Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
was introduced in the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
during the
American colonial period
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centur ...
. Baseball was a national pastime in the country. The sport has become a re-emerging sport in the recent years. National policy and programs on baseball are, since 2018, directed by a renewed organization recognized by the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee—the
Philippine Amateur Baseball Association
The Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) is the national governing body for amateur baseball in the Philippines.
Presidents
*Dominador Pangilinan (?–1986)
*Hector Navasero (1986–2013)
*Ely Baradas (2013; acting)
*Marty Eizmendi (2 ...
(PABA), reestablished the same year.
Early history
Baseball was introduced in the Philippines by the Americans. The first baseball game in the Philippines was played in September 1898 weeks after the
Battle of Manila, a match between Astor Battery led by George Wetlaufer and a regiment from the
American Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
. From 1899 to 1900, baseball clubs were established by local Filipinos. The sport's introduction aided the American colonial government's
assimilation efforts.
General Otis planned to eliminate local
cockfighting
A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
through the introduction of the sport. A baseball league composing of six clubs was established. Then, Governor General
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
encouraged baseball in the archipelago. Baseball grew to be a popular sport in the country.
Arlie Pond
Dr. Erasmus Arlington "Arlie" Pond (January 19, 1873 – September 19, 1930) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles from 1895 to 1898, as well as a doctor in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War ...
was instrumental to the growth of baseball in the country.
Baseball's popularity saw a decline from 1898 to 1923 because of claims of neglect by the Department of Public Instruction. Prior to 1998, sporting officials claimed that the department, through the Bureau of Education, had supported baseball in the country with the goal of eliminating
cockfighting
A cockfight is a blood sport, held in a ring called a cockpit. The history of raising fowl for fighting goes back 6,000 years. The first documented use of the ''word'' gamecock, denoting use of the cock as to a "game", a sport, pastime or ente ...
in the country. Teachers who were brought from the United States to the country had no experience in baseball and even in basic athletics. The Philippine Amateur Athletic Federation favored
indoor baseball over its outdoor counterpart. In 1923, the Manila League was the only flourishing league in the country.
Late 20th century
Baseball experienced a boost when the Philippines hosted the first
Asian Baseball Championship in 1954 and emerged as champions in the inaugural tournament.
Bobby Balcena
Robert Rudolph Balcena (August 1, 1925 – January 5, 1990) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs during the season.
Listed at 5' 7", 160 lb., Balcena batted ...
became the first player of Filipino descent to play in the
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
in 1956. Baseball continued to be a popular sport up to the mid 1970s. Political conflict among baseball officials led to the decline of the sports in the country. Basketball eventually gained popularity over baseball.
From 1971 to 1994, the Philippines did not take part in any international competition. Baseball suffered from lack of financial support and a decrease of baseball venues. There was also a lack of coverage on television on the sport.
21st century
![Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Taichung_Intercontinental_Baseball_Stadium02.jpg)
Since 2005, the Philippine baseball became a re-emerging sport finishing just behind the three Asian baseball powerhouses. The Philippines became a powerhouse in the ASEAN region and has developed rivalries with Thailand and Indonesia. As part of a growing national revival, the professional
Baseball Philippines
The Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) is the national governing body for amateur baseball in the Philippines.
Presidents
*Dominador Pangilinan (?–1986)
*Hector Navasero (1986–2013)
*Ely Baradas (2013; acting)
*Marty Eizmendi (2 ...
league was established in 2007, but lasted for 5 years.
The league was in 2019 replaced with a brand new league, the Philippine Baseball League (PBL), with a mix of school and corporate teams. In recent years the country's youth baseball contingents have played in the
Little League Baseball
Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization[Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...]
'' and ''
Ace of Diamond
is a Japanese baseball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Yuji Terajima. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from May 2006 to January 2015. A sequel titled ''Ace of Diamon ...
'' on digital TV channel
Yey!
Yey! (stylized as YeY! or YEY!) was a Philippine children's pay television channel
A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in ...
, which also doubled up its popularity among the young that now almost every city in the country has a baseball presence, as well as a rising number of public and private elementary and high schools have a youth baseball team, with amateur baseball teams now in the upswing in almost every corner of the country.
To reach out to Filipinos abroad, Canadian TV channel
OMNI Television
Omni Television (stylized as OMNI Television) is a Canadian television system and specialty channel owned by Rogers Sports & Media, a subsidiary of Rogers Communications. It currently consists of all six of Canada's conventional multicultural t ...
began airing Filipino language broadcasts of
Toronto Blue Jays
The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...
games on
CJMT-DT
CJMT-DT (channel 40) is a television station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is one of two flagship stations of the Canadian multilingual network Omni Television. CJMT-DT is owned and operated by Rogers Sports & Media alongside sister Omni outl ...
beginning August 2018 for Toronto's Filipino community. This is the very first time that baseball has been aired on television in the Filipino language to serve Filipino baseball fans in Canada, there are currently no Filipino-language radio and television broadcasts of the other 29 MLB teams in the United States as of present, nor even Filipino-language broadcasts aired in television channels in the Philippines. However,
MLB
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
games do air in the country via cable and satellite.
Unknown to Filipinos at home but known among the Filipino-American baseball fans in the US itself is that fact that there are already players in active playing duties in the MLB whose parents are of Filipino origin (for example,
Addison Russell
Addison Wayne Russell (born January 23, 1994) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Kiwoom Heroes of the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO). Russell was drafted 11th overall by the Oakland Athletics in the 2012 Major League Baseb ...
(currently of the
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
) and
Tim Lincecum
Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "The Freak", "The Franchise", "The Freaky Franchise" and "Big Time Timmy Jim", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San ...
(as of present a free agent and formerly of the
Texas Rangers)). As of November 2018, an alumnus of the Philippine Little League baseball teams,
Farhan Zaidi
Farhan Zaidi (born November 11, 1976) is a Canadian-American baseball executive who is currently the President of Baseball Operations for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball.
Zaidi is one of two Muslim executives in Major League Bas ...
, is the current president of baseball operations for the
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
, having grew up in the Philippines and began to play the game when he was a kid.
With ex-NFL quarterback
Tim Tebow's transition into baseball and since he is as of 2019 now playing for the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
AAA affiliate
Syracuse Mets
The Syracuse Mets are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Mets. They are located in Syracuse, New York, and play their home games at NBT Bank Stadium, which open ...
, if called into the Mets team in the currently ongoing 2019 season
he will be the first Filipino-born player in many years to join the ranks of the major league teams.
See also
*
Philippines national baseball team
The Philippines national baseball team represents the Philippines in international matches and tournaments. It is organized by the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association.
They were the inaugural champions of the Asian Baseball Championships in ...
*
Baseball Philippines
The Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (PABA) is the national governing body for amateur baseball in the Philippines.
Presidents
*Dominador Pangilinan (?–1986)
*Hector Navasero (1986–2013)
*Ely Baradas (2013; acting)
*Marty Eizmendi (2 ...
*
List of baseball stadiums in the Philippines
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baseball in the Philippines