Play ball! Little League Baseball is back

The smell of spring, the sound of bees buzzing, the swirl of dirt, and the slick of dew on the grass signal the start of baseball season, and this year brings back Little League Baseball after the reformation of the Saipan Baseball League Inc.

After a five-year hiatus, eager children are back on the diamond with a full season of baseball that started last Saturday and Sunday.

There are 10 teams in the major league division (11-12-year-olds), and four teams in the minor league division (9-10-year-olds) that are played at the Miguel “Tan Ge” Pangelinan Baseball Field. At the Francisco “Tan Ko” Palacios Baseball Field, there are six teams in the junior league division (13-14-year-olds), and three teams in the senior league division (15-16-year-olds).

Before the first games that started the season, an opening ceremony and a parade of teams were held that was attended by each team, parents, supporters, and the SLLB board including president Ray Yumul, vice president Annie Flores, treasurer Piding Tenorio, secretary Luisa Cabrera, player agent Lina Aguon, and safety officer Mike Guerrero.

The junior league division started the whole day of games with a showdown between the Braves and the Blue Jays, with the Braves collecting their first win, 14-2. The major league division saw the Ol’Aces win, 19-9, against Falcons II—which is the only team in the league that consists of a majority of girl players.

In other results of the junior league, the Bears mauled the Cobras, 29-22, and Ol’Aces drowned the Marlins, 25-10. In the other major league games, the Comets flew past the Cobras, 9-6, the Cubs clobbered the Falcons, 17-9; the Braves beat the Marlins, 12-2; and the Dodgers shot down the Blue Jays, 11-5.

As for the senior division, Ol’Aces beat their foes on both days—9-8 against the Braves, and 14-11 against the Comets.

After the ceremony, Yumul spoke with Marianas Press. He said there are 23 teams in the season that will stretch until early June and he is “looking forward to a very wonderful playing season.”

With Little League back in the CNMI, he said they are excited. “We’re excited that little league is back… this year 2025 kicks off the restart. Due to issues that were not in the control of the league, we’re able to bring it back now and we’re very excited to restart the program,” he said. “As you can see, there are so many kids that are interested in playing and learning the sport and we’re excited to teach them and have a wonderful season.”

Yumul said that they have strong support from the parents and the teams, and the league also made it easier this season by not charging entrance fees and helping teams with equipment needs, allowing them to return and learn baseball.

He said the primary reason they brought back the program is because it works in a way that helps the youth and the community. He shared that his son, Dominic, was a product of the program before it closed and is now in his last year of college baseball, and that a lot of other children that grew up in the sport, play college baseball. “There is an opportunity for kids to learn baseball and at the same time, to get scouted to play college baseball and get an education out of it as well,” he said.

Now that it’s up and running again in the CNMI, he said, “We’re really happy that we have another activity for our youth to do. Summer is coming up soon and we want our youth to have activities because we don’t want them too idle at home and not have these wonderful activities. The other aspect is they’re going to stay healthy and fresh in terms of sports.”

Yumul, who was elected as president last October, then said, “I want to make sure this program continues because it is a good program to teach kids how to play [the] sport, but at the same time to give them confidence.” He added, “We want them to be able to take this level of play and bring it to the next level which is interscholastic, college, and beyond. But confidence building is the number one [goal] and team building is number two. With that in mind, these kids will have the confidence to be good citizens as they grow older, and they get to learn a wonderful sport at the same time.”

Since this program is restarting, Yumul said they’re reestablishing their ties with Guam, Asia-Pacific, and other international connections within Little League Baseball. With that, this season is for focusing on skills building rather than competing elsewhere. However, he said that if during the course of the season they see a lot of great potential, they will reconsider that decision and possibly put together an all-star team to compete off-island.

He then thanked the Division of Youth Services, Gov. Arnold I. Palacios, Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang, and the Legislature for their support.