THE Saipan Baseball League members met on Monday in the Ada gym conference room to organize the board with Jay Santos as the new president.
Jay Santos
The other officers are George Camacho as vice president, Bernard Cabrera as treasurer, and Mark Flores as secretary. The other board members are Ben Jones, Mark Toves, Pete Sablan and Shine Tenorio.
They are all looking forward to the revitalization of baseball in the CNMI.
“I’ve been a long-time fan of baseball,” Santos told Variety. “I’ve played in the Little League and then in high school. I just want to see baseball in the CNMI again. It used to be the number 1 sport so I would like to see it back at the top again.”
He noted that in the previous years, the SBL only had four board members led by Rose Igitol and Tony Rogolifoi who have both stepped down recently.
Santos believes that with more board members, they will be able to get more things done. “I’m up to the task,” he said. “We have also identified some committees that we are able to fill.”
Santos said they intend to get everything organized, including the bylaws and finances.
“We are thankful for what Rose and Tony have done for baseball,” he added. “Although they have stepped down from the board, we will still ask for their help from time to time, especially with Tony, regarding training and certifying coaches.”
Santos’s main focus is to get the typhoon-damaged baseball field repaired and ready for games. “We need to renovate the field and upgrade it and get it done as soon as possible,” he said, noting that the island will host the Pacific Mini Games next year with baseball as one of the featured sports.
“So we are hoping to get the league up and running as soon as possible,” Santos said.
He is also reaching out to the Saipan Little League Baseball. “We hope our friends at the SLLB will also get organized and get going soon.”
He added, “We can’t fulfill our goals without a foundation, and that foundation is baseball.”
Community members attend a Saipan Baseball League meeting in the Ada gym conference room on Feb. 27, 2021.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr.
