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Red Sox roster rife with rookies
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Posted on May 31 2006
Baseball is a game of hits and catches, balls and strikes, wins and losses. For the first place Patriots of the Saipan Little League Baseball Association, the season has been full of wins, but they are the exception to the rule.
Things are a little different for a bunch of youngsters from Dan Dan as the Red Sox are ahead of just two teams in the standings.
For first-time manager Randal Aguon, winning is not the most important part of the game, and he realizes that every time he leads his rookie-laden Red Sox team onto the diamond at Miguel “Tan Ge” Field.
Despite a 5-12 record that has them in eighth place in the 11-team Major League, Aguon said that the Red Sox are just happy to get out on the field and play ball.
“They’re really happy. They really enjoy it, win or lose, that’s the name of the game here. They come to play and they’re happy,” he said.
The players have followed Aguon’s lead as the rookies have spent several hours honing their craft and having fun along the way.
“This is my first time out here and it’s pretty good. We just have to give them a lot of time, practice everyday, and motivate them,” he said.
Aguon said that it isn’t easy teaching kids the American pastime, and that while he and the boys face a number of challenges that they will continue to improve in 2006 and return with a year of experience under their belts in 2007.
“Well for rookies it’s kind of hard because it’s the first time to play Little League so probably by the next season they’ll be aware about what to do with basic baseball. We’re coming back again next year, and hopefully next year they’ll pick up their stats,” he said.
