2007 SEASON REVIEW
January 16, 2008 / by: Vincent Alimurung

BP 2007: A Changing Landscape

Maiden season shed new light on the grand old game

The Cebu Dolphins (top) and Makati Mariners celebrate after clinching the Series 2 and Series 1 titles respectively. (Photo - Joseph Ventura/Jonas Terrado)

2007 was a banner year for Philippine Baseball's rebuilding program.

The game's biggest collaborative effort this generation came to fruition as Baseball Philippines gave the nation a new hope as the country's premier geographic and community-based sports circuit.

Amidst the turmoil surrounding much of Philippine sports, baseball's indelible more-than-a-century-old flame continued to blaze.

Though the year left much to be desired on the international front, BP's two-tiered pilot season — dubbed Series 1 and Series 2 respectively — nonetheless encompassed five months of engaging drama on the diamond.

Both on and off the field, aspiring new stars shone while established and run-of-the-mill veterans tried to keep a foothold on the sport. Fans old and young alike returned to the game as the turnstiles of historic Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium welcomed them anew.

The lack of parity that had hounded development of local competition over the last three decades finally gave way as the country's premier talent found themselves dotting the rosters of eight semi-pro clubs, three of which — the Cebu Dolphins, Makati Mariners, and Manila Sharks — saw action in the summer and last quarter of 2007.

Inevitably the quality (and quantity) of play nationwide revealed itself.

A handful of arms — six pitchers to be exact — carried much of the league's pitching load throughout the year. That group accounted for 60% of the more than 800 innings pitched combined in 2007. On the aggregate, league pitchers carved out a modest 3.38 earned run average for the year (4.17 in Series 1 and 3.00 in Series 2) despite an unsightly 2.3 strikeout-to-walk ratio. They also plunked 52 batters and uncorked 24 wild pitches.

The scene at the dish meanwhile was a microcosm of a dead ball phenomenon. While a few players excelled individually, the obvious lack of power generated and lack of plate discipline were glaring weaknesses. Cumulatively, league hitters racked up a .255 BA/.319 OBP/.334 SLG. (Series 1 - .288/.342/.372, Series 2 -.239/.308/.313) with only 15 homeruns among 193 extra-base hits between them. The Manila Sharks' Virgilio Roxas led all sluggers with three long balls, one of which was a walk-off homerun against Taguig in November that turned out to be the year's most electrifying moment.

Baserunners meanwhile were successful on 76% of their attempts, tallying 137 stolen bases in the process, but no player swiped more than seven. Catchers also let loose their share of passed balls.

Fielding was sometimes stellar, but more often inept. A no-bearing contest to close out the Series 2 regular season had the Cebu Dolphins and Marikina Shoemakers combine for a Philippine record 23 errors, with the Shoemakers accounting for the dubious record of 15 miscues. It was no surprise that Marikina finished last in fielding with 4.5 errors per game in Series 2. In addition, the Manila Sharks and Makati Mariners committed eight errors in a game as well. On the bright side, the Dolphins, Sharks, and Dumaguete Uni-bikers each turned in a couple of error-free games. In Series 2, Manila finished with a league-low 2.6 errors per game.

Nevertheless there were more competitive games on the field that lay the groundwork for sustainable development of the sport in the 21st century. The 2007 season was more about infrastructure retooling rather than on-field talent showcasing so to speak. The changing landscape took place before our very own eyes as unprecedented investments from the private sector began to fall into place, setting a chain reaction that is deemed to take the game to a higher level.

"[The league] has a good future... if it is run properly," said Cebu Dolphins outfielder Richard Gomez, a celebrated actor in Philippine show business.

As the summer of 2007 rolled around, BP became the country's first semi-pro baseball circuit to take the field since an unsuccessful revival of the once presitigious Manila Bay Baseball League in the early 1990's. It was a rousing success as Filipinos began a new love affair for the game.

The two-tiered season began with five teams in Series 1. Two teams were dropped in midseason and the league welcomed three new additions for the Series 2 sequel upon which geographic realignment was established with three teams each comprising the league's North and South divisions.

Marikina, a traditional baseball hotbed as well as the nation's shoe capital, joined the North Divison as the Shoemakers along with holdovers Makati and Manila. Baseball Philippines also reached out to the southern Visayan region of the country and welcomed the Dumaguete Uni-bikers as the education and tourist hub's first organized baseball club at the adult level in its history. Taguig, the nation's fastest growing metropolis meanwhile, returned its Forward to the game after last fielding a team in the Titans Baseball circuit four years ago. The Uni-bikers and Forward joined the Dolphins in the South Division.

Joseph Orillana posted a 9-2 record, 1.66 ERA, and 71 strikeouts in 92.1 innings to emerge as the country's top pitcher in 2007. (Photo - Joseph Ventura)

Of the eight teams that took the field in the past year, the Cebu Dolphins (14-6 overall) were arguably the best team in the circuit. They won both the South Divison and Series 2 crown after a summer in which they were eliminated in a Series 1 playoff.

Cebu led both Series installments in runs scored and most major offensive categories. 1B Miggy Corcuera (.418 BA, 2 HR, 16 RBI), the league's most consistent and feared hitter in 2007, and OF Jonash Ponce (.361 BA, 11 RBI) were at the heart of what came to be known as the Blue Sky Machine lineup. The Dolphins were anchored on the mound by left-hander Joseph Orillana. Despite not throwing a pitch in the 2007 Asian Baseball Championships and Southeast Asian Games, Orillana emerged as the country's premier hurler and was awarded BP Player of the Year honors after posting an overall 9-2 record with a 1.66 earned run average and 71 strikeouts in 92.1 innings pitched.

