Little League season canceled

Heavy machinery is seen at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan softball field behind the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field last Monday. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

The Saipan Little League’s 2023 season has been canceled, but a U12 baseball tournament is slated to take its place this June.

With supposedly six Little League teams waiting for a chance to play competitive baseball since the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Saipan Baseball League president Jay Santos is helping the Saipan Little League Baseball, Inc. host a two- to three-week U12 baseball tournament instead due to the SLLBI’s inability to organize a season this year.

Santos said he’s helping “figure out a way how we can further develop youth baseball here in the CNMI. I haven’t had an opportunity yet, but I’m hoping to reach out to the board members for Saipan Little League Baseball, and see how we can help them.”

“The least we could do is host some local tournaments so we could at least keep baseball alive here in the NMI. My biggest concern is losing baseball here in the islands because of the lack of organized leagues. Naturally, if kids aren’t involved in leagues or organized baseball, then they’re obviously going to lose interest.” But he’s hopeful that SBL and the SLLBI can collaborate. 

He’s looking at starting the tournament in the first week of June which will last about two to three weeks and have the teams play as many games as possible through a round-robin tournament and then a championship round.

Santos said he has reached out to Department of Public Works Secretary Ray N. Yumul on renovating the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan softball field behind the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field. 

He thanked Yumul and DPW director Mike Borja for getting equipment out to the field so that they could get it prepared and graded. Santos said they are still trying to finalize the preparation of that field so they could host the tournament.

The renovation of the field is in partnership with the Department of Corrections, SBL, and the Northern Marianas Sports Association. 

Greg N. Camacho, coach for the Braves Little League team, said that the cancellation of the season is “unfortunate.” 

“We have so many kids with talent and energy that need to be focused on something like baseball. We all know baseball is the CNMI’s pastime so we need to continue fostering this with our

youth.”
As for the U12 tourney instead of a full-blown season, Camacho said “It’s the best alternative to a lack of a full season. The kids will still enjoy playing, learning the fundamentals and camaraderie that comes from friendly competition.”

The Little League teams are Braves 1, Braves 2, Twins, Blue Jays, Cubs, and Comets.

SLLBI is under the U.S. Little League’s Asia-Pacific Region for the past 20 or more years.