In order to be the best, a team must have the best. Perhaps such idea was running through the minds of the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association officials who wanted to make America’s most loved game a favorite sport in the country too.
Noting how foreign-based Filipino players were recruited to play for the Philippine football team, the Azkals, and the local rugby team, the Philippine Volcanoes, similar tactics have been followed to gain the similar success for baseball in the country.
With the recent triumph of the San Francisco Giants in the World Series, the president of Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, Victor Navasero, hoped that they could convince the Filipino-American pitcher of the SF Giants, Tim Lincecum to play for the country. Tim, however, reportedly declined the offer out of respect to his American father who raised him alone after the separation from his mother. Not giving up, the local baseball association decided to recruit some promising players from the US minor leagues.
For the Philippine Amateur Baseball Association, long exposure and apt familiarity of a player to the sport are necessary for the selection of the local baseball players. With a competition set in Taiwan on Nov. 15, the local baseball association believes that foreign-born players in the local team pose more chances of winning a match.
Having players who are mostly foreign-based, the Philippine Volcanoes and the Azkals have earned fans not only for their skills but also for their mestizo looks. Some famous players also model for local products like brothers Phil and James Younghusband of the Azkals, and the Philippine Volcanoes’ Andrew Wolff who is slated to join this year’s Mr. World Pageant.
Because of their involvement in show business, critics have questioned the skills of these half-Filipino players, branding them to be more of models than athletes. Amid a horde of shrieking female fans for these caucasian players, many cannot help but think that the talent of the pure Pinoy athletes are being overshadowed with all the hype.
A report from Interaksyon.com last March featured pure Pinoy members of the Azkals, Chieffy Caligdong, Roel Gener, Ian Araneta and Mark Ferrer. Asked if they were affected by the extra attention given to foreign-based members of their team, Chieffy said that it did not affect them at all.
“It’s all right with us. We get along very well and we respect them. We don’t envy them the attention–they grew up playing a higher level of football. We’re just starting, they’re almost there. So it’s not wrong to give them more attention,” said he.
These half-Pinoy athletes were recruited for a reason. And some of those reasons include having larger chances to be at par with the world. Moreover, sports in the Philippines lack funding support from the government, which makes bringing players from outside the country a big deal for the officials behind these team sports.
A good game is not determined on looks–faces appear very small on the playing field anyway (unless zoomed in by a camera). Likewise, race should not matter as well for a good game is determined by skills, not by charms. What the players do outside the game should be their business and none of ours as long as they do their part. However, the favor of being welcomed warmly by the locals should be returned by teaching their fellow kababayans the skills needed to excel and not be left behind any competition.
(AJPress)
