Monday, August 08, 2005
Sayson: Taking Rosanna to the ballgame
By Homer Sayson
Second Overtime
CHICAGO – She came here three months ago, in the onset summer, when old man winter is a distant memory and the tulips are in full bloom. She ogled at the wonderful sights, feasted on varied gastronomic delights, and she inhaled the sticky Windy City air.
She said she likes this column and she used to be naive when it came to baseball. But when a friend towed her along for a day of fun watching America’s favorite pastime at the world’s most famous baseball diamond, she became a fan, captivated by every pitch, awed by every swing of the wooden bat.
She was so excited she went to Wrigley Field, and easily, her level of joy skyrocketed to Rosanna in the highest.
Her name is Rosanna Astillero (rteloy@ shinyfeet.com), sender of the most delightfully provocative e-mail I’ve got in weeks. I love sharing letters like this. Enjoy.
“I’m an avid reader of yours. I was recently in Chicago last May and a friend invited me to watch a Chicago Cubs game. I don’t know much about baseball, but my Wrigley experience was a total blast.
“Before the game was over I was biting my nails during every pitch and was really into it. I now follow baseball on the Internet since I came back.
“My question is, why isn’t the Philippines promoting the sport of baseball? It is very clear we can be competitive on this one because size doesn’t matter in this sport. So please, find a reason why Filipinos don’t go for baseball?”
Sorry to bring you back to earth, Rosanna, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced that baseball and softball will no longer be showcased as events beginning in the 2012 Olympic Games.
But even before the sport struck out with the IOC, there was no question that baseball’s popularity in the Philippines had already lapsed into an irreversible coma. And for baseball to wake up from that slumber, it must leapfrog the immensely popular boxing and basketball.
Sorry, I don’t think that’s ever going to happen in my lifetime.
You see, Rosanna, when a sport like baseball doesn’t enjoy popularity, it doesn’t get attention. And without attention, there is no publicity. Without publicity, there is no sponsorship money. And minus the all-important funding, there is no available environment where athletes can thrive.
And when you have no interested athletes, what have you got?
BIG BOYS OF MLB. And oh, Rosanna, when women argue whether size matters, they’re not just talking about equipment. They’re probably talking about how important length and muscle is in baseball. That’s why I disagree with your observation that “size doesn’t matter in this sport.”
Look, the highest paid player in all of baseball now is Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. A-Rod inked a 10-year $252 million deal in 2000 and he is an intimidating 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds.
A-Rod’s fellow Yankee, Derek Jeter, whose long list of girlfriends include movie stars, beauty queens and supermodels, is no sissy either. Derek is also 6-3 but less bulky at 195lb.
Another Yankee, an All-Star and the ace when the Arizona Diamondbacks won the World Series in 2001, can pass up as an NBA small forward. Nicknamed the Big Unit, Johnson is a lefty with mean sinker. He is 6-10 and 235lb.
Oh yeah, I didn’t make a typing error, Johnson is really 6-10.
The reigning World Series champs, the Boston Red Sox, they have a 40-man roster that will find trouble fitting inside a Boeing 747. Their MVP, Manny Ramirez, who has a $20 million a year salary, is a solid 6-foot, 200-pounder. Their ace on the mound, Kurt Schilling is a towering 6-5 and 235lb.
Boston’s most dangerous slugger is a heavy-handed dynamo named David Ortiz. Fondly called Papi, he is a hulking 6-4, and with a 230lb frame, he is bigger than a Volkswagen.
Even the Cubs have a 6-5, 245lb star in David Lee, while San Francisco’s Barry Bonds, baseball’s homerun king, is 6-2 and 230lb.
IT MATTERS. Rosanna my dear, the truth about baseball is that it’s still a sport where hand-eye coordination rules. But size really helps, which explains why most major-league players run from home plate to first base in a dizzying 3.8 seconds. If a player is only 5-7, say like a Pinoy, his tiny strides wouldn’t make that possible.
Thanks for writing. And the next time you’re in Chicago, look me up. Let’s go to a Bulls game. I can’t promise you a ticket, but I guarantee all the popcorn and hotdogs you can eat, with Coca-Cola, of course.
(homsay@hotmail.com)
(August 8, 2005 issue)
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