SINCE Super Typhoon Yutu battered Saipan and Tinian in Oct. 2018, baseball has not been played at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios or Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan ball fields, both of which sustained extensive damage.
On Saturday, the Saipan Baseball League spearheaded by president Rose Igitol and director Tony Rogolifoi, held a general membership meeting at the Ada gym to elect new officers for the 2021 baseball season and discuss pressing concerns.
But only a few interested individuals were present, so SBL decided to schedule another meeting.
In January, Northern Marianas Sports Association officials met with Saipan baseball and little league representatives to discuss ways to revive baseball on island.
NMSA executive director Carline Sablan, who attended the meeting on Saturday, noted that “soccer has had national team training sessions since June 2020, and I’ve worked with several soccer teams and got approval for them to practice and play scrimmage games in the inner field of the track so there really is no reason for baseball not to resume as well.”
But Sablan said there are repairs that are needed to be done in order for baseball to resume. These include the bleachers, the lights, the sound system, the scoreboard and the fence.
“We have been, very much, wanting to see FEMA funds come our way,” she said. “We have $3.2 million approved after the two super typhoons and we have been advised that we have to utilize $400,000 by July and we hope to use the remaining funds by the end of the year so we could get our facilities repaired and ready for our teams to prepare for the upcoming games.”
She said NMSA is meeting every week with the governor’s authorized representative Patrick Guerrero and SP Dancoe & Associates to discuss the repair of the facilities.
Sablan said these repairs are also crucial to the ongoing preparation for the Pacific Mini Games that will be held on Saipan in 2022.
The CNMI took the baseball gold in the 2011 Pacific Games held in New Caledonia and SBL aims to win gold in the 2022 Pacific Mini Games.
Rogolifoi, for his part, said “lights are the priority — we can’t play during the day because of the Little League program and participating Major League players are working. We only have one field. But we just have to be patient and hopefully, we can have a summer league at the most.”
Other concerns include coach and umpire certifications, he added.
In order to address these and other issues, SLB will hold another meeting this Saturday at 10 a.m. at Ada Gym.
SBL is requesting managers, coaches, other interested parties and individuals to attend the meeting and support the revival of baseball in the CNMI.
Saipan Baseball League board members meet with Northern Marianas Sports Association executive director Carline Sablan and community members in the Ada gym conference room on Saturday.
Photo by James F. Sablan Jr
