AS a former Senior Little League commissioner, I could not believe my eyes what injustice, unfairness and inconsistencies some of the Saipan Little League board of directors have done to our baseball players over the weekend. First of all, the board members consist of Joe Borja, president; Robert Guerrero, vice president; Lillian Ada, secretary; Annie Flores, treasurer; Manny Tenorio, umpire consultant/coordinator; Piding Tenorio, player agent; Roman Borja, safety officer; and Bob Coldeen, manager representative.
On the morning of June 15, I was invited by James Kintol, Dandan Blue Jays manager, to attend a meeting at the Ada Gilbert Gymnasium. The purpose of my presence was to simply ask the board members for consideration regarding two of our players who were not included in the nominees for the 2002 Saipan Little League All-Stars.
The board’s reason for not nominating two of our players was because their manager failed to show up at the All Star selection meeting. These two players rightfully earned their slots after coming in NOT Top 15, BUT Top 10 in the overall season batting statistics. After waiting outside the gym in the afternoon, the board’s meeting finally concluded and a decision was made with one board member, Bob Coldeen, excused himself from voting. Sadly, I did not win the appeal. The two kids that I was fighting for had been placed on the alternate list of all-stars.
My argument is why penalize our well-deserving players merely because their manager failed to show up at a meeting? The statistics should speak for itself.
The inconsistencies of all-star selection is not only happening in the Major Little League Division. For example, on that same day, June 15, I found out in the afternoon that several board members did an unethical move by pulling out one All-Star player in the Senior League Division and replacing it with another name of their choice. This was done without consent from the league managers.
These several board members also acted quickly in removing one other All-Star candidate (F.M.). F.M. happens to have a batting average of .500 and ERA of .54 in the strike out department of the Big League Division.
The selection for the All-Stars Little League Manager seemed unfair as well. The St. Jude Hustlers (Little League) clinched both pennant and final championship. You would guess this was all possible through the outstanding managing of their team. Unfortunately, their manager was not selected.
I strongly urge parents to take a look at their sons’/daughters’ final statistics for the season. If you think your child deserves that slot in the All-Stars and was not selected, then you need to voice out your concern. This program wouldn’t be possible without our children and their parents!
There are more discrepancies in the Saipan Little League Baseball and I call upon the president of the Saipan Little League to immediately provide a copy (to myself and those interested) of the minutes of meeting that was held on June 15. The minutes of that meeting will unfold the true identity of some board members and their real intentions in this program. My interest here is for our youth who have proven themselves to be “A’s” players and we cannot steal their dreams of becoming Saipan All Stars that they have worked so hard for. I would also like the district administrator to take a look into these issues and resolve them for the sake of our young athletes.JOE S. SALAS
Kagman, Saipan
