Philippine men’s baseball team. PHOTO/ Baseball Federation of Asia Facebook
MANILA, Philippines — Senator Francis Tolentino is pushing for the revival of baseball and softball games in the country, which he said were once famous in the Philippines from the 1950s to the 1970s.
Tolentino said he got the idea while watching a local baseball game in the United States on June 24.
“Iniisip ko rin po na i-revive ang baseball at softball sa Pilipinas. Madali lang naman maintidihan ang baseball, ang kailangan lang natin bukod sa manlalaro, malaking palaruan. Siguro sa mga schools, yung ilan sa ating mga LGUs (local government units) na may schools na maluluwag na lupa,” Tolentino said in a statement issued Sunday.
(I’m also thinking about reviving baseball and softball in the Philippines. Baseball is easy to understand; we only need a big field beside the player. Maybe some of our schools in various LGUs have spacious lots.)
The senator recalled that these games were widely played by locals residing in Southern Tagalog Region provinces, adding that internal conflicts among baseball and softball officials led to the decline of baseball and softball at the local level.
“This can be revived. So tingnan po natin kung papaano po natin mare-revive itong baseball at softball sa ating bansa—dahil hindi po kailangan ng height dito eh. Kailangan lang mag-training, at magaling kang pumalo at nauunawaan mo yung rules. Pasok na pasok po ito sa height ng ating mga kababayan,” Tolentino said.
(Let’s see how we can revive baseball and softball in our country—because there is no height requirement for these games. You must train, learn to hit the ball properly and understand the rules. The sports fits the height of our countrymen.)
Although this is the case, he said that the country’s baseball team remains a powerhouse in the ASEAN region, noting that the Philippines bagged the gold medal during the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.
Tolentino further noted that the revival of these games might help address the country’s problem of obesity among Filipino youth, pointing out that “one in 10 Filipino school-age children or 14 percent were overweight, while about 13 percent or 1 in 10 Filipino adolescents are considered obese,” according to the Department of Health.
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