Dear Sir,
I am writing to inform you of a prevailing issue in Philippine baseball. Youth baseball to be specific.
Being a parent of a young baseball player, I was beginning to embrace the renaissance of Philippine baseball. Then reality reminded me that there are many reasons to which we can attribute the sports’ failure. There is one that I have recently come across, CRAB MENTALITY.
This coming Aug. 27 to 31, the International Baseball Federation (IBF) will hold the Asia Single A (12 years under) tournament at Rizal Memorial Stadium. This will be hosted by the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association (Paba), under its president, Marti Eizmendi.
To our surprise, there was no announcement of a legitimate tryout for the Philippine team. I was hoping that my son, who has worked and trained hard, would be given a fair chance to represent his country. Days later, I found out that a team of 15 had already been formed. I found out that a very eager parent was tasked to be team manager. She and the appointed coach, who is supposed to be a top-notch national player, were supposed to form the team. They simply invited players they preferred personally. They invited 15 players, and these 15 players were told to keep quiet about the tournament.
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When we started questioning, they gave several lies:
1. That Paba preselected the players based on statistics from Palarong Pambansa. How can this be true when at least half the players did not join the Palarong Pambansa?
2. That only those born in 2002 are qualified. But the tournament follows an age cut-off allowing 11-year-olds. And they know this because their child joined this same tournament while still younger.
Only one person decided who gets to play and who doesn’t. There were no try-outs, no criteria, no consultation among coaches, schools, and communities. Isn’t this too much incompetence for a country to allow this happen? What kind of young citizens can we raise if we parents do not have the right moral fiber? In the guise of nationalism or volunteerism, these people have only promoted their personal agenda.
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As for the parents whose children were selected, how can they believe that their children can be part of the National team just like that? Didn’t at least one parent question the merit and legitimacy of the team formation process that was done?
With this, I felt that my child was deprived of equal rights. He was deprived of a fair shot at representing his country.
At first, my main objective was simply to get my son into the team. I realized later he should not be part of a team formed in a questionable manner. My main objective now is to condemn this practice, make it known to others, and help instill reforms.
The school was most supportive and sympathetic and is working on new guidelines and a code of conduct. The community, of which the said team manager is a member, gave some verbal support but could not declare a firm position.
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When we reported this to Eizmendi, he simply refused to be held accountable. He simply said he has already delegated this and he doesn’t know anything about this. Imagine this person is actually the head of a National Sports Association (NSA)?
Mr. Eizmendi shoulders most of the expenses of the NSA. But this does not justify incompetence. This does not serve national interest. They did not even invite players from the nearby provinces where many strong players come from. A team formed from a selection of players from Palarong Pambansa placers at least would have been a decent approach. This would be better than the mediocre team that has been formed.
All these years, the sport has been controlled by a few families. Yes, they have sponsored a lot of trips and tournaments, but they have also held the sport among themselves.
And this poor sport called baseball is now hostaged by the incompetent royalty. It is time to change the guards.
Sincerely,
MIKE ASUNCION
(The next column will be reserved for a reply from concerned parties.
Please forward it to: pr_sports@inquirer.com.ph)