ALTHOUGH baseball is highly a popular sport here in the United States, in the Philippines, baseball still has to find its place in the hearts of Filipinos. For one, only a few Filipinos have made it in Major League Baseball (MLB), starting with Bobby Balcena, who played briefly for the Cincinnati Reds in 1956. Other players of Filipino descent who made it included Jason Bartlett, Bobby Chouinard and Geno Espineli.
But much honor is given today to Tim Lincecum, a starting pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, who recently won the Cy Young Award, for being the best pitcher in Major League Baseball. The Cy Young Award is given to the best pitcher in MLB, one each for the American National leagues.
Lincecum, whose mother is a Filipino, brings much honor to the Filipinos not only in the US, but all over the world. He is also the youngest pitcher to win the award at 24 years old.
For most of us Filipinos, baseball could probably take a little time to be part of our culture. Still, what Lincecum has achieved—as well as the other FilAm baseball players—is easy to understand. It is, in baseball terms, a homerun. (www.asianjournal.com)
