Little League season postponed

With the community still reeling from the impact of Super Typhoon Sinlaku, the local sports scene is slowly trying to regroup. Saipan Little League Baseball Inc., which had its 2026 season in full swing before the storm, is now left figuring out what comes next.

League president Ray Yumul said there’s still a lot up in the air. Speaking Thursday, Apr. 23 at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Softball Field, he shared that while the fields themselves didn’t take the worst of the damage, the surrounding facilities were hit hard.

At the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan field, the press box roof was blown off and the bleacher roofs are gone. The same kind of damage can be seen at the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field, where the bleacher coverings were also torn off and the foul ball netting was damaged. Capital Hill Softball Field is in better shape, but it’s still not ready for use.

With the season now postponed, the league’s board is going over different options. One possibility is finishing the season later in the year, once things have settled down.

There’s also a big chance they may have to miss the Asia-Pacific tournament in June. Yumul said those trips—usually to places like Jakarta or South Korea—are already difficult to organize even under normal circumstances because of funding and logistics.

The league plans to meet with managers, coaches, and parents to figure out the best way forward. At the same time, they’re hoping the community can come together to help repair the fields—if they get approval from the Northern Marianas Sports Association, which oversees the complex.

“I’m still holding out for something positive if we’re able to come together as a community and decide to say ‘hey, let’s fix up the place with the blessing of NMSA’. We can expedite and have a complete so that’s where we’re at at this point,” he said.

Another concern is the well-being of the players and their families. Yumul said it’s still unclear how much damage people are dealing with at home.

“Hopefully the families and players themselves don't have too much damage to their homes and properties, but we don’t know, so that’s something that we’re going to have to gauge.” He added, “playing the game of baseball is the easy part because they’re excited… but it’s the volunteers, the parents. A lot of parents are stressing out with the utility issues—no running water. If they were to play, how do we make sure the kids’ uniforms get properly washed.”

For now, the fields—along with the rest of the Oleai Sports Complex—remain closed and there’s still no clear timeline for when they might reopen.