The Makati Mariners (7-10 overall) emerged from a three-way tie-breaker in Series 1 to squeeze into the playoff round where it edged both the favored Dolphins and Negros Roosters to clinch the title. Makati was led by phenom hurler Jon-Jon Robles throughout the team's 2007 campaign. The southpaw went 4-5 with a 2.76 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 84.2 innings, including a stretch in which he threw a league-high 18 consecutive scoreless frames. Robles was a threat at the plate as well (.442 BA, 9 RBI). In addition, OF Alden Lozada was a vital cog in the middle of the Mariners lineup, leading all BP hitters with 17 RBIs in 2007.

The Manila Sharks (12-8 overall) finished third in Series 1, but were the team to beat during a two month stretch from mid-October when they won a circuit-high nine straight games, including a record four extra inning affairs on their way to winning the North Division. Unfortunately, the Sharks' key players did not perform as expected after fatigue and injuries riddled them in the club's best-of-three Baseball Philippines Championship Series showdown with the Dolphins for the Series 2 title.

Manila's trio of Charlie Labrador (4-5, 4.07 ERA, 69 K, 90.2 IP), Romeo Jasmin (6-2, 2.36 ERA, 34 K, 45.2 IP), and Joseph Alvindo (1-1, 2.25 ERA, 17 K, 28 IP) did comprise the deepest threesome of any BP staff in 2007; the Sharks' 1.80 team ERA was tops in Series 2. Labrador, the nation's top right-hander, bounced back from a disappointing summer and was named Best Pitcher of Series 2. At the plate, veterans 3B Nino Tator (.298 BA, 11 RBI) and 1B Virgilio Roxas (.174 BA, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 11 SO) were expected to carry the offense, but after a sensational summer in which he was named Best Hitter of Series 1, Tator could not regain his stroke and Roxas became a marginal feast-or-famine slugger. C Rommel Roja (.375 BA) turned out to be the club's most consistent hitter in 2007 with a Series 2-leading .407 BA to boot.

The Negros Roosters (4-2) and Laguna Tigers (1-3) rounded out the five teams that competed in Series 1. Riding the left arm of Ernesto Binarao — the country's foremost pitcher this past decade — the Roosters were odds on favorites to win Series 1 only to be upset by an upstart Makati squad in the one-game final. The Tigers saved face by winning their last game. Unfortunate circumstances however led to both teams' withdrawal in August.

Pegged as sleepers for Series 2, the Marikina Shoemakers (6-6 overall) could not strike the right chord. Despite having the deepest pitching staff (on paper at least) in Series 2, the ineffective rotation of arms and the team's porous defense (league-high 4.5 errors per game) were clearly the Shoemakers' waterloo. Not coincidentally, Marikina surrendered a league-worst 6.3 runs per game. Left-hander Vladimir Eguia became the workhorse among the team's eight pitchers, finishing 5-2 with a 1.72 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 73.1 innings pitched, but it was too much to ask the left-hander to carry the team past the first round of the playoffs. OF Carlo Banzon led all Shoemakers with a .370 BA while SS Joseph Apura batted a solid .359 with 2 HR, 11 RBI, and a league-leading .590 SLG to earn Best Hitter honors in Series 2.

The Dumaguete Uni-bikers (5-7 overall) were embarrassed in their inaugural game, but thereafter were as competitive as any team in BP, narrowly missing the BP Championship Series on a Tony Olayvar single that gave Cebu the South Division title. SS Edmer Del Socorro (.375 BA, 6 RBI) did not see action in Series 1 but made an immediate impact in Series 2 and led the Uni-bikers in just about every offensive category while finishing among the league-leaders just as well. Left-hander Darwin Dela Calzada (3-2, 3.28 ERA, 40 K, 49.1 IP) was obtained from Cebu and became the team's staff ace.

Forward Taguig (2-9 overall) meanwhile acquired the midseason's most prized player in Binarao, the Series 1 MVP. For the year, the southpaw finished 5-3 with a 2.62 ERA and 77 strikeouts while leading the circuit with 92.2 innings pitched. His effectiveness on the hill however was overshadowed by Taguig's anemic offense which finished a distant last in scoring with 3.6 runs per game. Expected to challenge for the Series 2 title after being stocked with five national team players (the most among the six Series 2 teams), the Forward lacked the team chemistry needed for its veterans and youngsters to gel together and excel.

Taguig played more games in which they scored three or fewer runs. While Hashim Omandac (.400 BA) and elder statesman Alejandro Velasquez (.348) finished among the league's batting leaders in accouting for 32% of the Forward's total run production, they were hardly in the same lineup together. Moreover, veterans OF Roel Empacis (.125) and OF Ferdinand Recto (.263) could not establish their presence at the plate. Together, the foursome had five RBIs between them.

The past year witnessed a growing demand for baseball on the national level. As we look ahead, several communities have persistently signalled their intent to field a team in 2008 and beyond. For the game's continued development and national interest, however, it appears that immediate expansion will only cater to two more clubs.

"This is the beginning of a new era for Philippine baseball," said Cebu owner Jose Cabarrus, referring to the future promise of Baseball Philippines in the region.

The torch has been passed. See you in 2008.