet -- sila mayroon -- dahil hindi pa uso ang helmet dito sa atin... Mahirap kumpara ito sa ngayon dahil masyadong matindi ang kumpetisyon noong 1954 -- early 50's hanggang 60's. Sa ngayon, kung ihahambing mo, malayong malayo."

The [New York] Yankees didn't want to play against us because we didn't have helmets. No helments -- they had -- because helmets weren't common here at the time... It's difficult to compare [the level of play] then from now because the competition was extremely tough back in 1954 -- during the early 50's thru 60's for that matter. For now, if you would make any comparisons, it's quite far-fetched.